50 lists to make to brighten your spirits
posted by Shes So Random | January 27, 2011
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IcerocketAs a structural thinker, I love to make lists. Getting everything out of my head and down on paper in an orderly fashion puts me at ease. Rather than grocery lists and to-do lists, try some of these. They’re sort of an inventory of your life and all the good things in it. If your brain is more creative, your lists can be graphical or in the form of a mind map – whatever speaks to you. This is a brainstorming activity, so list as many as you can without editing or limiting yourself. There are no wrong answers – this is for you and about you. Enjoy!
List as many as you can:
People who have influenced or inspired you
Things you are grateful for
Places you have been
Places you want to go
Books you’ve read
Your favorite things – what brings you joy?
Good things that happened this week
The best things that happened in the last year
The best days of your life.
The songs for the soundtrack of your life
Acts of kindness you’ve committed
Things you want your children to know about you
Reasons why you love your significant other
The high points for your autobiography
People who love you
The cutest things your kids ever said
Everything you would do if money were no object
Favorite gifts you’ve ever received
Favorite gifts you’ve ever given
Occupations that you have ever wanted to have (including when you were a child)
The best advice you’ve gotten.
The worst advice you’ve gotten.
Things you’re procrastinating
Ways you calm yourself down when you’re angry.
The best ideas you’ve ever had
The best projects or organizations you’ve ever been involved with
The ways you have grown since your early 20’s
The most beautiful things you’ve ever seen
The greatest lessons you have learned
Life’s lessons that you learned the hard way
Things that have mad you laugh until you cried.
Qualities you most admire in others
Qualities others most admire in you
The elements of an ideal year
All the compliments you’ve ever gotten
Foods that you have eaten that are so good that others could hear you enjoying them
The times you have asserted yourself
Things that inspire and energize you
The places where you feel completely comfortable to be yourself
The most important turning points in your life
Times when you looked and felt your absolute best
The things you’re good at
What you would do with the power of invisibility
Things you want to teach your children
Things you still want to do in life
Bits of trivia that most people don’t know about you
The things you love about your body
Accomplishments you are most proud of
The things you love about your home
Who (living or dead) you would invite to your dream dinner party
Comments
Projections
— Jan 29, 2011
I like your lists and I think they would be helpful and fun. I would like to add the idea to split up these list from where you are now on one side and where you want to go on the other side which you've already included some of the these like Places you've been and Places you want to go.
Instead of things I'm procrastinating, you could look at it in the future as a list of things I have accomplished or in the present as things I am accomplishing. Include things that you aspire to be good at on your list of Things I'm good at.
The best ideas you will have.
Where you will be tomorrow
Where we will be tomorrow....and so on.
Create your future
Create our future
Love to All,
Brian
thank you!
— Jan 29, 2011
wow. over the past 6 years i've been a parent, and have been making lists for chores and transportation-- i forgot how much i love and rely on FuN lists! thank you for posting this... right now i'm making a list of all the things that make me happy in the wintertime:
*sunshine
*exercise
*music
*color
*long phone chats with girlfriends
*turning the heat off and opening the windows for an hour on a sunny cold day to air out the house
*baking bread
*essential oil baths
*getting up early when i don't have to
*making lists
:)
What I've learned lists
— Jan 30, 2011
Good ideas! Lists are an amazing way to collect together your experiences and impressions. Try listing all the places you have lived, and notice the avalanche of related memories.
A few years ago, I was sitting in a coffee shop and randomly decided to list the jobs I have had - everything from cutting grass and babysitting to teaching high school. As I started I thought I would have 10 or 12. When I finished that day there were more than 25. I update the list occasionally and am now up to 35 or so.
Soon after that first listing I went back and added a significant thing I learned or experienced with each job. Its a nice way to remind yourself of what you are capable of and have accomplished, and that change and growth are ongoing.
Sometimes I'll list what I learned from various jobs that impact my work now.
Some aspects of the list are funny. One thing I learned from my boss while painting houses was a psychological tactic which helped counteract a homeowner's impression that a job was taking too long. My boss would paint one prominent feature, often the front door, first, to show how nice it looked repainted. But he would leave another prominent feature, the garage door or siding near the front door, to the very end to remind the owner how crummy the house had looked and why they were having it painted in the first place.
