There comes the point in our lives that we encounter this stumbling block that leaves us wondering if we can ever continue to do the things that we are presently doing. In short, we just lost the inspiration to perform our obligations. You probably know what I mean – too tired to go to school, or not enthusiastic to go to work, feeling weary about household chores, or don’t like to speak with friends. Psychologists say this is preferably a typical situation, especially if we are always overwhelmed with different tasks and responsibilities. Nonetheless, this is not something that you can just allow things to happen and pass by. You need to take control of the situation and be more pro-active in helping yourself getting your mojo back, so to speak.
source: generationcedar.com
Recently, I discovered the positive effects of listing things. Psychologist and author Dr. David Cohen says, “My family think I’m chaotic, but I would be much more so without my lists – they’ve kept me in line for years.” If you are not a fan of journal writing which entails elaborate discussion of your day or event in your life, listing things in your life can be your best friend and a start to unburden yourself if you happen to face this wall of uncertainty.
Get A Good Notebook
Select a notebook according to your personality, and that will inspire you to scan it and write down things freely. This is a must. In doing this activity, writing down in a tissue paper or a scrap paper is not recommendable. This is not a grocery list that you can just throw out right away after finishing the task. The other purpose of listing is to give you some time for reflection. You can read through it again after several months and reflect on the things that you have written. According to licensed psychologist Barbara Markway PhD, “There’s simply no better way to learn about your thought processes than to write them down.”
Topics To List
There are numerous topics that you can list down. Pinterest is an excellent resource for these things. For starters, I am sharing my list of topics:
- Favorite Things. This category can cover foods, restaurants, TV shows, movies, books, places visited, and quotes. Just a few weeks ago, I started to add my favorite podcasts and TED episodes.
- Dreams and Aspirations. Write down your mission-vision in life. This will be your guiding principle and a constant reminder of why you are striving hard to achieve. You can also list down the places that you would like to visit someday, the adventures that you would want to be a part of, and even the things that you would like to obtain for yourself or your family. Basically, this is your wish list or bucket list.
- Accomplishments. I consider this list as my personal favorite. This is the evidence list of my worthiness. It shows that I have been doing good and can do more if I have to be diligent and passionate about my work and life. This list contains the things that showed your great potentials such as acing an examination, passing that driving test, baking a cake for the first time, or getting promoted. You can also include here the dreams that became a reality. Don’t stress too much if you haven’t done something to add to this list for some time. Go back to your list of dreams and aspirations to give you a boost on how to start again.
- Self-Concept. With this list, it can help you understand yourself. Rediscovering yourself can be surprising. Each of us possesses unique personality trait that makes us who we are. Nonetheless, we also learn to imbibe new features and characteristics as we grow older and experience varied life situations. We are constantly evolving. List down your best qualities or positive adjective to describe you, what you like most about yourself, things that make you happy or sad, your values in life, and things that you firmly believe in.
source: freeimages.com
Read, Review, and Reflect
Now that you have written all of these things take some time to read through them and reflect. Personally, the effects of writing down these topics relax my mind and bring clarity to my future perspectives. I also experienced some frustration on specific situations like a goal or dream that is taking some time to finish. Now, this can be another source of your stumbling block moment, but I chose not to dwell on this long enough. According to Courtney E. Ackerman, MSc, “Simply putting words on a page will probably not get you all the benefits of journaling, but effective journaling can result in many positive outcomes and improvements to your quality of life.”
Hope you enjoyed reading this article and maybe you can share with us your list.