This was a writing prompt from Dinty W. Moore’s book: Crafting the Personal Essay: A Guide for Writing and Publishing Creative Nonfiction.

What makes me dull and uninteresting? A list in no particular order:

1) Being too polite
2) Being self-absorbed
3) Being afraid
4) Being nervous and self-conscious
5) Not taking risks
6) Not pushing beyond my limitations
7) Getting defensive
8) Not reading enough
9) Not getting outside enough
10) Not getting my hands in the dirt enough
11) Allowing my critical internal voice to rule
12) Not seeing my friends often enough
13) Allowing myself to sink into shyness
14) Not going to good movies often enough
15) Not going often enough to art museums
16) Not going often enough to the symphony
17) Not listening often enough to music
18) Not singing often enough
19) Not going to church often enough
20) Not praying often enough
21) Not getting involved in charitable activities often enough
22) Not having a good, long chat with my girlfriends often enough
23) Not snuggling with my husband often enough
24) Not reaching out to some of my beloved, long-distance friends and relatives often enough
25) Not seeing my children and granddaughter often enough (This should be at the top of the list)
26) Not walking my dogs often enough
27) Not going camping often enough and being out in nature
28) Not writing often enough
29) Not taking risks in my writing often enough
30) Not seeing and sharing with fellow writers often enough
31) Not traveling to new places, near and far, often enough
32) Not eating healthy food often enough
33) Not stretching and growing intellectually often enough
34) Not devoting time to do nothing often enough
35) Allowing rigidity to settle in too often
36) Not dancing often enough
37) Not laughing often enough
38) Not doing something completely spontaneous often enough
39) Not allowing myself to just do whatever I damn well please often enough
40) Not acting the fool often enough
41) Not relaxing into life often enough
42) Not pushing beyond my resistance to change often enough
43) Not following up on some of my dreams often enough
44) Not allowing myself to create new dreams often enough
45) Not pushing beyond conventional thinking often enough and settling instead for the status quo.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list. I probably have forgotten many things that are glaringly obvious. Nevertheless, this does help me to see what I don’t want to do if I hope to keep my mind, body and spirit healthy, happy and challenged.

This is a very interesting writing exercise. I had never thought of these things from this point of view. I would recommend giving it a try. If you do, then please share!