Listmaking as a Way to Sports Discovery

Renown American authors Kim Kardashian-West and Nicole "Snookie" Polizzi confirmed what we already know: anyone can write a book. Perhaps Kardashian's collection of "selfie-photography" contained in "Selfish" should be referred to as something other than a book. I thought books required reading, no? But, a recent find at a thrift store, List Your Self: Listmaking as the Way to Self-Discovery" caught my attention in the same way that Snookie's "Baby Bumps: From Party Girl to Proud Mama and all the Messy Milestones Along the Way" attracted those that love reality TV. 

Perhaps you would rather have blood drawn than own a book about making lists. Perhaps you feel fully human, fully alive ;-) when you create a list and complete it. It seems as though there are no means between the extremes. Folks reside in the pro or con list camp, no? Where are you? 

Let's face it, lists are everywhere. Bucket lists, Top 100 lists, the proverbial To-Do list and more. However, the authors, Ilene Segalove and Paul Bob Velick got me thinking of lists as

something other than what I scratch down on a scrap of paper, or  the offering of multiple apps. That's because Segalove created lists in multiple categories: Yourself, Daily Life, Men and Women, Health, Business, Change, Greater Truths, Growing Up and Suddenly. In the introduction, she made a compelling reason for engaging such lists. She writes. 

For some reason, we love to ignore who or what we really are. But being truly human and liking it requires self-knowledge. It gives our experience resonance. It lends a vibe, an echo, a wholeness, personal investigation and new discoveries. It opens up the cracks and lets loose the bits and piece of ourselves we haven't met....yet. List Your Self unlocks the door to your personal identity.  

Whoa...unlocking my personal identity? Hmm... She continues, 

At first, the idea of jotting down a list seems almost too mundane, just another task to get done. But once you start, you'll suddenly discover an inventory of personal secrets, fears and desires that flow out effortlessly and surprise you. There you are, big as life, in list form. 

Listmaking is journaling at its best. Why? It gives you the chance to complete a task. When you journal, you make entry after entry. There's no closure in sight. But with list making List Your Self has an ending. There are no wrong answers. And every time you finish a list, you finish a huge thought, pull up a memory and diver into or put to rest a major psychological story. 

The archaic root of "list" means "to listen to." To what? Eavsdrop on yourself. All day long, you are busy whispering all kinds o things to yourself. Grab that on-going dialogue and put it in a list. Do some personal eavesdropping. You'll be glad you did.

But there's one category that they forgot. Sports and Spirituality. So...I've created my own. Have fun with these prompts...err lists. No need to cross anything off from them

List Your Self: Sports and Spirituality Style

• List the 10 Athletes you would like to meet the most.
• The sports you wish you could master.
• The sports you learned as a child.
• The athletes or coaches you think have made the greatest impact on the world.
• ....who have had the worst impact.
• List your athletic rituals.
• List any rituals you have as a sports fan (something you always do when watching your favorite team).
• List the sports you play, the athletic venus your visit when you want to get away.
• List the sports stories or moments that make you cry.
• List your athletic talents.
• List your athletic daydreams.
• List all the things you'd like to say to your favorite coach.
• List all the ways you tried to make your teammates happy.
• List the athletic memories you'd like to forget.
• List all the sports you can't live without.
• List the sports movies you've seen that were really worth two hours of your life.
• List all the nice things you've ever seen a professional athlete do for a fan.

Photo Credits
Soccer List
Blackhawks