I bet you’ve seen storekeepers or retail store owners take stock (checking inventory) from time to time in order to make a note of how much they have in current stock as well as the condition of whatever stock that is still available in the store and record the results in a report.
This is very similar to taking stock of your own life.
Taking stock of your life simply means carefully thinking about every aspect of your life (to establish what’s working and what’s not) in order to decide on a way forward. This exercise should be carried out every 3 or 6 months a year and the perfect time should be at the halfway mark of the year or at the end of the year so that you can begin implementing your way forward in the new year.
Taking stock of your life should help you gain valuable information about whether you are living with purpose by taking an audit of what is really using up your mental energy, and another of what you would like to be preoccupied with.
How can you take stock of your life?
There are several ways you can take stock. Some methods are too detailed and perhaps too intense while some are easy and fun.
Examples are as below.
1. General Life Questions
Below are some questions that could guide you on how to take stock of your life in general…
- Am I where I want to be?
- Am I doing what I want to do?
- Do I feel like I’m on the right path?
- Am I truly happy with where things are at?
- What did I dislike about the last couple of months?
- Is there anything I want to make sure does not repeat itself for the next couple of months?
- What did I love about last year?
- What do I want to make sure I do or have more of?
- What are my strengths and weaknesses?
- Do I need to modify my goals?
- What is the next thing I need to do for each of the goals I have set?
- When will I take action on each of these items?
2.The Good, The Bad and The way Forward
The good
1) List everything you’re thankful for
2) List everything you’ve done that you’re proud of
3) List the ways you take care of yourself
4) List the ways you take care of others—be they plant, animal, or human
5) List the causes you’ve contributed to—whether with money, time or some other way
6) List the contributions you make in your household
7) List the contributions you make in your community
8) List the contributions you make in the world at large
9) List the unexpected gifts you’ve received—whether that’s a tangible present or a lovely coincidence
The bad
1) What’s bugging you?
2) What do you think about when you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep?
3) If you had a realistic magic wand, what would you change?
4) If you had a wand that could make anything disappear, what would you vaporize?
5) What concerns you?
6) What are you afraid of?
7) What are you ashamed of?
8) What downright ticks you off?
9) What one relationship do you most need to heal—or end?
The way forward
1) What needs to change?
2) What can you do to bring about that change?
3) What one thing could you easily start doing that would add up to significant progress over time?
4) What can you forgive someone else for?
5) What can you forgive yourself for?
6) What word or short phrase inspires you to make better decisions?
7) What do you want to commit to doing more of in the year ahead?
8) What do you want to commit to doing less of in the year ahead?
9) What do you want to have changed by the end of the year?
3. Filling in the Blanks with a true statement
In this method, one is required to complete the statement. For example “Making: sure that I hit my 10k steps everyday without fail”. Fill this in every month and at the end of the year you can read all of them to see how yo made use of your year and see what you can do different in the coming year.
- Making:
- Cooking:
- Drinking:
- Reading:
- Wanting:
- Looking:
- Playing:
- Wishing:
- Wasting:
- Enjoying:
- Waiting:
- Liking:
- Wondering:
- Loving:
- Hoping:
- Marveling:
- Needing:
- Smelling:
- Wearing:
- Following:
- Noticing:
- Knowing:
- Thinking:
- Feeling:
- Bookmarking:
- Opening:
- Smiling: