Who do I want to be in 1000 days?

In my first post I explained why I'm doing these 1000 days, and after that, where I currently stand. But there's one question I've only touched on so far, even though it's actually the most important one of all: Who do I want to be at the end? Not what do I want to do – but what kind of person do I want to be when I wake up on May 18, 2029 and turn 30?

30 is not the final boss

Just to be clear right away: turning 30 is nothing bad for me. I'm not running away from a number. I'm doing these 1000 days to give myself a goal to aim for, a point in the future that I'm consciously moving towards. By then, I want to have experienced a few things. Not because supposedly nothing works after that, but because "someday" has too often meant "never" for me. The 1000 days give that someday a date and a certain amount of pressure.

The bucket list: everything, not most of it

I've already shared my bucket list here on the blog. And my ambition is clear: I want to check it off. Not half of it, not the easy items first while postponing the rest – everything. That sounds ambitious, and that's exactly how it's meant. If the 1000 days are an experiment in what's actually achievable, then the list can't end with open items where I have to explain to myself why it just didn't work out. I want to check it all off, but even if I can't tick something, it's not the end of the world – I can still catch up on it after the 1000 days.

My body: the long game

I want to reach my dream body – or simply feel really comfortable in my own skin, and that doesn't happen out of nowhere. The start is made; I've been at it since June – running, gym, tennis, bouldering. But between "started" and "arrived" there aren't eight weeks of transformation for me, but two and a half years of staying at it. That's exactly the point: for me, the dream body isn't a before-and-after photo, it's proof that I can maintain consistency over years and beyond. What it looks like in concrete terms and how I'll measure that I've arrived is something I'll still write down – also so I can't talk my way out of it later.

Finances: saved, not hoped

In 1000 days I want to have saved a lot of money. Not through luck or quick wins, but through what I already wrote about in my status quo post: thinking long-term, staying consistent, sorting out the things you should have sorted out by your late twenties. The person I want to become no longer keeps pushing finances aside – he has a system that runs.

Finding my way to myself

The hardest part, because it's the least measurable: in these 1000 days I want to find my way to myself. Build habits that hold, even when the day-one motivation is long gone. Figure out what a good life actually means for me – and then live it that way, instead of postponing it. I believe this doesn't happen through thinking alone, but through the 1000 days themselves: through doing, failing, and carrying on.

The documentary: shaping myself, in public

And that's exactly why this blog is more than a diary. The 1000 days are meant to become a documentary – an attempt to publicly record what's really achievable in 1000 days and how much you can shape yourself if you stay at it. Maybe in two and a half years someone who's facing a milestone birthday themselves will read this and think: Okay, so that much is possible. That would be enough for me.