Know what you want
What you really want.
Know what you want. As simple as it sounds. I never really grasped this idea until one of my managers, early in my career, brought it to my attention.
Side Note: Having great managers/mentors early in your career is underrated.
When we get asked, or think about what we want. We usually think of goals - more specifically, end goals.
In a way, we do need to know what our goals and end goals are. As they help define what we want in order to reach those goals.
The key difference to understand here is, goals are the end state and/or outcome. While, want is the action and/or thing we desire.
A common example is: we want to be a millionaire.
Having any of the following satisfies that goal:
Have X million dollars in cash.
Have a share portfolio worth X million dollars.
Have a real estate portfolio worth X million dollars.
Be the sole owner of a company worth X million dollars.
Be the sole trustee of a Trust worth X million dollars.
As you can see, there are many ways to achieve the goal of being a millionaire. However, if we said: we want to have a company worth X million dollars. There is only one path that satisfies this want.
Let’s take a look at another more common example. An example we can all relate to.
I am sick of eating XYZ, I want to eat something else!
If we followed our previous example of wanting to be a millionaire. We can see, we have an infinite number of ways to satisfy our goal - eating anything else besides XYZ fulfils it.
But let’s be honest with ourselves. In this example, we have absolutely no idea what we want.
My recommendation is to figure out what it is that you really want.
A good starting point is to ask the ‘why’ question - why are you sick of eating XYZ?
By answering this question, you will get a clearer idea of what it is that you really want.
Are you sick of eating only veggies every day and want to have some meat? Or craving for something spicy? Miss that oily fast food?
With a clear idea of what you really want. Not only will you save time and energy on running in circles, you will also be much happier; since you are satisfying your real want. Rather than some vague or open goal.