The 52 Lists Project

At the end of last year I ordered a book called The 52 Lists Project by Moorea Seal.  I bought it because I thought it was a plain book that you could write a list of what you wanted to accomplish every week of the year.  I thought that I could write weekly goals and at the year I could see what I accomplished.

The book, from the picture in a magazine, was hardcover and it was pretty.  I thought I could leave it on the coffee table and it wouldn’t be an eyesore.  Plus, it would be in front of me every day and easily accessible.

I am a lists person.  I make a list at work of what I want to get done after work and the next morning.  If I am running errands, I make a list a list of the places I need to go and what I need to do at each place or what I need to buy.  I know without the list I would forget to do/buy something.  I find the older I get the more forgetful I get so the list really helps.

The day the book came in the mail I ran out out to the mailbox and didn’t even wait til I was in the house to open it.  I was so excited to get started making my lists.  I held the book in my hand and I realized what I thought the book was about and what it really was about were two different things.

I stopped dead on the front step and stared at the cover.  It wasn’t a nice hardcover book to keep my lists in.   If it wasn’t a book to keep my lists in, what was it?

It is a lists book, but not to write your to do lists in.  It’s a beautiful book that makes you think of what is important.   For example — one week asks you to list the things that make your spirit feel free.    I wrote down — walks in the woods and on the beach, not being at work,  the weekends I spend at the trailer, our weekend trips to Las Vegas, writing, writing in my journal.  After making my list I realized that I wasn’t getting enough moments that made my spirit feel free and I needed to take steps to change this.

It makes you remember things you forget — successes you have had in your life, good times with family and friends and what makes you you.  It makes you think about your goals, the space you live in,  what direction you want your life to go in, what you enjoy doing and the way you life now.

For 52 weeks you are listing the positive things in your life.

I love the book.  It’s very uplifting and positive.  Plus, there is a Take Action step on bottom of every list page to give you a push to get you going.

I haven’t been very good at doing it every week.  I don’t know why.  It only takes fifteen or twenty minutes to do.  Maybe I’m not ready to look at that part of my life.  I don’t know.

I think in our fifties we need to start getting clear on who we are, what makes us tick and what we are put on this earth to do.  Our fifties are about taking the time to do what we love (if you’re not doing that already) instead of only making dollars.   It’s about getting rid of all of the stuff we hide behind and become our true selves.

It’s hard work, but definitely worth the effort.

I’m glad I bought the book.  I am a better person because of it.

Thanks Moorea for your beautiful book and for being you!!