The Creation of Lists

Lists: A beginning to a life of organization and goal achievement.

I am a lists person myself and I make lists for everything. There have been many a time where I sit at work and just list off things that I could possibly make LISTS ABOUT! I am a true devotee. In the past, I have made lists about children names, books I want to read, places I want to go, careers I want to pursue, things I need to buy, a basic to-do list, a half finished bucket list, and on and on and on.

My father, B. Ramble (as I like to call him), was the individual in my life that really stressed the importance of making a good, full capped list. My dad would make lists on the white board that we have hanging in our kitchen about everything! (True fact: My family has a white board in our kitchen... not only is my dad a rambler like I am, but also a bit of a nerd! Surprise!) If we were heading out on a weekend excursion to the lake with the family, a list was needed to know: 1) what to pack. 2) what needs doing before we leave. 3) what we will do when we get there. 4) who is to complete what task by what time. etc. Organization was (and is) a very important thing in my father's life. However, the thing about my father is that I like to think of him as a Type B personality (and no, that doesn't refer to the fact that he is B. Ramble). A Type B personality (so named so by my dear mother and I), is a person who has it all figured out. They know how life should be lead and know all the aspects and components that are necessary to leading a successful life. The difference between a Type A personality and a Type B personality is simple: Type A's know all the keys to succession and put them to good use. People like this could be... Bill Gates, Donald Trump, George Clooney, Neil Armstrong, Edmund Hillary, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, etc. Type B's know the skills, try to enforce them on everyone around them but themselves. They tend to be a bit hypocritical and in a constant state of frustration because they know what they need to do to reach their goals, but for some reason, don't follow through full heartedly. Aka. My dad.


I would like to think that I am in the middle of the two personality types. I have learned from dear B. Ramble that if you want something enough, there is a very specific fast track to succession that you must follow.

1) Set up some lists: What do you want to achieve? What is the lists' purpose? Lately, my friends and I have been discussing the topic of goal-setting  and we have come to some very good conclusions. One such conclusion was: Dream Big... but within reason. So, by all means, set up some goals (lists) that you would like to achieve. But don't be unrealistic. You probably won't be the first person to live in a house located on Mars, or be the one to prove that Pluto, in fact, might still be a planet (I think we can safely say, Pluto, you got the boot). And if in the future, you prove me wrong, come and challenge this post. Otherwise, I stand by what I say. Be a realistic list/goal maker.

2) How are you going to get there: You now have a list in front of you. How are you going to complete that list? How are you going to go about getting everything done on that to-do list for today? How are you going to reach that career goal of yours? How are you going to lose those 10 pounds before summer? Write down the steps that you will need to follow and complete in order for you to achieve the end result(s) that you are looking for. Once again, be realistic.

3) Timeline you goals: You have your goals and your path to succession, but now when do you want those goals to become realities? If you don't put an expiry date on something, what really motivates you to go out and do it? An important step that people miss is this exact one. Make sure that you remain a realist when it comes to constructing a timeline for your goals. Assess your desires, analyze your path, and give approximations of how long each step should take you to complete. Be firm and don't give yourself too long of time frames so that there is room for slacking. However, don't go the opposite route and cut your timing too short so that your brain registers more failures than achievements. When this happens, it's more likely that you will give up and your goals will fail to become realities.


4) Go forth and become famous!: Or not. But in your eyes, if you complete what you set out to do, usually you feel like a star. This can relate to anything!! It doesn't have to be something big like being the first female president of the USA. It could be simply cleaning your room before dinner that evening. That feeling of accomplishment is worth the effort it took to get there. So congratulations. You did it!

I strive on that feeling of accomplishing something new and exciting. You feel as if you have grown more as a person just because you were mature enough to say this is what I want, and I am going to get it. The road is never an easy one. And if it was easy, well then you didn't aim high enough. If there was struggle to get to the top, to cross that finish line, to achieve greatness (enter in epic instrumental music here), then chances are you will feel that much better about what you just accomplished.


I know I could easily ramble on for days about all of this, but I will leave some rambles for another day. For the time being, I will depart you all, while leaving a couple of questions, more so food for thought:

- Are you a list maker? What do you make lists about? What steps do you take? How often are you successful in your mind? What steps could you take to be more successful?


Approx. Only 5% of the world's population are "list makers" or "written goals" keepers. Do you think these people are the unsuccessful individuals in society, or the thriving small percentage? Not hard to answer. You decide if you're a Type A Personality, or a frustrated Type B.