Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Task 3 - List of Love

This is the final task for the first lesson. After this step, you're ready for the test...

You've made a list of what you like, what you are good at and now - make a list of what/who you love. This is different from the like scenario. This is the stuff that strikes a deep nerve if things go wrong or makes your heart overflow with gratitude when things go well. For example, I love my husband, I love my kids, I love my dog, my cat, my family, a cushion of cash in the bank... You get the idea. The feeling of love triumphs over the feeling of like. It's the do or die stuff. I like well mannered people, but my world won't turn upside down if a person is rude. If something is off with the family though, that gets my attention. See the difference?

There are two more steps to the assignment today. The second, once you have your love list, put all three lists together and look for overlaps, correlations - anywhere there is a conjunction.

The third step is to prioritize the lists and identify the top 5 on each. 

Meditate on them for a while. Keep the lists handy and read them in the morning and/or at night. Revise them if needed.

I found these steps to be invaluable before taking the test. Why? Well, how can one identify your passions if you don't know who you are? It is critical to have a conscious basic knowledge of what makes you tick. By participating in these exercises, you've developed a starting point to articulating, with clarity, what is important to you.

As an aside, three friends called this week to tell me they feel funky, grumpy, vulnerable or just plain off. This too will pass and is actually quite predictable every July. The seasons seem to be about 2 weeks quicker than last year. There is always a contraction before an expansion. Just take it easy, remember to exercise, eat foods from nature and do what feels good. It sounds like a good time for a vacation. Off to Grandma's house tomorrow!