101 Day Plan to Reauthor My Life Starts Thursday

Readers of Unsticking Joe's Life know I am starting a 101 Day Count Down to once and for all deal with problems which have plagued my whole adult life. Problems such as depression, ADHD, and executive function issues. These problems have lead to many, many lost days when I am stuck - stuck like a car sunk in mud to the top of the wheels.

I've had a great therapist, a psychiatrist who has used everything he knows in terms of psychotherapy and medications, to help me. And believe me, the problems would have been far worse without his skilled and compassionate help during the last 20 years.

As a therapist myself, I have been able to learn many things which have helped. And I've spent countless hours reading the psychological literature for clues as to what might help, for corners I could play to have a more productive and satisfying life. Throughout years of doing this, my notebooks have kept me loyal company, being there to record references and quotes, my feelings and my ideas.

Thursday is the first day of the 101 Day Count Down.

There are some major goals, designed to impact every area of my life. And there is a protocol for tracking results throughout the whole process. You can get all the details at Unsticking Joe's Life. I hope you'll join me for this journey. I don't know what the outcomes will be and, frankly, I'm more than a little nervous that I have set too high a bar for myself. But then, nothing else has done the job and, at age 60, I want this job done - done well, once and for all.

Throughout the 101 Day Count Down my Moleskine reporter's notebook will play a more important role than ever. Some of what I write in it will be fodder for posts on the other blog - and some will show up here.

Narrative therapists talk about a process of working with clients to help them reauthor their lives. In a sense, that's really what I'm trying to do with the 101 Day Count Down. I am creating a new narrative for my life, a narrative in which I am clearly the subject who takes action and responsibility for my mental health baggage. For too much of the last 60 years I have been the object that has been on the receiving end of psychological problems.

It's imperative that throughout the 101 Day Count Down I remember my subject-hood, that I don't slip back into object mode. The more I remember that, the more clearly the new narrative will be authored.

The role of the little black Moleskine notebook is central to this whole process, a reminder that I am writing a new story of my life. In preparing for the 101 Day Count Down I have already noted in my Moleskine interesting shifts in awareness, thinking, behavior, and feelings. I'm sure there will be many more such notes in the days ahead.

Please know you're welcome to join me on this journey into some new territory, a journey of exploration and action to get out of the mud, and to experience new freedom in all the different movements of my life.

As always, your comments, thoughts, and insights are welcome. I very much appreciate the comments I've so far received on both my blogs. Thank you.