What Do You Want From Life? (An Exercise)

Sometimes, the simplest questions* are the ones that get us thinking.

Like this one:

What do you want from life?

*If your answer is “more money,” you lose a point.

That’s because it’s too easy of an answer.

Your Answers Need To Be Specific

According to Google, this is the definition of specific:

“Clearly defined or identified.”

And that’s what your (life) goals need to be, if you want them to become reality.

So, again, what do you want from life?

What are your goals and dreams?

A Few Examples To Get You Started

Here are a few specific ideas that will give you a nice jump-start on this little exercise.

1. “I want a big house in Gates Mills, Ohio with lots of land.”

(This image of a big house in Gates Mills, Ohio comes courtesy of Wikimedia)

2. “I want to own a collection of 60’s and 70’s muscle cars.”
 

 
Notably, those two “wants” are material things. Which is fine.

But let’s go deeper.

What Do You Want From Life? (An Exercise)

Besides some nice, material things, what else can you come up with?

What else do you want from life?

A few examples…

1. “I want the freedom to do what I want, when I want.”

That sounds great!

But is there a way to be more specific?

How about this:

“I want to be able to-on a moment’s notice, hop on a jet and go to Las Vegas for a few days, and stay at a high-end hotel.”

(Image courtesy of Loadmaster, on Wikimedia)

I know…I know. It’s another material want. I never said this was going to be an easy exercise. But at least it’s a specific want. Let’s try again.

2. “I want to live a healthy life.”

Much better! But it’s not specific enough.

How about this:

“I want to be able to stay active and be pain-free well into my 70’s.”

There we go. That was specific.

What do you want from life?

Specifically?

P.S. Make sure you physically write your answers down.

Because it’s one thing to “think” about them. It’s quite another to write them down and see the words in front of you. It will have a huge impact on you. Especially if you keep them somewhere they can be seen…a lot.