This exercise is about finding those things in your life that really GRIND YOUR GEARS. What sucks ass? What do you absolutely disagree with? What injustice or frustration exist in your life? What SUCKS? ## Why dig in the dirt? Not only is it healthy to channel these negative energies into a creative process like writing. By taking things "out of the shadow" and "into the light" (by writing them down) you'll also start to regain mental energy that'll push you forward. ## Examples of things lurking in the shadow And to get your creative-destructive juices really flowing... Here's a greatest-hits list[^1] of "things that often lurk in our shadows" that you may want to write about: * **Frustration, Anger, Resentment** with people closest to you (partner, kids, parents) * **Anger and judgemental thoughts** about friends, colleagues, boss, customers and clients * **Sexual desire** of strangers, friends’ partners and other people you “shouldn’t desire” * **Sexual feelings** and desires you or others might deem strange, bad or inappropriate (porno, bondage, fetishes…) * **Dissatisfaction** with big life situations (your job, partner, city etc.) * **Grief, sadness and pain of loss** (recent and way back losses) * **Deep uncertainty or doubt**, including self-doubt, doubt of god, doubt of purpose, doubt of any meaning in life * **Strong sensitivity** to people’s comments, feeling deeply hurt and sometimes deeply enraged by them * **Desire for and fantasies** about venegance, retaliation, getting back at someone, or hurting someone * **Desires and impulses** for physical violence (hitting, attacking, killing) ## Exercise Instructions As yourself: _"What sucks most in your life?"_ 1. Create a new note called "The Things that Suck Most in My Life" or similar 2. Write a list of at least 10 things that suck ass in your life 3. Once you've captured 10, add 10 more 4. Turn each item in your list into a link that points its own note 5. Sort the list by how much it bothers you. The most bothersome should be on top of the list. 6. (Optional) PUBLISH your list of things you hate the most (Feel free to skip this one if you feel this is too personal to publish online) 7. Cross off this exercise at [[⭐️ 21-Day Obsidian Publish Challenge]] 8. IMPORTANT: Reward yourself with a piece of chocolate, a glass of orange juice or anything else highly-satisfying of your choice. Digging in your own dirt is _hard_. Make sure you take care of yourself and allow that frustration to exit through your writing. For example, check out my [[The Things That Suck Most in My Life]]. [^1]: This list is originally from the book [[Not Nice by Aziz Gazipura (Book)]]. His whole chapter about "Shadowjournaling" is worth the price of the whole book.