There are a bunch of “To Do This Summer” lists that always pop up around this time of year. And those lists are great. Can be great. But often, when I get done with the summer, that’s not what I notice. I notice the dumb stuff I did instead of everything on those lists.
I think that calling those things out can be one of the most beneficial parts of avoiding that situation. So, here are all the things I don’t want to do this summer:

Lounge Around
Relaxing and recharging are very important. Necessary. Lounging around is not. The latter takes the former to an unnecessary level, and can be detrimental to what needs to be accomplished. So, I do not want to waste the summer lounging around. I always feel better after doing something than I would lounging around. Lying around is, of course, easier. But there is no sense of accomplishment in it like there is when I go out and do something.

Choose Not to Experience Something
This one is related to the first. In summers past, there have been times I have been offered something to do, and have chosen not to do it. Because it sounded hard. Because I would have to get up from the couch. Get out of bed. Give up my time, as if I had anything better to do. This summer, I do not want to let laziness keep me from experiencing something awesome.

Ignore my Goals
I begin every summer with goals I want to accomplish. And, come end of the summer, those goals are often untouched. I have done nothing to even start them. I’ve just left them sitting there on the Post It note I wrote them all on. As if writing them down makes them happen. This summer, I don’t want to ignore my goals. I want to work towards them and accomplish them. I want to see my goals become actions.

I don’t want to let the summer pass without accomplishing my summer goals.

Settle for Something
Ever hung out with a friend from high school that you never really enjoyed? He or she was there, though, so you put up with a mediocre night. Don’t do that again. If you know you won’t get anything out of what you’re going to do, don’t settle for it. Just stay in and work on your goals. Read. Catch up on sleep. Do something you really want to do. Don’t settle for something you don’t.

Repeat the Same Mistakes
There are times that doing something a second time will produce different results. Stupid mistakes are not those times. If you made a mistake in the past, just don’t do it again. Learn from the past and do better this time. Don’t test every dumb thing you’ve done before and see what happens this time. You already know. That’s why you call it a mistake.

There are plenty of people telling you what to do this summer. I challenge you, though, to think about what not to do. Do work towards what you want. But make sure you are working away from what you want to avoid. You can only do this if you know those things are. So figure out for yourself, what do you want not to do this summer?