Oddly sometimes it’s easier to not think about what you really want. To simply go along and not have anything change in your life. Yes, you can give great what I’ll refer to as “lip service” and talk endlessly about what you think you really want, but why is it that so many people do not pursue what they are talking about?
I believe this happens for a number of reasons. One could be fear of actually having what they want become a reality. Maybe they don’t think they actually deserve to have what they want to happen. Is this based on an underlining fear? Fear that they might try to go after something and not have it take place.
Or, do people not fully architect either in their mind, in a written format or verbally what they want because doing so requires you to have some basis of a plan. Then, even harder, to put this plan into action.
Let’s stay on the theme of having a plan to get to the place of knowing what you want. Either to do, or to craft as a way of going in a different direction than the one you are currently tracking on personally or professionally. Possibly both.
For me personally, I approach considering what I want from what would be considered the visualization approach. In other words, I think about where I want to take my life personally or professionally, and then I envision what this would look like. Many athletes are accustomed to doing this, and so are people who have a performance or metric driven oriented profession or life.
My Dad loves to ask me a multi-dimensional question. The question is “What if I won the lottery? How would this change my life, and what would I do with the winnings?” Typically, he asks me this when the lottery amount is staggeringly high, and the amount of money would certainly be life changing if you won. Of course, having more money than you might know what to do with is fun to think about, but let’s come back down to reality, and take this thought out of the equation.
I only popped this question into this story for the sake of giving you a way to begin brainstorming about what you really want. Think of it as a warm-up exercise. Now let’s move onto moving from being in a place where you are potentially stuck, or have not ever considered what you really want. Yes, this is possible. Namely because people have good intentions to figure out what they really want, but they get derailed at some point along their journey. Either by another person, circumstances, or perhaps because the life train simply leaves them standing on the platform, and then never get onboard another train.
The train metaphor works well. Why? Because it also assumes life is a journey, and that we all have chances to decide when to get on-board with our journey towards what we want to pursue. Or, if we want to choose to remain on the platform, or on the same train for years to come. Perhaps because we think it’s easier to just go along with life this way.
What if you wanted to begin thinking about and then putting into action what you really want to do? Below are some suggestions to help you to factor making this become a reality, as I believe all of us deserve a chance to craft the life we both want, deserve and have the courage to pursue.
- First admit whether you had an idea of what you wanted to pursue in your life or professionally and whether you have given up on this thought. If you have, ask yourself if there is potentially another way of pursuing what you wanted to, but in a different way? For example, I wanted to be an architect/interior designer when I was growing up. However, I stopped pursuing this dream because I wasn’t strong in math, and I was afraid I would be a failure. Fast forward twenty-five years, and I now act as an interior designer every day thanks to an interior design game app I play every day. Surprisingly, doing this has allowed me to resume my goal of being an architect/interior designer, just in a very different method than I had ever considered.
- Begin with my warm-up exercise compliments of my Dad and start daydreaming about what if you were to win the lottery. Think about how it might change your life, and write down some ways it would.
- In the spirit of daydreaming about winning the lottery, think about if money were not object. Would you change the career you are in? Move to a different location, begin traveling or perhaps financially help others who you are close to who are struggling financially? Maybe you have so much money you are going to need to develop a charity, and spend the rest of your life giving away and donating your money to your favorite causes? The point is to thing “big”.
- You have heard of the expression “go big, or go home”. When you are thinking about what you want out of your life, don’t limit your thinking to only things you think you can attain. OK, perhaps have one or two things on your list, but make sure you have some seriously “big” goals to pursue.
- Having “big goals” can be more empowering than frustrating, as it challenges your mind to come up with solutions and possibilities of being able to achieve what you want.
- Is it possible for you to “test drive” anything you are considering pursuing as your “what I want to do” scenario? Factor in my example above of how I am leveraging virtual reality to satisfy my “what I have wanted to do” via playing the on-line game app which has allowed me to be a pseudo architect/interior designer”. In other words, really think out of the box if you have to.
Pursuing what we really want to in our lives or professionally is something I have both personally accomplished doing, beyond just my example above, and what I help others to do every day. So, I know this isn’t an unrealistic concept to be considered just for fun. Drop in the comments section what your “what I really want to do” ideas are. I’d love to hear them.
Tags: #Business #PersonalDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopment #Strategy #Leadership #Motivation #Inspiration
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