Working off lists is a very effective motivational tool assuming of course that you have the wherewithal to compile a list to begin with. For those who manage to overcome this troublesomely paradoxical procrastination, the successful execution of the listed items releases endorphins, nature's little crystal meth mules, which then gives you that added little boost to complete the rest of the list.
What do you do when there aren't any more items on the list? The completion of a list is a very bittersweet moment. On the one hand you have conquered all that lay before you, on the other hand there is very little to look forward to other than an inexorable march towards dementia, disability and oblivion. Or, yes thank heaven there is an 'or'. Or you compile another list that hopefully doesn't involve the trifecta of doom.
For the well organized there are lists ranging from 10 years to 10 minutes. Master lists, sub lists, side lists, list lists, etc. The overwhelming majority of master lists contain the following; make a lot of money, see the world, meet someone way out of my league and bang them consistently. The sub lists will include; learn how to cook, learn a foreign language, be more spontaneous. The side lists invariably contain; random adventurous act i.e. skydiving, bungee jumping, white water rafting, stop procrastinating, eat better, exercise, read more. Aren't we all just marvelously unique beings of endless light?
Everybody pretty much wants the same thing and it is getting insufferably boring and causing low grade, or rather borderline clinical depression. My cynicism is running rampant and I need to find a way to head it off before it renders me completely incapable of enjoying life. I feel like a bad afterschool christmas special waiting to happen.
Movie trailer narrator guy: IN A WORLD FILLED WITH NOISE (queue montage of people texting, updating facebook, twiiter, snapping pictures in restaurants) ONE MAN DID EVERYTHING HE COULD TO SHUT IT OUT (crotchety old me holed up in an apartment watching a muted TV with earplugs in) UNTIL SHE SHOWED HIM HOW TO HEAR THE MUSIC AGAIN (random twangy Taylor Swift song set to falling leaves on a country road, horseback riding, cake baking, and the Rockefeller center ice rink in December) COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU THIS CHRISTMAS: LISTEN
For better or worse life usually doesn't turn out like a lighthearted winter romantic comedy. That was a strange tangent. Back to the topic at hand.
Lists
Build a lucrative career with plenty of free time: check
Start a business that actually makes money: check
See heartrendingly beautiful sunsets from white sandy beaches: check
Take in the panoramic skylines of some of the world's greatest cities from obscenely decadent surroundings: check
Share this joy with others: check
Take the time to enjoy the little things; breathing, walking, looking at the sky, being with friends, just being: check
Face inner demons and emerge stronger: check
Learn how to smile in the face of adversity: check
Learn how to not care what other people think: check
Learn how to not be ashamed of what you can and cannot do: check
Learn how to go out or stay in at my leisure: check
How to be generous and when to be stingy: check.
That covers most of the big ones. There is an extremely longer list of things that I have yet to check. The problem is none of them seem worth doing at the moment. In fact I am too lazy to even compile it. Conventional wisdom contends that we should not rest on our laurels. Well what are those gosh darned laurels good for then? Perhaps it is sensory overload, but there isn't really anything that I want to do at the moment. In fact I think I may be burnt out from list completion. Perhaps I just need to wind everything down for a bit and allow a new list to compile. Maybe I'll tackle some of the all time favorite cliches of the limousine liberals and look for some volunteer work. Unlikely, but stranger things have happened.
What's on your list?
