Writers 
Unclear Objectives
Do you know what you want- really? Many people will be tempted to skip over this section because it doesn’t seem to apply to their situation. Do you feel the same temptation? Don’t be fooled. The truth is, the majority of us tend to set goals (or resolutions) for things we THINK we want, but not necessarily what we REALLY want.
Let me explain that idea a bit further.
How many times have you achieved a goal and then quickly realized that you weren’t satisfied by it? Such an experience can be confusing, to say the least. You find yourself wondering how you could have chosen a goal that now seems not to matter at all to you. Or you point to one tiny aspect of the goal and say, “Well, if it wasn’t for that, I had be satisfied. It just didn’t turn out like I hoped, that’s all.”
But that’s not usually what’s happening in this type of situation. Rather, most often we tend to set goals on the surface circumstances that we believe will make us feel happy, rather than focusing on the underlying ESSENCE of what we really want.
For example, let’s say that one of your goals is to work less so you have more time to enjoy life. You manage to rearrange your schedule so you have more time to yourself, but within a few weeks find yourself feeling bored and restless. You decide that freedom isn’t all it’s made out to be and eagerly bury yourself in work again –but still feel dissatisfied and yearn for something more. What happened with this goal?
There are numerous possibilities, but in my opinion, I’d say that you were actually craving something else, not just “freedom”– but you never connected with exactly what you wanted. Perhaps you were actually craving a greater sense of creativity, which you could have satisfied by setting aside a few hours a week to explore your artistic side. Maybe you actually desired a deeper spiritual connection, which you could have achieved through daily meditation or journaling.
The point is that every goal you set will have a deeper desire attached to it. Rather than focusing on the external situation or circumstances you are trying to create in your life– focus on the underlying FEELING you want to experience. Whenever you set a goal, your immediate question should be, “Why do I want this?” Don’t allow yourself to give a pat answer like, “It will make me happy.” WHY will it make you happy? What feelings will these new circumstances or experiences provide for you? Why are these feelings important to you? What deeper needs will they satisfy?
You may be surprised by what comes up when you start asking questions like this!. You’ll become aware of needs you didn’t even know you had. But that’ is a good thing, because only by knowing what you truly want can you get it!
Another side benefit is that by being super-clear on what you want, you may discover much easier and quicker ways to get it, maybe by making some small changes instead of rearranging your entire life circumstances. Sometimes we make things much harder than they need to be.
