My Life List An ever-evolving list of life achievements
Before you come to the conclusion that the sole purpose of this page is for me to brag about all my achievements (which admittedly it somewhat coincidentally is), let me explain why I created it.
So I’ve always been unhealthily obsessed with achievement and most of my life has consisted of me finding ways to achieve as many things as humanly possible.
One method I used to help me achieve was using bucket lists. I hoped naming things on a list would inspire me to actually take action and achieve them. But that hope never materialised into anything more than just that – hope. A bucket list – written once, then stored away in some dusty draw only to be temporarily glanced at in times where I was in need of a shot of inspiration.
So I needed something else, something better. That’s when I stumbled upon the ‘impossible list’ – a list that inspires you to actually take action. Things were on the up. “I’ll share my impossible list on my website”, naïve Reese thought.
But then he stumbled upon the psychological research that underpins goal setting. Apparently, merely stating to people that you’re going to do something serves to give you a premature sense of pride actually reducing the odds of you doing that thing. Crazy stuff.
Carl Jung – “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.”
For example if you were to tell people you’re going to run a marathon, you’d get enough people pretending they actually care telling you ‘oh wow that’s amazing’ for you to be content in keeping the target as just that, a target.
That’s why on this page, despite keeping an ‘Impossible list’ privately, I’m instead only going to share goals I’ve already achieved. Instead of showcasing the crazy me with all these stupidly ambitious yet incomplete aspirations, I’m instead only going to share stuff I’ve actually done. And I’m hoping that that will give me the motivation to convert those dreams on the private impossible list into realities so I can write it on this public one.
I’m aware that justification might not sound particularly convincing, but hey it works for me, and that’s all that really matters.
There is one last thing I should mention, before I go on to list my achievements that you undoubtedly couldn’t care less about.
Don’t compare me to you. I might have achieved all this stuff, but trust me, there are many (many) areas in life where I am severely lacking. A lot of the time, the only reason we feel as if we need to achieve more is because we’re comparing ourselves to others and their achievements. But no matter how good you are at something, there’ll (almost) always be someone better, someone who makes you feel inadequate. So don’t set goals just so others perceive you in a certain light.
A way to counter this problem is by asking yourself (before setting a goal): “If I were not allowed to talk to anyone ever about this goal after I achieved it, would I still be doing it?” If the answer is yes, then great. But if not, it means the goal is motivated by perception of others.
This sounds super clichéd but remember this is your life, no one else’s and your goals and dreams should reflect that.
Ok, anyway, enough of the random chat, and onto the bragging achievements.
Creativity and art
Wrote a fiction novel (at the time of writing I’m currently searching for the right literary agent to represent me, so if you’re an agent reading this or are someone who knows a family member or friend who might be interested, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch!)
Wrote a free non-fiction e-book
Passed all eight grades on the guitar (UK music system)
Fitness + sport
Walked 50,000 steps in a day
Walked 100,000 steps in a day
Climbed tallest mountain in England
Climbed tallest mountain in Wales
Climbed tallest mountain in Scotland
Hiked to 4000m altitude
Played for a football club for five years
Played for a cricket club for three years
Got to a competitive level at badminton
Got to a competitive level at table tennis
Completed 50 consecutive press-ups
Completed 10 consecutive pull-ups
Academia + studying
Achieved 12 A*s in GCSEs (UK education system)
Achieved 3A*s + 1A in A-levels (UK education system)
Got a first-class degree in maths and philosophy from a top UK university (University of Warwick)
Designed and created my own website (a big thank you to Thomas Frank whose guide was a huge help when I was starting off!)
Skill goals
Ranked 1st in the world in a game with more than 10 million downloads (ended up doing this on a Bloons TD Battles weekly leaderboard [And yes I know I’m a huge nerd!])
Learnt to square every number between 1-100 within 10 seconds (this took longer than you might think!)
Learnt to understand French to a decent level (this is not something I can tick off, it’s an ongoing process)
Giving back
Volunteered at a special needs school in India (for 3 weeks)
Tutored children (I worked for a tutoring agency for 6 months teaching Maths and English [including creative writing] with class sizes ranging from 1-8)
Volunteered for a helpline/listening service designed to help people with their mental health in the UK (for 2 years)
Cold exposure + travelling
I’ve included things in this section that I haven’t done yet, mainly because travelling to me at least doesn’t really constitute as a ‘goal’ or target; I don’t really have to put any work in for them to be achieved.
Go cold water swimming abroad
One month of consistent showers on coldest setting (done!)
Silent retreat in a place where there is access to cold water
Silent retreat in a warmer place (maybe forest?)
Go to all 7 continents
Climb a mountain (1000m altitude +) in every continent
To end…
I feel like it’s important for me to mention that failing to achieve a goal you’ve devised on your own personal list is obviously totally normal and doesn’t make you any ‘worse’ a person. You’ve probably heard this a million times but who you are right now, in this moment…you’re enough.
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to improve yourself. Of course try. But at the end of the day, all that really matters is just that: that you’re trying.
Sometimes sitting down and reading your accomplishments can give you that reminder of all you’ve done and of all the reasons you should be proud of yourself. Sometimes you just to need to stop and pause and think about how far you’ve come.
If you somehow found this inspirational and end up writing your own life list, I’d honestly love to read it – be sure to let me know!