What do You Want?

In the last post, we talked about what your heart desires. This is a very similar line of thinking - what do you want? When was the last time you thought about that? What is it that YOU want? Is there something that you have wanted to do but have been too tired, too busy, too shy, too whatever, to try? Perhaps you feel that you are too young to do that, or too old or would look too silly. What is it that you would really want to do that you have not done?

I encourage you to give that some thought. It may help to sit in a quiet place where you can think and either talk out loud as you sort through those thoughts or where you can write down your thoughts. It helps some people to work with a blank sheet of paper and just start writing down - in your own short notes - what it is you would like to do. Don't censor your thoughts or not put something down because you don't know how to do it or think you would look silly doing it. Just write things down as they come to you. If you are more of a talker than a writer, then get a tape recorder and blank tape or whatever mechanism you could use to record your voice and go to a quiet place where you can be alone. Then begin to speak aloud the things you would like to do. Again, don't omit things because you would feel foolish if others knew it was on your list or because you wouldn't know where to begin to make it happen.

That first step is designed to help you bring thoughts or dreams - that you may have buried - up to the surface where you can recognize them. Once you have created a list of possibilities, then you can go through it and think about whether or not it is really something you would like to do or if it was a dream long ago, but no longer. Keep on your list only those things you would still want. Then go through the remaining items and figure out what you would need to do if you actually wanted to do each one. If you don't know what it would take, or where you could start, find someone to talk to about it. When you have some more information, then you can decide if it is a reasonable idea or something that is just a dream but you don't plan to make it a reality.

If it is something you do want, is now the time you will reward yourself and pursue it? If not now, when? Can you put a partial plan together before you put it on the shelf? That partial plan should include a time frame when you will revisit the idea to determine if that is the time to go for it. Find ways to create the life you want by including the things you would like to do in your life, in the near future.


Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career change or job search, planning to return to college or to work, preparing for non-retirement, coping with job loss, and other life plans. Mary Ann meets with individuals in person and via telephone to assist them to find solutions to life transition issues. Mary Ann is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association, a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association, and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). Please visit her web site at http://www.yourcareerplan.com/ for more information on her services. To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.