I Want to Know What I Want 

By Suzanna Kennedy

“So what DO you want?” I’ll often ask this question after listening to someone tell me about how their life isn’t going the way they want it to. “I don’t know what I want, but this ain’t it,” is usually the reply. It’s pretty hard to create the life you desire if you haven’t identified what it is you really want. 

Starting with goal-setting techniques of the 1980s and moving on through affirmations and visualizing, many of the proponents of Creating Your Own Reality tell you that the first step in creating a more positive future is being specific about what you want. But what if you honestly don’t know?

Don’t be discouraged, there is a way to find out. Start by emphatically stating “I want to know what I want.” This simple goal statement gives your subconscious mind something to work on. Then simply open your mind and allow the data to start coming in. 

Notice the times during the day when you are feeling positive emotions such as happiness, peace, contentment, warm fuzzies and the like. What is happening at these times? What are you doing? What environment are you in? What kind of people are you with? What types of interactions are you engaged in? 

Feeling positive emotions is a sign that you are doing something that you want. You are aligned with your deepest desires and your inner being gives you feedback in the form of positive emotions. Look for patterns in what makes you feel good. Are you always with children? Are you out in nature? Are you happiest when you are being challenged with a difficult problem? Do you feel energized when you are helping others or does it drain you? Do you like being around people who are highly intelligent or do you prefer to be the teacher? Just notice what is going on when you feel good.

The nice thing about this technique is that the Law of Attraction will kick in. If you focus your attention on something, you will draw into your awareness other similar thoughts and events. So when you focus on good feelings, you will begin experiencing more good feelings. When you focus your attention on finding out what you want, you will draw into your awareness more examples of things you want. You will begin to notice that you are feeling good more often. Then the list of things you want in your life will grow and grow.

Accumulate details about what you want. Get a shoe box and fill it with examples. Cut out pictures from magazines or newspapers showing things you want such as clothes, cars, furniture, jewelry, houses, vacations, people engaged in activities you think you would enjoy, etc. Jot down notes describing what you are doing when you notice you are feeling good. When you meet somebody who has a pleasing personality trait that you would like to project, write it down. Accumulate details about all the little things you want and put them all in the box. 

When you have accumulated enough details, it’s time to organize them into a more complete picture. A method that I’ve seen work well is to paste the pictures and notes onto a poster board. Some people like to create a collage-style board, with pictures and notes intertwined in no particular order. Others like to subdivide the board into categories such as home, work, play, travel, relationships, appearance, etc.

If you are a writer, you may prefer painting a picture with words. Verlaine Crawford, in her book, Ending the Battle Within, suggests you look at what you want in many areas of your life such as health, wealth, self-expression, personal growth, spiritual growth, etc. Write the statements about what you want as if you already have them. Use “I” statements to make them personal and real for you.

After going through this exercise myself, I came up with these very specific statements about what I want. Use them as examples to come up with your own.

Self-Expression

The universe pays me abundantly for expressing my passion for life each day. I sing, I dance, I write, I heal, I teach, I compose heavenly music, I channel unconditional love and wisdom. I feel the creative vitality of life coursing through me.

Travel

I travel to beautiful, exotic places at times when the weather is sunny and warm. I spend just enough time in each place to experience the beauty, meet and enjoy wonderful people and learn about the unique aspects of the culture. I am welcomed as an ambassador of love and tranquillity wherever I go. Traveling from place to place is always easy, comfortable and safe.

Home

I live in a beautiful home that is simple, lovely and comfortable. The climate is warm and sunny most of the time and I feel completely safe here. Food and other supplies that add to my comfort and enjoyment are easy to acquire and are in abundant supply. The view from my home is breathtakingly beautiful, with water and mountains, sunrises and sunsets. This place on Earth enhances my feeling of tranquillity, creativity and strength. My home echoes my favorite colors, designs and tastes and is filled with wonderful artwork that I have collected from my travels around the world.

One of the most wonderful things about this physical playground we call Earth is that the people here have wonderfully diverse tastes and desires. There is an abundant supply of everything so that everyone’s desires can be fulfilled. There are, however, only a few people (but hopefully a growing number) who know what they want. So if you don’t know, FIND OUT. And then you will be on the road to creating the future you desire.