STEP 1.

Here’s the first thing you need to do:

Choose a time of day, to suit you, when you can devote 15 minutes to writing down a list (of no more than 5 entries) of those parts of your life

that you’re not entirely content with. This list is really important so carefully consider your life and identify those areas that stop you from

being fully happy.

Some guides to writing the list are here:

                           - Make sure that the entries are within your scope to do something about (e.g. writing “I’m unhappy that we don’t

                              have World Peace” is not directly achievable, but you could write “I’m unhappy that I’m not doing more to help

                              achieve World Peace” - if that’s where your problem lies).

                           - Do not write solutions (e.g. “I want a different job” is a solution. The problem is more like “I am not happy with

                             my job” . There may be more than one solution to that issue, so don’t discount the other possibilities by writing

                             one solution down on your list.)

                           - Do not write about problems you think you can foresee in the future. This list is about what stops you from being

                             happy now. (e.g. “I’m unhappy that my grown-up children might want to emigrate in 5 years time” should not be a

                             current issue, unless , of course, they have already told you that they’re going to emigrate then. In this case it could

                             be added to the list, but as “I’m unhappy that my grown-up children are emigrating in 5 years time”)

                          - Don’t make them complicated - they are for you alone to  understand.

You should now have a list of no more that 5 entries of the five things that are stopping you being happy at the moment.

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STEP 2.

Now, and this is not always easy, prioritise the entries on your list. The entry that is making you the most unhappy should be at the

top. Again, consider the prioritisation carefully. You may find it painful to acknowledge that some things are making you unhappy

(particularly relationship issues), and sometimes writing it down is extremely difficult. But you must be honest with yourself and

write these things down and prioritise them.

You now have a prioritised list.

Now, forget about the list for two weeks or so. This may seem like madness after you’ve forced yourself to consider and write down

those things that are stopping you from being happy, but there is sense in this. If you have written your list after a fretful day at work

or after a family argument, then what you have written on your list may be skewed by how you felt at the time

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STEP 3.

At least 2 weeks after you wrote your prioritised list, choose a different time of day (from when you wrote your first list) and, without

looking at your first list, go through STEP 1 and STEP 2 again. You will end up with a second prioritised list of those things that are

stopping you being happy.

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STEP 4.

Compare the two prioritised lists. The lists may be identical or they may have the same entries but in a different order or they may have

some different entries. Merge the two lists and re-prioritise the entries. Hopefully there will still be no more than 6 or 7 entries in total.

Check and re-check that this list really reflects how you feel about your life. Amend the list if necessary - you need to be certain that

you have put down truly how you see your life. This list is a key document for you.

You have "Made A Decision" about what’s important for you to address and in what order.

This is your Life List and is the output from PART 1. Congratulations - I know that won't have been easy!