Back in 2013, I challenged myself to do one post a week from the book “642 Things to Write About.” 2013 was a crazy tumultuous year for me, but I loved doing it. I’ve been going through some of my posts from that year and man, that writing challenge was a huge anchor in a terrible storm. So here I am, a decade later, two full weeks into a new year, and I’ve decided to give it another go.
I’m going to go easy on myself for my inaugural post and begin with a question from a book that my dear friend Shandy Pants gave me a few years ago, called “Listography: Your Life in Lists,” created by Lisa Nola. Here we go, week 1! Hopefully, I can keep it up for the entire year, but I’ll give myself some grace if I miss a week here and there. Moving forward, I am aiming for making it a part of my Sunday routine. Okay, let’s go!
List the Things You’d Like to Change About Yourself
- Productivity. I feel like since 2020, my productivity levels ebb and flow. I would like to get my productivity levels up and really reunite with my creative side. Nowadays, I always feel like there’s constant noise in my brain, and even though I generally know the best order to focus on everything, there are more days than not in which I feel like I can’t get started.
- Creativity. If I didn’t have The Broadcast every week, I think my creativity gene would be almost completely dormant. I used to enjoy blogging several times a week, scrapbooking, reading, creating stories, sewing, knitting, etc., and just always had ideas burning to get out. I want to get back in touch with them and let them out. I think this is why I like hiding geocaches so much; it gives me the opportunity to be creative, or at the very least, release some creative energy into the world as something that people may get enjoyment out of.
- Vices. I have my vices and pledge to actively address them and work on fixing them to become a better person.
- Self-Awareness. This is probably the most ironic, self-aware thing I will ever type on this blog: I had no idea about my lack of self-awareness until I became self-aware. And honestly, for a lot of us (I hope lol), self-awareness comes with age and maturity. Thinking back on all of the many cringy things I’ve done throughout the years makes me anxious! I’m sure this includes some of the posts on the original 642 Things challenge. I still had so much to learn and so much growing to do, ugh. So I would like to actively try to continue being a decent human that learns and grows from past situations and mistakes.
- Reclaiming Me. I’m an extrovert, a people person, but I’ve found that since the pandemic started, I’ve become more introverted, more socially awkward, more reserved, and less assertive. I told Jay a few months ago that I don’t recognize myself anymore because while my core personality is still in there, my outward persona has changed so drastically. If I’m being honest, I probably became more self-conscious after Zach and Alex were born and it stemmed from not wanting to stand out in a crowd of moms and embarrass them/myself. The 2020 shutdowns really just exacerbated everything and made me want to lay low to try and turn off all of the noise. But if I’m stifling who I am, that’s a disservice to both them and to myself. Trying to turn off the noise has just made it louder and the cycle continues. I want to get myself back.
Okay, one post down. I haven’t done an honest vulnerable post in a very long time, so I’m sure I’ll be freaking out once I hit publish on this one, haha. Have a great day/night/week/weekend!
