KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
Tell me what you want. What you really, really want. (Hey, that could almost work as a lyric!)
Most people know what they don’t want: ‘I don’t want to be lonely’, ‘I don’t want to be ill’, ‘I don’t want to be fat’, but ask them what they do want and you’ll be deafened by the silence.
When I teach my goal-setting workshop, I start by asking people to write down 50 things they want. I’m amazed that most people’s lists dry up after a handful of ideas, so I start giving all sorts of suggestions from the minute to the massive. Then I see people writing with a glint in their eye.
Could you write down 50 things that you want?
Don’t worry, you won’t have to go for them all, but could you brainstorm 50?
Have a go yourself first, then, if you get stuck, here are some to get you restarted:
| Get fit | Holiday in Italy |
| Write a book | Drive a ____ (add your fave car here) |
| Paint | Eat at a Michelin starred restaurant |
| Fly first class | Win an award |
| Have children | Drink champagne on a yacht |
| Go for more walks | Find a fulfilling career |
| Get a nose job | Learn to speak French |
| Meet your hero | Ride a motorcycle |
| Quit smoking | Build your own website |
| Learn to play bass | Find a cure for something |
| Read all the books you own | Sing in public |
| Own your own house | Start yoga classes |
| Train your dog | Graduate from university |
| Be debt free | Take up photography |
| Fly a kite | Learn how to dance |
| Scuba dive | Be medication free |
| Climb a rock wall | Hike in Nepal |
| Learn karate | Get a PhD |
| Write music | Write songs |
| Complete an Ironman | Get an A in something |
| Do 100 situps a day | Learn origami |
| Hang glide | Double your salary |
| Tidy the garage (once and for all!) | Learn how to fly |
| Stop procrastinating | Get a new job |
| Decorate | Stay in a five-star hotel |
| Be happy |
There must be something in there to get you started.
If you haven’t done your list yet and you are reading ahead then can I urge you to stop for a moment and write your list now. Don’t ask ‘how?’ just yet. It’s more important to get your list written down.
Then go through each item and do the following:
- Ask yourself: ‘Is this really what I want or was I just in brainstorm mode?’
- Then ask: ‘Is this a short, medium or long-term goal?’
- Choose five items from each goal category then read the following chapters on how to achieve them.
If you have done the task – and I trust you have (you wouldn’t have just kept on reading without doing a life-changing exercise, would you?) – then you have joined a very small percentage of the population who actually know some of what they want and have taken the time to record it.
BRILL BIT
When a plane leaves Singapore for Los Angeles on the world’s current longest, non-stop flight, it arrives safely because the pilots know exactly where they are going. Due to high winds and external pressures, they can be flying in the wrong direction (off the flight path) for up to 90% of the time but because they know their final destination they will always get there.