Often when I ask people what they want, I get a bunch of hemming and hawing, and the run around. Very rarely do I get a specific answer.
In order to have what you want, you have to know what you want. It sounds so simple doesn’t it? So why is it so challenging?
When you were born, you knew exactly how to get what you wanted. When you wanted food, changing, being held and sleep – you knew to ask for it. You cried.
As you got older people told you what to want. “You don’t want that; go to college, get a high-paying job, marry the right person, have kids. Etc., etc., etc. etc.” Along the way, you may have lost touch with what you wanted. You may have given up on YOUR dreams and passions.
You can stop settling and reclaim your lifelong dreams. Right. Now.
STEP 1: Take out a piece of paper and a writing instrument. Set a timer for five minutes. At the top of the paper, write “What I want…” For five minutes list everything that you can think of that you want. Keep writing until the five minutes are up. If you are struggling, you can try thinking about what you DON’T want, and write down the opposite. For example: If you know you don’t want to be broke, write down to be financially well off. As you are making list, don’t worry about how it could possibly happen – don’t worry about the HOW. Just focus on the WHAT!
STEP 2: At the end of the 5 minutes, review your list. As you read through your list, cross off anything that you don’t want. Your remaining list of items are the things that you really want. For each “want” left on your list, write down why you want it. The why is always more powerful than the what.
STEP 3: On a separate piece of paper, write out what you want and why. Put it into paragraphs instead of bullet point. THIS IS YOUR IDEAL LIFE. Post it somewhere you can see it every day. When you write down what you want as clearly as you can, your brain receives specific images, both consciously and unconsciously.
Having a crystal clear vision will guide your actions and your decisions, as well as keep you motivated along the way. Your brain is like a GPS. When it knows where you are and where you want to go it will work out the how.
So, what do you want?