Day 1 — Excavation
Time: ~85 min · Goal: gather raw material from your own life.
Today is not about conclusions. It’s about collecting honest data that the later days will draw on — so don’t synthesize, just gather. One thing that makes this version rigorous: as you write, you’ll tag each entry with a one-word quality, turning your notes into a coded dataset that Day 2 reads directly. If naming a quality or value feels hard — it does for most people — use the starter palette just below. It’s a primer to scan when you’re stuck, not a checklist: reach for the word that clicks, and if your own word fits better, use that.
Naming help — a starter palette
Qualities that can make a moment feel alive (for peak experiences and the things that energize you):
Challenge · Mastery · Competence · Creation · Craft · Discovery · Curiosity · Learning · Growth · Connection · Intimacy · Belonging · Community · Service · Contribution · Care · Leadership · Recognition · Freedom · Autonomy · Independence · Adventure · Risk · Movement · Beauty · Wonder · Play · Humor · Absorption / flow · Order · Calm · Solitude · Impact · Purpose
What might have been missing or violated (for low points and the things that drain you — name the unmet need):
Safety · Stability · Respect · Fairness · Honesty · Trust · Autonomy · Control · Competence · Recognition · Belonging · Connection · Being seen · Meaning · Growth · Freedom · Rest · Support · Boundaries · Dignity · Voice / agency
Stuck on a low point? First name the feeling (angry, trapped, invisible, drained, resentful), then ask: “what need or value, if it had been met, would have changed that?” That answer is your tag. (This feeling → need move comes from Nonviolent Communication, and it’s the most reliable way in when no word comes to mind.)
1. Life chapters timeline (20 min)
Divide your life into 5–8 chapters. For each: a title, one sentence on what defined it, one sentence on what you learned.
Example title: “The garage-band years,” “First job that mattered.”
- Chapter — title: __
- Defined by: __
- Learned: __
- Chapter — title: __
- Defined by: __
- Learned: __
- Chapter — title: __
- Defined by: __
- Learned: __
- Chapter — title: __
- Defined by: __
- Learned: __
- Chapter — title: __
- Defined by: __
- Learned: __
2. Peak experiences (20 min)
List 5 moments where you felt most alive, most yourself, most in flow. A specific day works better than a general era. For each: what you were doing, who you were with, and — ◆ tag it — the one-word underlying quality.
e.g. the afternoon I taught my niece to ride a bike — patience, delight.
- Moment: ________
- Doing: ________
- With, or alone: ________
- Quality tag: ____
- Moment: ________
- Doing: ________
- With, or alone: ________
- Quality tag: ____
- Moment: ________
- Doing: ________
- With, or alone: ________
- Quality tag: ____
- Moment: ________
- Doing: ________
- With, or alone: ________
- Quality tag: ____
- Moment: ________
- Doing: ________
- With, or alone: ________
- Quality tag: ____
3. Low points (15 min)
List 3 hard chapters or moments. A violated value is often the clearest signal of a held one — so for each, name what was being violated or missing, and ◆ tag the value it points to.
- Hard moment: ________
- What was violated or missing: ________
- Value it points to (tag): ____
- What it taught me I need / won’t accept: ________
- Hard moment: ________
- What was violated or missing: ________
- Value it points to (tag): ____
- What it taught me I need / won’t accept: ________
- Hard moment: ________
- What was violated or missing: ________
- Value it points to (tag): ____
- What it taught me I need / won’t accept: ________
4. Energy audit (20 min)
The original looks back one month — a small, possibly unrepresentative sample. Here you also add a one-year window (◆). When the month and the year disagree, the year is usually the truer signal.
Past month — five that energized you, five that drained you. Name each, then tag the quality it carried.
e.g. a long, unhurried dinner with old friends — connection, ease.
Energized me:
- What it was: ________
- quality it carried: ____
- What it was: ________
- quality it carried: ____
- What it was: ________
- quality it carried: ____
- What it was: ________
- quality it carried: ____
- What it was: ________
- quality it carried: ____
Drained me:
- What it was: ________
- quality it carried: ____
- What it was: ________
- quality it carried: ____
- What it was: ________
- quality it carried: ____
- What it was: ________
- quality it carried: ____
- What it was: ________
- quality it carried: ____
◆ Past year — five energizing, five draining moments that stand out across the whole year:
Energizing:
- moment: ________
- moment: ________
- moment: ________
- moment: ________
- moment: ________
Draining:
- moment: ________
- moment: ________
- moment: ________
- moment: ________
- moment: ________
Patterns — what kind of work, people, and environments recur?
patterns: ________
5. Childhood threads (10 min)
What did you love doing at age 10 that you no longer do? What were you naturally drawn to before anyone told you what you should be?
threads: ________
6. ◇ Fold in outside input (optional, 10 min)
If you gathered outside input on Day 0 (even the 2-minute from-memory version), read it now. For each item, ask:
- Does it match my peaks/energy above, or contradict it?
- What did someone see that I didn’t write down myself? Add it below, flagged “external” — outside observations of when you’re at your best are often more reliable than your own narration. Where it contradicts what you wrote, don’t dismiss it; sit with the gap.
External observations to carry forward: __
✓ End of Day 1
Tagged raw notes — peaks, lows, energy, threads. Don’t synthesize yet. → Next: Day 2 — Values.