Once you have a pretty good handle on the two big questions of “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?”, there is another significant question you can ask yourself.
What do I want now?
This is a smaller scale question than the other two, and it’s purpose is to help keep you on track with your goals and dreams.
On a large scale “what I want” is probably the same as “Why I am here”
- I am here – to make the world a happier place
- I want – to make the world a happier place
but on a small scale, this is asking “what is it you want to work toward NOW that will help in making the world a happier place?”
For example:
What I want now is:
- To help people achieve their goals and dreams and have a more fulfilling life through self-discovery and laughter.
- To help 100 people laugh for no reason by the end of 2010.
- To spread the word about the benefits of happiness and laughter.
I think you get the point.
These are much more specific smaller goals that will help me achieve my larger purpose of making the world a happier place.
I may talk later about S.M.A.R.T. goals (my version not the usual) and how to go after your goals and make plans and such, but for now there is only one thing you need to know when trying to answer this question:
How does the answer make me FEEL?
Does it inspire you? Does it feel like an exciting challenge? Does it terrify you?
If your goals are on the right path to achieving your purpose and are in line with who you are then they will feel right. If they are not in line with your purpose and who you are, they won’t feel right.
One of my goals is at some point to do some stand up comedy. It terrifies me, because stand up is not easy to do, but at the same time it still feels right, it’s in line with who I am.
On the other hand, the goal of being a millionaire by the time I’m 40 (which was a goal of mine for a while) really doesn’t line up with my purpose and who I am and so it will probably never really motivate or inspire me. It might be nice if I can do it, but the only way I will ever achieve this is in the purpose of some OTHER goal that is RIGHT for me.
So, what do you want now?
It’s up to you.
Keep laughing.