I’m a list maker. Truthfully, I’m not sure what I enjoy more—making lists or crossing things off. True confessions: I’ve been known to write a new task on my list, after I completed it, just so I could cross it off.

Different, right? Some call it “compulsive.” I call it “inspirational.”

Whatever you call it, lists work for storytelling. Here’s how:

  1. Open a file on your computer.
  2. Brainstorm a list of life events.
  3. Don’t stop to decide if these events will become stories. Just make your list:

My blue teddy bear

Grandma’s hair curlers

Grandpa’s false teeth

Dad teaching me to ride my first two-wheeler

Mom’s spaghetti and meatballs

The day I “ran away from home”

Braces

Getting caught skipping school

First date

You get the idea. Don’t stop until you have listed 50 events.

4. Arrange your list in chronological order, and place a “close enough” date next to each item.

5. Select one item. Start to write. Don’t think. Just write. Allow one memory to attract the next, to attract the next.

6. Proceed through your list. Each time you complete a story, cross the corresponding item off your list.

7. Then add another item. Never allow your list to shrink below 50 items.

It’s fun. And it’s easy.

After all, YOU are different, too. YOU are including stories in your estate wellness plan.