“What’s my ideal to-do list? Is she KIDDING?!” you may be thinking to yourself as you read those words.

No, really…what is it?

Perhaps you dream of a life in which:

– You spend the day – every day – on the beach with nothing to worry about, other than making sure that the beverage of your choice is delivered whenever you want it, and that you have a comfortable spot in the sand so that you can read great book after great book – at least until you fall asleep in the warm sunshine.

– You do something risky, adventurous, like rock climbing as much as you want.

– You spend your life shopping until you’re all shopped out…while your bank account, somehow, remains endless.

– You enjoy a steady stream of great restaurants and great delicacies without damage to your cholesterol or waistline.

Whatever it is, a no-stress, no-consequences life is perhaps what you are imagining, in some way.

Wait a minute, though.

Is that really the to-do list, and life, of your dreams?

Imagine the reality of that:

Neverending fun, however you define it, could become boring…very, very quickly.

Seriously.

Your talents would go to waste for want of a big goal, a positive target, a place where you can learn and test and express your best as you grow and change.

And every day in this blandly ideal life might be largely the same as every other day.

Now, let’s shift direction for a moment.

What’s your dream of what you want to become? (Yes, consider that even in a challenging economy – no matter what commitments you’ve already made to a direction that’s different from the one you dream of).

How different do you need to be for that dream to become a reality, at least to some degree, even if you don’t completely fulfill it?

How different do your activities, habits, and choices need to be for that dream can be created in real life in some way?

In light of the growth and achievement you want to experience in life, consider what your ideal to-do list looks like now:

1. What do you want to learn?

2. How do you want to grow?

3. How do you want to change?

4. What achievements do you want to create and experience?

5. How can you add some of that new experience – even a bit, for that’s often how good things begin – to your life, and your daily, weekly, or monthly to-do list?

6. What you want to quit, let go of, or give away to make the time and space for what you want, even more?

Give your dream a chance to take shape.

Give yourself a new and better to-do list, adding actions that lead to your dreams, even in the smallest way.