If you are a very active person, maybe you can relate to this. It is not often that I carve out any quality downtime to rest and rejuvenate myself. I have found that one of the best ways to get a fresh perspective on my life and how I’m focusing my energies is when I am relaxing and in generally letting my mind wander.
When I take the time to relax, and focus on getting some quality reflective time, I grab one of my sketchbooks and start to visualize what ever comes to my head, in a kind of free flow of consciousness. While I am sketching, I like to think about this: “What do I want?” My wants and personal needs have changed over time and, as a result, I am always re-evaluating what it is that I want so that I can more clearly understand the decisions I have to make for me to accomplish my goals.
“When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.” Seneca
At times I am not totally sure of what I want. It is during those times that I turn to my purpose, “To make a positive difference and showcase what is possible.” My purpose acts as my ships rudder and is a reminder of the focused decisions I must make to achieve what I want in my life. If “what I want” fits within my purpose I am moving in the right direction. What Box? is a perfect example of fulfilling my purpose and achieving that which I have wanted for quite some time. What Box?’s interactive forum has enabled me to share the creativity, joy, and hardships held within the life lessons and teachings that I have experienced personally and that so many others have generously shared with me.
With so many possibilities within each one of us, how often do we deliberately ask ourselves, “ What do I want?” Our uniquely personal wants are as diverse as the situations in which we find ourselves. Yet, in the time you have been alive on this earth, how many times have you deliberately asked yourself, “What do I want?”
“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.” Lawrence J. Peter
Each of our lives is filled with many choices. If you are going to live the life you want, it is critical that you identify what it is that you want so you can make the choices that will take you there. Can you name what it is that you want in your life? Most of us have never taken the time to really think about what it is we want, or we don’t even know how to go about figuring it out.
Here is the part that scares me the most. If you don’t make the choices in your life, others will make them for you. Often our choices are a direct result of our circumstances, family, parents, where you grow up, or even your place of birth. Deciding what you want in life is not always easy. This takes practice and patience. When you realize you have the power to make the choices to achieve what it is you want in your life, a new chapter will open for you, a chapter filled with endless opportunities and possibilities.
“Life is the sum of all your choices.” Albert Camus
Here are some of the visual thinking methods I use to discover “what I want” along with what actions to take.
- Write the title, “What Do I Want?” at the top or center of a blank piece of paper. Then draw or list all the things you want as fast as you can. Just let what you want flow out of you without judgment. Keep on working at it until you have filled as much of the page as possible.
- Prioritize your wants and develop an action plan. Set goals to achieve what it is you want. Set your goals in 1 week, 1 month, and 6 month increments so they become more digestible and less far reaching. When it is really important to me I like to take these written goals and post them where I’ll see them as daily reminders and benchmarks to follow.
- Take the time for a week and keep track of how you spend your time each day. See how much time you focus on attaining what it is you want. At the end of the week evaluate how you spent your time and make adjustments so that you are able to focus more of your time on what it is you really want.
- Start capturing ideas you have about your purpose as they come up for you. Save these ideas in a file, reviewing and adding to them on a regular basis.
How much time and energy this kind of process takes totally depends upon you. Where you are today is the best place to start. You have everything you need inside of you to take you where you want to go.
“People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates.” Thomas Szasz
Life is so much more rewarding when you are going for and achieving what it is you want from life. The choice is yours.
Let me know what you think.
Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create for yourself.
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