I’ve been furiously scribbling at every opportunity I get, with ideas wrestling around my brain at three in the morning like they’re having a round of Rock’em Sock’em keeping me awake. (Or maybe I’m just hearing the cats battling outside the bedroom door)

So what have I been writing about if it’s not been bloggable? Well, it isn’t like the diary I wrote when I was 14, filled with embarrassing teenager stories I wouldn’t want anyone to read. Nothing like that. Pretty much every word is an idea of something I’d like to achieve in the next few years.

My life has changed so unspeakably much since I moved to the UK on that warm December (well, warm to my Canadian then-standards. Like a good Britanicised girl, I’d now say that it’s rather nippy and complain about the chill) where I’d only completed half of my University degree before skipping over to the UK for a bit of culture. (A degree which I proudly went home to complete in the couple of years that followed, I might add, however difficult a long-distance relationship it made for)

Not to sound overly self-promoting – something certainly frowned upon in the country of humour by self-deprecation – but I’m really rather proud of what I’ve managed since then.

Try doing the same. Look back a year, two years, five or ten. Think of what you’ve achieved since then. Hopefully, it’ll give you the perspective to see how much you’ve grown, changed, evolved. And hopefully for the better.

In a few days or weeks, I’ll hopefully post a reasonably thorough list of what I want to succeed at. I’d probably need more than a lifetime to complete everything on it but, having been surrounded by some very inspirational figures recently, I tell myself there’s nothing wrong with aiming high. Not to set myself for failure, but to give me something to strive for and something to get up for in the morning.

It’ll probably bore you to death, but blogging it allows me to put these ideas somewhere public, and give me something to refer to further down the line when I wonder if I’ve ticked any of them off the list.

What goals would you set yourself as things you’d like to achieve? Not lame new years eve resolutions you drop by mid-January, but real stuff you want to kick ass at or tell your grandchildren about one day.

I thought I’d share the #themeword I picked a month ago and have been following since. It’s “exploration”, in every sense of the word.

Exploration in the travel sense. I want to see more of Europe. I’ve been in the UK for some years now but haven’t had a varied holiday track records, going mainly to Canada to see the family and Menorca for a touch of sun. I want to see the Italian countryside, check out the Scandinavian winter to compare to the Canadian one, see more of France, especially the South. I unquestionably want to fly out to New Zealand to see my sister during her stay there, and I want to give some parts of the US another go, even though I’m not so fond of Maricans.

Exploration of business opportunities. Last night, while invoicing a few older pepsmedia clients who have ongoing hosting contracts with us, I realised how far I’d come in confidence, knowledge and general business sense since we started. Every year, every month, I can see that we’re producing better projects, making clients happier and feeling more in control of our business. It’s hard work, but it’s genuinely enjoyable and rewarding. I look forward to another year of growth and new ideas, pushing myself further than before.

Exploration of skills and abilities that are currently nascent or unused. I know too well that it’s easy to sit within your existing comfort zone and use exclusively the skills you already master. It allows you to look good, always in control, but it doesn’t take much to fall into a much-dreaded routine. As my inspirational and downright wonderful grandfather always showed me, you stay young by continuing to learn. There’s a world of possibilities out there, and I don’t see a reason to stop now.

Exploration of my friendships and relationships. There are so many great people in my life with whom I don’t spend enough time, I want to take advantage of our soon-to-be new house’s dining room and back garden to have as many dinner parties, bbqs and social get-togethers as possible, enjoying life and good company.

While exploring – and my life in general – seems to be about more, more, more, faster, faster, faster, I also want to think in terms of less and slower. Taking me-time to breathe and think and focus myself. Eating better, at the dining table and without the tv on. Having evenings where both Andrew and I can relax without worrying about work to be done.

So far, it’s looking like it’ll be a good year… What’s your themeword?

• Visit Japan and eat real sushi
• Eat at a Gordon Ramsey restaurant
• Go up in a hot air balloon
• Go to New Zealand to do skydiving
• Take photography lessons – Take photos of my everyday life to record and remember
• Go backpacking in the South of France
• Get back into the habit of reading a book a week at least
• Take my family for a holiday to Menorca
• See the following musicals: Miss Saigon (done 18/12/04), Les Misérables (again), Sunset Boulevard, Chicago, Company and RENT (again!)
• Be in an amateur production of a musical
• Take a yoga class for long enough to know what I’m doing
• Work in a foreign country Does living and working in the UK count? – I think so
• Learn to drive a motorboat well enough for Andrew to be able to waterski
• Start a personal marketing project, go all the way through with it, and succeed at making money out of it!
• Get the opportunity to blog for a living Sounds like we’re on the way with this one
• Work for a startup or young fresh business First, Shiny Shiny, and second, Taptu