I’ve stood up in here and proclaimed my love of lists, and the healthy joy of being slightly control-freaky. But it’s all going wrong. We’ve gone all judgemental.
It’s a fact that keeping a food diary (a hastily-jotted list) can help you lose weight. But there’s a better reason for anyone to do it. If you want to really enjoy your food, a food diary points to where your palate might be getting tired. List what you eat, scan back over a week’s worth, decide if you’re happy with that pattern, and plan accordingly. If you’re happy but a little bored with your diet, factor in some new cuisine.
I’m suggesting list-making for self-awareness, not self-improvement – because lists are nasty like that. Lists can suggest we’re incomplete. They can be a way of getting us to do too much, heightening our anxiety and frustration. They can give a false sense of achievement when we ‘tick off’ something by merely skimming its surface because we’re in too much of a hurry. “Achievement” lists are everywhere, from irritating Facebook applications to sites such as Meosphere. Lists pretend to offer nothing but options, but slyly suggest we’re kinda broke until we complete them.
In fact, life isn’t a fully-ticked list – it’s the pen.
So instead, let’s continue making lists, for ourselves and for others – but keep them neutral. Drain their poison. Cork their sting. We have the right to constructively light a little fire under ourselves now and again, and maybe a list is a tool to employ – but generally, that’s not what they’re for.
Image: sunshinecity