(–and how much money do you need to get there!)
I saw a bit of the Banff Mountain Film Festival recently and I love it because it’s stuffed with films both short and long with only one tie—they have to have something, however tenuous, to do with mountains.  Banff is evidently a Shangri-la in Alberta, Canada, with gorgeous mountain vistas, clean air and happy, outdoorsy people.

I love going to these film festivals, not only because I love to wear wicking/stretchy clothing as much as I can get away with, but because it’s a life goal check-up.   These women and men take on these seemingly wacko goals, like rowing across the Atlantic, and most times they begin as normal people for whom walking to the foodstore is their only exercise.  They’re beaten down, courageous and then–in the miracle of a 20 minute film—victorious.  They help charities along the way and set new goals and go out and achieve them too, with the glow of “I’m doing what I want to do” fueling them.

Most times, we live very head’s down, with our eyes on the next meeting, the next day’s pair of clean pants, getting through the next day in the week.  These kinds of films encourage us to pop out of our own rut and check in—are we still happy?  Is there anything else we could be doing to make happy/contentment more present?  What financially do I have to do to get there?  Work in a different field altogether, work now to finance my next trip, or volunteer with a group that will bring me closer to what I love-while I pay the bills?

One of my favorite films from this year’s world tour of the Festival—was about a British woman, Roz Savage, who had a home, was married and a great job who chucked it all to row a boat across the Atlantic, alone.  Roz did this cool thing to get her on track.  She wrote two obituaries, one that would result of the life she was living, and one fantasy one that would be the result of the life she wanted.  It drove her to financially divest what she didn’t want and to support the adventure she did want.

Spring is a great time to check in and make sure our life and financial goals really reach to the heart of who we are and who we want to be.