WEEK 1: LIFE AUDIT | WRITE YOUR STORY (38 Points)
Challenge Task #1: Life Audit | Write Your Story
Click HERE for our edit-friendly challenge journal which includes the prompts below.
Estimated Time to Complete: 2 hours
Welcome to Week 1! We’re kicking things off with the most time-intensive challenge task, but a very important one! You may choose to complete this task all in one sitting, or spread your writing across several days – up to you!
Per Dr. Jordan Peterson, research has demonstrated that sleeping and, more particularly, dreaming, can help you consolidate your ideas and participate more deeply in writing exercises. That said, we encourage you to read through the prompts below, think on them, and then ‘sleep on it’ – recording your thoughts the next day. Don’t rush the process.
Remember, you are doing this for yourself! Nobody else needs to read this. What you produce should be a deeply personal document. So TAKE YOUR TIME, avoid distractions, and let yourself get deeply into the exercise.
Ready?! Here’s your task:
Go back as early as you remember and write down the story of your life. What events, relationships or teachings helped you identify with the world in each stage of your development – for better or worse?
Spend at least 15 minutes on each of the categories below. Start writing whatever comes to mind, don’t judge it! (Remember, this is just for you!) If needed, use the prompts below as a guide to get you started.
1)Infancy: Where were you born? What kind of pregnancy did your mother have? How was your health as a newborn? Who took care of you? What were your living conditions?
2) Toddlerhood: What’s your earliest memory? What were your likes or dislikes? What stories were passed down about this period of your life? Who was your primary caretaker? How was your home life?
3) Preschool Years: What was your life like around ages 3-5? When did you start going to school? What things did you like or dislike? What was the rule system in your home? What scared you? What made you laugh?
4) Early School Years: What do you remember about your elementary school years? What were your likes or dislikes? What were you afraid of? What do you remember being proud of? What was discouraged and what was celebrated – both in home and school? When were you most happy?
5) Adolescence: How were your teen years? How did you feel about yourself? What did you value? Who was your biggest influence? How was the relationship between your friends during this time? Your family? What did you think about your future? How did you see the world?
6)Young Adulthood: Think about your 20s and/or 30s. What was your identity based on? Who were the important people in your life? What was your focus? What lessons did you need to learn? What was your belief system based on? What were memorable up and downs? What did you envision for your future?
7) Middle Adulthood: Focus on your 40s and/or 50s, if applicable. What important life events happened during these decades? What did you value? What lessons did you learn? What accomplishments were you most proud of? What were your regrets? What were your feelings about the future?
8) Late Adulthood: Think about your 60+ years, if applicable. How are things going? What have you learned about yourself? About life? What would you say to your younger self? What are you looking forward to in the future?
CHALLENGE POINT OPPORTUNITY:
In order to earn 38 Challenge Points, take a quick photo of your work from afar (we know this is personal, we don’t need to read!) and upload using the BROWSE and UPLOAD button below.