Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson made the concept of The Bucket List – things you want to do before you “kick the bucket”- common place. A less common concept is the idea of a Leap List. A Leap List is the things you want to accomplish before a leap in your life. Examples include before marriage, before kids, before a milestone birthday, or before a new year.
I have my own milestone birthday coming up in July. One of the items that I’ll be crossing off my Leap List this summer is to compete in a Warrior Dash. The race includes jumping over fire and crawling/swimming/wadding through a mud pit before being able to cross the finish line. The concept is quite out of character for me. While I have participated in a number of running races and triathlons, I’m typically not one to get dirty. The first time I went golfing, after I teed off, I held up my tee, looked at my dad and said “What do I do with this?” He said, “Put it in your pocket”. I said, “But it’s dirty!!” I’m sure I was the only person on that course using a clean tee for each hole.
By crossing items off my Leap List I have found that it helps me gain confidence, opens my eyes to new experiences, and builds character. These life experiences define me and provide purpose to my day.
When I feel good about my personal experiences I find that I am more focused and passionate about my professional goals too. I encourage you to take some time to create or review your Leap List both from a personal and professional perspective. Personally, what do you want to accomplish before your next milestone birthday or life change? Professionally, what do you want to accomplish before your next Anniversary, before hiring staff, or before retirement?
And just so you know, you don’t have to be embarrassed to ask me to play a round of golf with you. I now use the same tee for the whole round. Well, most of the time anyway…
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