What is a Discovery List?
I created my first discovery list in 2015 at a time in my life when I was crippled by fear. I never knew how much my life would change as a result. My intention with creating the discovery list was to discover who I was outside of fear by doing all the things I never thought I could do. The Discovery List is all about pushing past your fears to get to your dreams and discovering who you really are along the way! I encourage you to write your own discovery list, and see just how magical you truly are!
- A discovery list is a list filled with things you want to do in your life. It’s your dreams, your goals, and your fantasies.
- This list is broken up into 5 sections to create change in all areas of life; Travel/ Experiences, Aspirations, Learn/ Skills, Self/ Home, Relationships/ Contribution
- It’s a daily guide to who you want to be
My name is Zoe Joy, I would describe myself as a shy girl with a free spirit. There were many things I wanted to do in my life but my fears kept me from doing them! I wished I could just wake up fearless with all the willpower I needed to achieve all the dreams that were in my heart, but life doesn’t work that way. Sometimes to really live the life you want, you have to go on a path to self discovery. That’s what inspired me to write my first discovery list.
For a long time, I let life pass me by, but little by little, I’ve seen my life transform with each little check on the list! To be honest, most of the tasks on my list totally scare me, but when you check one task off the list, it reassures you that you can check off another, and another, until one day you realize, you’re a total badass and always held the key to the life you always wanted. At least, that’s been my experience… So without further ado, here is my discovery list!
My Discovery List
Travel/Experiences
Get My Passport- CHECK!
Travel abroad for the first time- CHECK!
Go back to New York for the first time in 7 years CHECK! Read about it!
Hula Hoop on the Great Wall CHECK!
Get intouch with my Carribean Roots
Ride the Toboggan on the Great Wall of China CHECK!
Samba in Brazil
Visit the redwoods
Hoop in front of the Eiffel Tower
Sing “The Girl from Ipanema” in Ipanema
Walk across abbey road with 3 friends- If you’re a fan of the Beatles, you get it!
Find out what part of Africa my ancestors come from and go there
Visit Columbia
Travel around Australia
Go on a road trip in a VW Bus
Go to China CHECK!
Go to Kenya
Go to New Zealand
Go to the Holi Festival in India
Hike in the Amazon rain forest
Visit the Statue of Liberty CHECK!
Eat a pineapple in Hawaii
Go to another country with no plan
Go on a road trip down the PCH
Explore Big Sur California
Go to the Grand Canyon
Go to Bali
Move to another country for at least 3 months
Eat a pizza in Italy
See Niagara Falls
Visit salvation mountain
Visit San Luis Obispo
Road trip through America
Drink coffee at a cafe in France
Go to South Africa
Travel Greece
Go to the airport and catch a random flight to somewhere I’ve never been
Visit every beach on the California Coast
Go to France
Go to Italy
Got to Brazil
Go to England
Go to Ireland
Go to Iceland
Go to Tijuana for one day
See the northern lights
See the southern lights
Go to Jamaica
Go to San Francisco and wear a flower crown- inspired by the song, “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)”
Visit the Holy Land
Visit a Ghost Town
Go to India
Travel the Philippines
Experience
Touch a dolphin CHECK!
Visit Central Park-CHECK!
Do something new every day for 30 days CHECK!
Release lanterns
Learn how to be a New Yorker- CHECK! Read about it
Visit my childhood home- CHECK!
Go surfing CHECK!
Get my nose pierced CHECK!
Go to a flow arts retreat
Go to Life Is Beautiful
Go to Electric Forest
Hoop with fire
Have a hula hoop performance
Live a day with no clocks
Make everyday epic for 30 days
Try Durian CHECK!
Go to Coachella
Get a Tattoo
Try stinky tofu
Go bungee jumping
Surf along a wave
Have a professional photo shoot – SCARY!
Ride a two seat bike
Take a picture with a kangaroo
Try Jackfruit CHECK!
Climb a mountain
Ride a Jet ski
Dance around a fire at the beach
Write a song
Sing on stage CHECK!
Go horseback riding -CHECK!
Attend my first Opera
Ride in a hot air Balloon
Win some sort of trophy or medal
Go kayaking
Shake hands with a monkey
Run through a flower field
Hug an Elephant
Swim with dolphins
Go cliff diving
Public Speaking- CHECK!
Go snorkeling deep in the ocean
Ride a camel
Slow Dance Outdoors CHECK!
Participate in a triathlon
Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge
Swim in an underwater lake
Ride a large zip line
Go Skydiving
Ride on a motorcycle
Simulate a day in the 60s
See the rockets
Go to the top of the Empire State Building
Hike to the Hollywood sign
Drive an ATV
See a manatee in person
Do a color run
Hold a baby lion
Be apart of a flash mob
Take a picture of a Quokka
Watch baby turtles return to the ocean
Aspirations
Start a blog CHECK
Make a living doing what I love
Write a book- In progress….
Start a fair trade company
Inspire people to live life to the fullest
Meet a blog reader in person CHECK!
Teach a hula hooping class- CHECK!
Get a business mentor
Marry my best friend
Learn/Skills
Learn how to play guitar
Learn how to surf (well)- CHECK! (Read about it)
Have an entire conversation in another language
Learn how to do a split
Learn how to Hold a handstand
Learn watercolor painting
Read Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Read a Book in 1 Day
Learn how to whistle with my fingers
Take a gymnastics class
Learn how to play the ukulele
Become Fluent in a language
Learn how to Speak Spanish
Learn how to speak Portuguese
Learn how to speak French
Learn How to Speak Swahili
Do a language learning intensive
Self/Home
Establish a morning routine- CHECK!
Go vegetarian- CHECK!
Get dreadlocks- CHECK!
Write a letter to my future self – CHECK!
Learn about my ancestry
No tv for a month – CHECK!
Get my license
Drive to the beach
Grow my hair to waist length
Live by the beach
Get a pet pig
Get a horse and name her feather
Move out of home
Furnish my first place
Decorate my office
Buy decor from 10,000 villages
Get my first car
Get a record player- CHECK!
Get Ella Fitzgerald’s songbook on vinyl
Get a salt lamp
Get a giant amethyst crystal
Get a dslr camera
Get a Mack book pro
Get an LED Hula Hoop CHECK!
Get a smart LED hula hoop
Relationships/Contribution
Go on a spontaneous adventure with my best friends
Meet the love of my life in a spontaneously romantic way
Go to Barbados and finally meet my family there
Fall in love- CHECK!
Get a mentor
Adopt a dog -CHECK!
Stand on the street holding a free hug sign
Get a picture of a smile in every continent
Be a part of a protest CHECK! Read About it HERE!
Give a homeless person an obscene amount of money
Sponsor a child
Sponsor an elephant
Foster a child
Plant a tree
Feed the hungry on Skid Row – CHECK!
Walk around and compliment strangers
Volunteer abroad CHECK!
If life had no limits…
Here’s a little bonus, I love taking the time to ponder, if life had no limits, what would I do?…
Meet Oprah
Be on the cover of a magazine- (hey why not!)
Be interviewed on tv
Own a brickstone in NY
Film a documentary – This is one of those fantasy, out of this world, totally scary tasks but hey, why not.
Start a farm
Sit on a beach and not be able to remember the bad things that have happened in my life, only the good!- Inspired by Jhene Aiko’s song “Eternal Sunshine”.
Do a Ted Talk (SCARY)
Y eso es total! Continue with me on this blog as I check off these tasks one by one, and share my experiences. I dare you, write your discovery list and start checking those daunting tasks off the list!