Write it Down!

I remember the lists - grocery lists, things-to-do lists, Christmas card lists, birthday lists, lists of goals, and lists of dreams. Lists were a constant in my growing up years. My mother was a lister. I think, for her, putting things down on the page made her busy life easier to organize. I think she also liked the satisfaction of checking items off the list once she accomplished them. Growing up watching my mother write her lists and check off accomplishments, I learned to be a lister, too.

There are, of course, the usual lists like those mentioned above, but I have learned new ways of listing through my study of writing. Listing can be a wonderful journaling tool to get down thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, dreams, fears, and so much more. Lists can also provide you with topics to write about, ideas for an upcoming project, inspirations for a creative activity, or evidence of the mind at work. But what I find the most powerful about listing is the practice: "Write it Down, Make it Happen" (the phrase borrowed from the book by the same name by Henriette Anne Klauser).

Writing something down - whether it be a grocery list or a list of life dreams - is a conscious act, and the first step in accomplishing the task. Sure, shopping for groceries is much easier than getting a master's degree, for example, but they are both items on a things-to-do list, tasks to be completed in life. Writing it down is the first step toward making it happen. Just that one simple act of putting the pen to the page and stating the goal - read 3 novels this month, take the car in for an oil change, join a health club, go back to school, climb Mount Everest - is enough to kick-start the action response.

What you are doing when you write down your dreams, goals, and desires, is putting out in the "universe" a positive statement about what you want. This one statement, phrased with decisiveness and clarity, can open opportunities you might never have imagined. Think about how you write in your journal (or wherever you write) - is it all negativity, sorrow, and complaining? If so, how does that make you feel when you write? I would guess that you feel full of negativity, sorrow, and complaints. But if you write honest, clear, positive statements, that lean toward hopefulness and motivation, I would guess that your feelings reflect this way of writing. And when we feel honest, clear, positive, hopeful, and motivated, we are more likely to take action on the things we want and put ourselves "out there" to receive these things.

I have used this practice of writing it down and making in happen in small and large ways. Of course there are the typical lists of things to do on a daily basis, but there is so much more. I use lists for writing topics, things I remember, things I love, places I've been, things I want, places I want to go, goals I hope to achieve, reasons to do (or not do) something, things to say, pros and cons, ways to give, lessons to learn (or lessons learned), opportunities to pursue, fears to overcome.....and the list goes on. (See, I'm always listing!)

Think about it...what do you want? What do you want to achieve? What steps do you have to take to get there? Have you thought of something yet? Well, go ahead, write it down. And then, make it happen!