Lists

It’s good to have passions in life.

I tend to like things. Like, REALLY like things. They tend to get under my skin.

But I think the secret to a healthy passionate mind is to make lists. Umberto Eco – a formidable mind – says, “The list is the origin of culture.” You can ask him what he means by that, but I think lists are very easy narratives that – counter-intuitively- help you break-free of structure.

My life is already pretty regimented – Over my 7 day cycle – I sleep, eat, drink, ride, work, feed the cat, etc pretty much the same, over and over.

And you’d think lists make things more ordered – but they don’t. If it weren’t for lists you just do stuff automatically. You’d do stuff intuitively. You’d just “survive” and cruise through life.

But a list can remind you that you need to evolve. A list can help you document your aspirations, even if that’s just a list of stuff you want to buy.

Crucially – lists don’t need to be about stuff to do – but can be lists of what you like, what you hate, what you smelled that day. A food diary. A journal is just a list – let’s face it!

But if it is just a chore list – then you are back to square one – or worse if you don’t fulfil your list. Make your lists aspirational. Make them about what you want to achieve, not what other people think is “aspirational”. Make them realistic, but just a tiny bit out of your comfort-zone.

And make them often – and looking back on them you will be surprised how much you have changed.