Life Questions Part 1 (1,000 Most Important Questions)

  The 1,000 Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask Yourself That Make Life Work For You

• Am I Happy?

I am happy in all areas of my life except I wish my job was a little less stressful. I feel like I’m constantly failing or just scraping by. I’m used to success in the working world. I was almost immediately promoted to manager when I worked in retail but with my job at the assisted living facility I feel like its just a series of missteps. But I have a loving family, great friends, an amazing boyfriend, a plethora of hobbies and talents. I’m working on getting in shape (it’s an upward battle but every day I advance a little). 

• How positive and optimistic am I?

I learned a while ago that an attitude really affects the outcome of a situation. Not always (I’ve been eliminated from enough poetry slams to know that) but sometimes. Most of the time. If you look on the bright side you can save yourself a lot of worry. Besides no one wants to be around a person with a bad attitude that complains all the time.

• How do I express my creativity and put it into action?

I love writing. I write short stories, essays, I’m in the midst of several novels, I write poetry and obviously I blog. I sing and play the piano. I knit. I make scrapbooks and collages for people as presents. I do Diamond Art. Not only can I express myself I can give these things to people as gifts. And yes, I’m proud of this. I admire modesty but I think one should be proud of one’s achievements.

• What are the special things I have wanted to be  or do since I was a small child?

I have always wanted to be an author. And technically I am. I have been published in magazines, anthologies and newspapers. Online and in print. I have worked alongside many publications and I am honored. But I always wanted to publish a bestseller, worthy of the New York Times and Oprah’s Book Club. For a long time I thought my book, Story of Hope could be that book. But the more I read my book the less impressed I am. Maybe because I have grown so much since I wrote the book. When I did write the book I had only been sober one or two years, I was in an abusive relationship and I didn’t have the perspective I do today. Still, it is a good framework. I also wanted to be a mermaid since I was small but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

• Do I know what I really want?

I think I do. I want to grow old with Justin and several pets. I want to see the world after we find excellent pet sitters. Growing up I never got to travel much outside the United States. The reason was entirely my fault. I was very hard to travel with. My OCD was so hard on the family that we didn’t often go away unless it was to the family farm house, our family reunion at Cape Cod and the occasional trip to the Adirondacks. We didn’t fly. It was just too hard. I want to see if I have overcome this. I have a feeling I have. I also want to be friends with the friends I have now for the rest of my life. These guys are lifers, really and truly.

• Do I live in accordance with my personal core values?

I have many values. I value hard work, compassion, and generosity. I’ve always worked hard at my writing. I like to put in a full day of writing on my days “off” (from the job at the assisted living facility where I try to practice the other values, compassion and generosity). 

The first writing I do every day is journaling. I used to do it in the evening but then I realized I’d rather do something passive in the evening like reading or watching Youtube videos (or knitting but not sure if that’s considered passive). 

Then I  blog. I try to blog every weekday even the ones I work. And then I zone in on my projects. I have a long list of WIP (works in progress). There’s the short story book I’m working on that I will publish under my real  name because it is entirely fictional. Then there is a poetry book, a book of personal essays and letters, a collection of my blog posts, a surprise book under another alias, and then maybe I will go back to Story of Hope and begin to finetune it. Shortly following that will be my eighth grade story which I’m sure you’re all dying to read. And yeah, that should keep me busy for the next twenty years.

By the way, saw Clueless for the first time last night (it came out the year before I was born). I didn’t recognize Brittany Murphy until I googled the cast of the movie. What a tragedy. What talent. That was truly a great movie.