On Dreamshaping: Today I (Insert Behavior Here)
Mark McNease
One of the tools I’ve used in shaping my own dreams is the ‘TODAY I’ list. It’s very simple: a regular, running list of things I’ve either stopped doing or begun to do. While putting things in the positive (‘Today I started ….’) is important, it’s also fine to say I stopped doing things that have been corrosive to my heath, mind, spirit, and dream.
It helps me stay observant of myself. I’ll notice myself engaging in some behavior, such as talking badly about someone at work, or gossiping, or being gratuitously negative, and I’ll add stopping it to my list. There’s a beginning to it the first time I write something down, but there is not set end: I may add to the list for the rest of my life, or, preferably, until I’m shaped my dream to the best of my liking and can confidently say ‘TODAY I stopped adding to my TODAY I list!’
I keep this list on my iPhones Notes function, that way it’s as close as my phone. Try it. Start stopping some things you know are unhealthy, and start doing things to make your life the dream you want it to be. And now …
TODAY I
TODAY I: stopped gossiping, badmouthing people.
TODAY I: stopped reading news on my phone in bed.
TODAY I: stopped obsessively reading the same websites over and over.
TODAY I: committed to three meals a day, and only three.
TODAY I: stopped taking medication for acid and cholesterol.
TODAY I: stopped using half and half (switched to 2 percent milk).
TODAY I: stopped deleting things in the misbelief it lessens my stress (“Deletion is not completion!”).
TODAY I: got back to focusing in my fiction – it pays me!
TODAY I: stopped obsessing over the living room TV picture resolution (!).
SEPTEMBER
TODAY I: stopped censoring myself for any imagine ‘offenses’ to people who aren’t part of my life (I’m looking at you, Facebook).
TODAY I: stopped putting arbitrary deadlines on myself.
TODAY I: made my weight a priority (don’t forget the positives! It’s not all about ‘stopping’).
Start your own ‘TODAY I’ list and see how quickly you feel unburdened by some of the behaviors, habits and thoughts that have had you living in loops. Step off the wheel of repetition TODAY.