Find Self-awareness by Making a Like/Dislike List

Summary: Making a like/dislike list helps us find clarity and become more self-aware. It is great for anyone trying to move forward in a positive direction, set goals or figure out what to focus on next. It doesn’t take long and you may experience a lot of positive benefits – so just do it.

How-to

Make three columns: on a piece of paper, on your phone, on a word doc, on the back of a receipt or napkin – wherever.
Label the columns ‘Like’, ‘Dislike’ and ‘Meh’ —or whatever terminology resonates with you (just make sure to capture the overall idea). This can be for your life overall or for a particular part of your life in which you feel you need clarity.
Fill-in the columns accordingly. Remember that: 1) not all columns need to have the same amount of items (but try to have at least 5 items per column); 2) the more items per column the better this will work; and 3) no one will see this (unless you want them to) so feel free to list away.
Take a step back. Maybe go for a walk or take a few deep breaths. Then, look at what you wrote and see if there are any patterns. Is there something in your ‘dislike’ column that you cannot change so the right course of action is acceptance? Is there something in your ‘like’ column that you can do more of, like going for more walks?
Reflect on your list, try to incorporate more of what you like into your life, ditch things you are meh about and see if you can change, ditch or need to work on accepting things that you don’t like.

Featured image photo by Matthes Trettin