The Real Life List
A journal for people who are done performing “fine” and ready to build a life that feels like theirs.
For most of my twenties and thirties, I chased the version of life I thought I was supposed to want.
The one that looked good on paper.
The one that made sense to other people.
The one that earned nods and stability and the feeling of being on track.
And for a long time, that path worked.
I hit the goals.
I climbed the ladders.
I pushed through because stopping felt scary, like stillness might expose a truth I did not want to face.
But eventually, something shifted.
I have lived a lot of life in the last few years.
Moves. Heartbreak. Career pivots. Health scares.
But nothing has challenged me like learning to want less and live differently.
I started realizing that the life I was building was impressive, but not intimate.
Structured, but not spacious.
Full, but not mine.
Not because anything was wrong.
But because I had outgrown the version of myself who built it.
And when I started making decisions that made sense for me, it surprised people.
Some felt hurt that I did not share every detail of what I was going through.
Others were confused or judgmental when I began growing, working with a coach, or asking different questions about my life.
It took me time to understand that when you start listening to yourself, not everyone will understand the shift. And that does not mean the shift is wrong.
That was the moment I began writing what eventually became The Real Life List.
Not a bucket list.
Not a five year plan.
Not a list of achievements.
A list of what actually matters.
What I want to remember.
What I want to move toward when I stop performing and start living.
A reclamation list.
Because so much of adulthood is unlearning the noise we inherited.
The timelines.
The expectations.
The stories we cling to long after they stop feeling like home.
The Real Life List was born from that exact place.
The in between.
The unraveling.
The quiet moment where you finally admit, I want something different now.
It is a journal for clarity, not accomplishment.
For intention, not urgency.
For the parts of you that have been whispering for years, waiting to be heard.
Inside, you will not find goals to chase.
You will find questions that strip everything back to what is real.
Questions that help you rebuild slowly and honestly.
Questions that ask you to stop performing your becoming and start living it.
It is not meant to impress anyone.
It is meant to free you.
Something to Sit With
Most of us know how to achieve.
Fewer of us know how to choose.
And even fewer know how to choose what actually fits.
The Real Life List is an invitation to choose.
To pause long enough to ask:
What matters to me, not in theory but in practice.
Not someday.
Now.
Who would I be if I stopped building a life people admire and started building a life I can actually feel.
You do not need answers yet.
You just need a little honesty.
A Few Prompts Inside
What parts of your life are happening by habit instead of intention.
What would your days look like if you built them for the person you are becoming, not the one you have been.
Where in your life have you been settling for ease instead of aliveness.
Which dream have you quietly postponed, and what would it take to move toward it.
Which expectations did you inherit that you are finally ready to question.
Each prompt stands alone.
You can move in order or wander.
There is no wrong place to begin.
Only the truth you are ready to meet today.
Why I Made This
Because I needed it.
And I know I am not the only one.
I needed something honest but not harsh.
Direct but not prescriptive.
Deep but not heavy.
A journal that did not ask me to be positive, only real.
A place to pour the truth before I start rewriting it.
A place to see my life clearly, not obediently.
A place to name what I want without feeling like wanting is wrong.
If any part of you is tired of performing, pretending, or postponing your real life, this is for you.
The Real Life List is Now Live
It is available now at nomorebsjournal.com for delivery in the USA or directly [here] for worldwide shipping.
This is the third journal edition of No More Bullsh*t and I am proud of what it has become.
A journal for anyone standing at the edge of their next chapter, asking the only question that actually matters:
What do I want now.
If this reflection met you where you needed it
I’d love for you to subscribe below.
I post at least once a week — sometimes two or three times when inspiration hits.
Real prompts.
Real reflections.
Real growth.
Not curated.
Honest.
And one last question to carry with you today:
What would shift if you stopped proving and started living.
