Signs of Discontent You dont need a degree in psychology to know when youre off-track, but sometimes it creeps up on you. It can seem like you wake up one day and realize that things are not right. These are a few of the signs: You dont want to get out of bed. You have a hard time motivating yourself to do routine tasks. You have doubts about yourself. You feel mildly depressed for days at a time. You sometimes overeat and/or use alcohol and drugs to feel better or escape. You often feel chronically tired, deenergized, and listless. You worry about how you will keep things together. You feel bored or restless. You wish you were somewhere else. You often have headaches, stomach upset, and other body aches and pains. You sleep too little or too much. You have frequent bad dreams or nightmares. You oversleep. You complain and nag. Feeling dissatisfied with your life is not a pleasant experience, but it can lead you in a positive direction. These feelings may be important because they are telling you that your actions are out of synch with your values, goals, or talents. Rediscover What Is Important to You Imagine that your life is handed back to you and you are able to do anything you want. What is important to you? What values will direct you? Consider each word on the following list individually. It is not necessary to force-rank them or compare them against each other. Assign a rating to each word: 1 = Critically important to me 2 = Important to me 3 = I can live without it Acceptance by others Accomplishment Activity Admiration Appreciation Authority Beauty Being liked Being well-paid Calm Casualness Certainty Challenge Choice Comfort Community service Competition Creativity Enjoyment Ethics Excellence Excitement Fame Financial security Fitness Flexibility Fortune Freedom Fulfilling my potential Fun Growth Harmony Health Helping others Honesty Independence Informality Leisure Making a difference Mastery Morality Nature Novelty Originality Peace Personal development Pets Pleasure Popularity Power Prestige Privacy Prosperity Quality Recognition Relaxation Respect Risk Solitude Spirituality Stability Status Stimulation Surprise Time for friends Time for my family Uniqueness Variety Wealth Wisdom Now make a list that summarizes your most important values. If you think of something that isnt listed, feel free to add it. The final part of this process (and this is a very streamlined version of what is possible) is to compare how you are currently spending your time with your list of most important values. How well do they match each other? What clues can you find that will help you find more satisfaction in your life? Things that dont match: What I can do about it: |
