Make a To Be List

Doug Manning at Proactive Living had an idea that caught my eye and tickled my fancy - the "To Be List."

I wondered if anyone ever created a ‘To Be List’, one that details all the characteristics they intended to express during their weekly work and/or life activities...At the end of the week, the person would look back and see how much of their ‘To Be List’ had actually happened. The unique difference for the 'To Be List' is the focus is not on planned activities set in time and space. Rather, the person is focused on being, discovering and/or developing who they are.

A big part of pursuing one's passion is simply making decisions based on who we really are. Ask yourself this. Who are you? Who do you want to be? How do you want to be?

We get so caught up in what we want to do that we often lose sight of that. A To Be List seems like a great way to keep the answers to those questions in our sights.

Curt Rosengren
Passion Catalyst ^SM

Comments

[Martin Spernau]

This alos resonates with the 'process goal' (vs, 'product goal') theme...

[Avi Solomon]

Dear Curt,
Great Post!
When one gets caught up in the nitty gritty of living daily life, it is very easy to lose touch with the things that really matter-love,meaning, health.
One endlessly justifies postponing that dinner with your significant other, that visit to your grandparent, that reading from a book,that yoga appointment with yourself-all sacrificed at the altar of a 'busyness' that is empty.
Life is very simple, only a few things really matter-the hard part is keeping them in daily focus.
Made a 'Lifemap' -a mindmap of my 'To Be' List which helps me keep track of the real purpose of my being-I always carry a copy with me to pull out and meditate on especially in hectic intervals.
I make sure that I 'be' atleast one branch of my Lifemap atleast once a week-this starts up a virtuous cycle of increasing happiness-much better than ticking off that 'Buy Water from Supermarket' item on my to do list:)
Also found that the Lifemap also provides clarity in making Life/Career choices(e.g:refused an tempting offer of employment as a manager as value learning to be a gardener more)
See:
http://flickr.com/photo.gne?id=101207
P.S. The 'Happiness Islands' exercise from Richard Koch's '80/20 Principle' was especially helpful in this regard!

[Fiwit]

I've actually been doing this for most of my adult life, as part of my year-end holiday routine.

It probably started in college, with my never-ending search for the perfect major, and the self-exploration that went along with that, but it blossomed over the years. Each year, I try to take the time to sit down and take stock of what I've accomplished over the past 12 months, and what type of person I've seen myself being. This same type of introspection/reflection takes place at various times during the year, as well.

Sometimes I'll find myself realizing that I don't like myself, and I'll stop to ponder why. Usually, it's related to some behavior I'm indulging in (critcal carping is the biggest one, generally) that doesn't fit with my perception of who I am and the kind of person I want to be. So then I think back to when I first noticed myself becoming so critical, and I look for what started that trend. Sometimes it's stress, hunger, or some other factor, but many many times it's because I'm NOT where my passion is (I'm so glad to have a term for that, now), and that lack feeds an underlying unahppiness that manifests itself in excessive criticality, and critical carping. Once I've recognized the source, I can work to change the circumstances, or at least to change my attitude, *until* I can change the circumstances.

Just found your blog today, but I'll probably be blogrolling you. I like how you think, and how you express what you're thinking. You make sense to me :)