If I asked you if you know EXACTLY what you want in your life, would you be able to tell me?
I really want to know.
Did you start off many years ago, saying that you wanted a job A, make X amount of money, have a home that is Y square feet and so on and get exactly what you wanted many years later?
If you did, you will have to tell me how you did it? What is your formula?
Those are my two questions -
How do I know what I want in my life? And how do I know if I have what I wanted in my life?
It is eerie, since I am doing everything I ever wanted to do in my life. Or it seems like that. And I have everything I ever wanted to have. Or it seems that way. Kids, dogs (and a cat!), a home, life, adventure, freedom, education, the luxury of having an entrepreneurial experience and a support system that I had no idea could even exist.
I am NOT sure this is what I set out wanting in my life. But it seems like today, I have everything I had ever wanted for myself.
And then I wonder - Am I so happy because I really have everything I ever wanted or am I happy because I have made Happiness a Habit?
I do not know. But I have a feeling that it does not matter.
I think what really matters is that at every moment we WANT SOMETHING. And at every moment in our lives we are working feverishly towards that something.
But there is a Step 2 to this -
And while we are working feverishly towards that SOMETHING, it seems really critical to understand WHY we wanted that SOMETHING.
In retrospect, what I had wanted in the past does not seem to matter - the past has gone by. What matters is that I always seem to know what I want next (if not in life) and I keep going towards that. Whatever it is, it seems to be working. You can argue that “working” is a relative term, but I think I am doing well enough to talk about how I do it. While I have often not achieved exactly what I had set out to achieve, I have ended up having more in a lot of ways.
What you want to HAVE is an external force - It provides momentum like the fuel in a motor boat. It deals with the tangibles. About larger force and control.
What you want to FEEL is an internal force - it provides direction control like the steering wheel in the boat. It deals with the intangibles. It gives the finer control on our journeys in life.
Life is a vector - it needs both momentum and direction. Without one, the other is meaningless. Moving towards a goal is all about make sure the intangibles are protected while trying to achieve a tangible goal.
Knowing what you want to HAVE is like having the fuel to go towards something
Knowing what you want to FEEL is like having control of the steering wheel.
To make the journey meaningful, you always have to set out seeking something (and that something might be to just explore aimlessly for a while). it is very important to have a destination in mind while we start off, but it is perhaps as important to check on the bumps that come along the way, navigate the rapids appropriately and perhaps steer towards a newer destination that is more exciting than the one you started off seeking. It is NOT about getting EXACTLY where you wanted to go, but about being in control, taking responsibility and reaching a destination that you love.
It does not matter if you do not know where you want to go sometimes. The stream of life provides those lovely slopes sometimes, when you can ride for free - just flow along and take some time figuring it out … and enjoy it.
But choosing a journey that leads to you to a destination of your longing, while letting you connect with yourself every single minute of the journey is what makes a journey passionate. If your passions come alive in letting yourself flow, so be it.
You’ll probably NEVER get what you thought you wanted years ago - and that is perfectly fine. What matters is that you set out wanting SOMETHING. What matters in that in the end you ended up FEELING and EXPERIENCING life the way you wanted.
