Can you answer the question .. what do you want? Do you know? Do you know what you really want?
Many of us never stop to think about this question. We go blindly through life living a life we were conditioned to live.
Does this sound familiar to you?
Are you like the young woman in the Notebook?
What do you want? The Notebook
Can you relate to her pain?
Most of my life I lived on automatic. I lived a life I believed looked good in the eyes of society.
In hindsight I see I never had a clue what I really wanted. I went from one chapter of my life to another without really thinking about what I really wanted.
A decade ago we left Sydney to come and live in a beach side holiday town in South East Queensland. At the time I was not too sure what I wanted to do for an income anymore. Then it hit me I did not know what I wanted in life in general.
It is sad as I am a baby boomer and to get to my stage of life and not know what I wanted seemed crazy.
I knew all the things I did not want to do which is a start.
“Learning what you don’t want is how you know what you do want.” Robin Wright
I knew I no longer wanted to sit in my car in traffic for 2 hours a day. I knew I did not want to be away from my husband for weeks on end travelling on business. I knew a whole bunch of things I did not want but could not tap into what I really wanted.
Do you relate? Are you living the life you want to live and more importantly do you know what you want?
How to find the answer to the question – What do you want?
My good friend Di Downie wrote a great blog post on a good place to start getting that clarity.
You can check it out here. 3 Steps To Find Out What Is Important To You
While you are on Di’s blog I suggest you download her free eBook. It is called Know Your Why and covers what we are talking about here. It is well worth your time to read it.
We change what we want through the various stages of our lives. Maybe you are early on your life’s journey and that is good if you can find your answer to this question now.
Maybe you are like me and you have lived a lot of your life. That is okay as every day is a new one and it is never to late to live the life you truly want to live.
My mother is about to turn 88 in a few days and I am sure she has never considered the question. She would tell you she wanted kids and a good family life. That she wanted us to grow up and be good citizens and be happy. I doubt however that she has ever considered the question – what do you want?
Asking questions of yourself and the Universe is a good way to get clarity. A friend of mine suggested this process to me last year when I was in the process of re-jigging my life.
Ask yourself ……
….. If I were being me, who would I be? What would I be? Where would I be? …..
……Ask these questions over and over….
You will become clearer on what you really do want.
“You have to figure out ‘who am I?’ ‘What do I want to do?’ ‘What do I want to say?” Ryan Eggold
Please leave me a comment below. Can you answer the question – what do you want?
Have an amazing day!
Namaste
Sue
Sheena Yap Chan says
love the notebook, one of my favorite movies
Sue Price says
Me too Sheena
di downie says
Hi Sue,
I am humbled by you to feature my blog in your article here.
Such an important subject that many people don’t ask once in their life as they are often busy. Busy with life, busy being busy!
I got to a point, that I describe in my book, where I got super super clear on what I didn’t want then I was able to start to see the woods for the trees so as to speak and start to see what I did want.
I appreciate you Sue for acknowledging my work and me personally
Di
Sue Price says
Hi Di,
I agree most people are too busy to ever ask this question. Busy being busy is how I lived the majority of my life.
Di it was reading your book that gave me the idea to write this post so of course I wanted to mention you and your book.
I am sure I have created circumstances in my life now to really look at this question and make adjustments to my life. Sadly it took a Mack truck for me to really stop and get clear. I am still in the process of becoming clear on what I do want. I have nailed what I do not want as you did so well.
I appreciate you Di.
Sue
Kristine Christiansen says
I love this post Sue!
I have found myself a few different times in my life already, asking myself, “What do you want to do?”
I see that I’ve made it tougher to answer that question than I really needed to.
Robing Wright said it best, when she said ““Learning what you don’t want is how you know what you do want.”
Thanks for sharing this one!
Kristine
Sue Price says
It is great Kristine that you have been asking yourself this question as many people never do. I agree becoming clear with what we do not want is a great way to know what we do want.
Thank for your comment Kristine.
Sue
Kristin Procanick says
What a great post! It is so important to ask yourself what it is that you truly want. And like the quote said — if you don’t know what you want — at least ask yourself what you don’t want.
Too many people walk through life not truly knowing what they want and end up living life with a lot of things they don’t want.
Sue Price says
I agree Kristin that too many people walk through life not knowing what they want. I am sure there are more than we realize. Thanks for your comment here. I appreciate it.
Linda Frame says
What a great post Sue. It’s a stop in your tracks question …what do you want…
I have to admit, I’ve never known what I want. I’ve always worked for others in service to help them all get what they want. But for me, I never took the time to think about it. Since my accident left me with career ending injuries, now I’m left with the reality perspective of what happens in life when you don’t take the time to think about yourself. Incredible post & subject. I love The Notebook & felt for both of them.
Sue Price says
I think how you lived your live is how many live. I do not think most people know what they want. I really think it is a life changing event like your accident that often pushes us into thinking about this question. It is a very interesting subject. I love the Notebook too. Thanks for your comment Linda. 🙂
Helen Lingard says
oh how Ilove this post Sue… so many of us cannot answer this question – for me I know what I want and Im on the way to getting it – the freedom to travel between the UK and NZ…and then the world… Loved the Notebook 🙂
Sue Price says
I know you are clear on what you want Helen and you will certainly get it. I loved the Notebook too. Thanks for your comment. 🙂
Shantanu Sinha says
Hello Sue Price,
Nice to meet you here.
Hope you are doing well 🙂
This something very important to have here.
I have been through many times in my live thinking, “what I want to do”
Most of the people failed to get this answer and end up in a disappointed state.
I have never known what I seriously want to be. I have always worked for getting other services.
Thanks for the share among us.
Last but not the least, one of the best pictures of all time ” The Notebook”
Have a great week ahead.
Shantanu sinha
Sue Price says
Nice to meet you too Shantanu and thank you for your comment here.
The topic is very important and sadly one never looked at by many people. I agree with you many end up disappointed because they cannot uncover what they really want.
Yes the Notebook is a great movie.
Have a wonderful day.
Sue
Mark Eaves says
Took me over 50 years and almost losing everything to figure out what I wanted. Great post Sue, I ask myself this question every day as a reminder of where I am going to end up.
Sue Price says
I think many of us do not figure this out until later in life Mark. It is also very common that it takes a crises in our lives like you obviously faced to figure it out. Awesome you are now so in touch with the question Mark.
Thank you for your comment.
Sue
Akaahan Terungwa says
Hi Sue,
Like you, I’ve struggled with some fundamental questions that I just wasn’t comfortable with – and this is one of them. The only difference is that I was born at a golden time when literature assisted the whole process (thanks to awesome minds like Kiyosaki 🙂 ).
Presently, I have come to understand and deeply affirm that I was born for a purpose, and that purpose is not just to ‘live a good life’!
Thanks for sharing these wonderful updates…they are sincerely appreciated.
Be certain to make the day great!
Always,
Akaahan Terungwa
P.S.
I’m on my way to Didownie’s – and I believe the time there would be worth it 🙂
Sue Price says
Hi Terungwa,
You do have an advantage being born when there is so much more literature available to help people with these fundamental questions.
I believe we are all born for a purpose Terungwa. Sadly some people never realize that and others like you do. I know you will change many people’s lives, starting with many in Nigeria.
I am sure you would have found Di Downie’s information valuable. I met Di through the Kiyosaki network many years ago.
Thank you for your valuable comment here.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
Sue
Erica Udeanu says
It took me the longest time to work out what I truly wanted … and when I finally discovered what it was it took me completely by surprise!
It certainly is a journey of self discovery isn’t it!
Sue Price says
I think that is true for many people Erica, that what they want is quite different to what they think. It is a journey of self discovery which never ends. 🙂 Thank you for your comment.
Stefan says
Hi Sue,
this is true but only the very first baby step:
“Learning what you don’t want is how you know what you do want.” Robin Wright
Beliebve me, I live in a country where people spend all day complaining what they DON’T WANT but never come to terms about WHAT they want.
It took me a very long time to figure this out myself, having been chasing my “purpose” in life and getting closer to it now every day. Step by step.
I found the love of my life half a year ago, invest time and money in my business regularly and it doesn’t feel like work because I have fun doing it and that’s why I know that I am on the right way:
My gut tells me to go on and not quit, despite what everybody else says 🙂
Best regards,
Stefan
Sue Price says
Hi Stefan,
Where do you live? In Australia people also talk about what they do not want too much.
Yes working out what we do not want is only the first stem but it is the first step.
It is great you have found the love of your life and that you love what you do. Many people never get to that place in their life.
Thanks for your comment Stefan.
Have a great week.
Sue
Kelly Sherlock says
Oh the synchronicity of reading your post! I have struggled most of my life with “what do I want to do” but have been asking this question more seriously and constantly lately, in a healthy, positive and non-judgmental way. I used to berate myself for not having a passion and knowing my why when I was surrounded by people who knew what they wanted from their life. How silly of me haha. I’ve been doing a lot of work with the law of attraction and have been reading a book and doing a lot of exercises which are showing me the way. And now that I’m not forcing it, just asking questions, meditating and doing affirmations, my purpose is starting to become clear. We all get there when we are supposed to be really.
Sue Price says
Kelly you read this post at exactly the right time for you. If you have not I encourage you to go over to Di’s blog that I linked to and read her steps to gaining clarity. I found them very helpful.
Many people never even think about their why or what they want so be gentle with yourself. I think you are doing that now. 🙂 In my observation of people their “why” often evolves over time.
Thanks for sharing your journey here Kelly. Much love to you.
Sue
Kenna Faber says
Great post, Sue- especially the part-Knowing what you don’t want will help one know what they do want. We all should stop more often and be clear on this
Sue Price says
I agree Kenna we should all stop and get clear on what we do not want so we can know what we truly do want. Thanks for your comment.