What Do You Want?
Answering the question “What do you really want in life?” and setting goals can be awe inspiring and fun. Maybe you have the skills to go a step further and identify your true purpose in life; and wow that’s quite the motivational kick in the ass.
But the trouble is, it is easy to want things, it takes no effort. The real question is what problems are you willing to face to have what you want? Nothing comes for free, whatever it is you want, it’s going to cost you. It’s going to cost you in time, in effort, money, headache, in figuring things out and alternatives of what else you could have chosen. That cost, is inescapably part of the deal.
So a more difficult, realistic, and honest question is to ask yourself not what do you want, but what struggles you are willing to persevere through? What problems are you willing to solve that are connected to desires you want to make real? It’s easy to be in love with the peak of the summit, but are you in love with making the climb? If you aren’t willing to pay the price, perhaps you don’t really want what it is that you think you want.
How Bad Do You Want It?
It may seem contradictory to have to embrace a struggle, rather than just accepting it. This concept is similar to the idea of marriage. You marry someone that you love who has good qualities, but there are going to be times when things are challenging, and there are issues to resolve and work through. If you want a deep, loving and supportive relationship you have to work through (not avoid) the awkward conversations, the silences, the challenge of differences, the angry arguments, the unknowns and all of the messyness that comes with it. It’s part of the deal.
Despite the challenges and sometimes even because of the challenges, you still love the person you married. If you don’t really love your partner or your life’s desire, difficulties will lead to procrastination and obstacles will become hindrances rather than challenges. When you love someone or something enough though, you are willing to embrace even the most difficult of times, because that’s part of the love affair too.
The Process
The first step is to ask yourself what is your intention and what will it take to get there? Then start to consider how much love you have for what you have found and whether or not that is enough to get you through the struggles that will accompany your goal. If you aren’t willing to struggle and strive for it then you are not really in love with it enough to see it through.
The next step is to consider the price you’ll have to pay in regard to the struggles and obstacles that must be overcome. How willing are you to accept those things as part of the journey that will take you to the goal you have identified in step one? If you are willing, without doubt, to accept these hardships than you have made a decision that it is worth the price you have to pay to get there.
