When you think of your day (and your life!) are you spending a lot of time ‘busy’, doing a lot of ‘things’ but nothing that is bringing you closer to reaching your goals or finding your purpose? 

With the go, go, go lifestyle we all live now, it’s so easy to get distracted rather than focussing on creating the life we truly want to live.

And it’s easy to get distracted, when you don’t actually know what you really want.

 

You might say, “Of course I know what I want!” But when you sit down and think about it – do you? Do you know what your calling, greater purpose or what your ideal life looks like (private islands and adopting all of the puppies aside)?

 

If you do, then you keep living your dream! heart (and can you give the rest of us some tips wink ).

 

We spoke with Executive Coach Michael Puhle , to find out how we can figure out what we really want.

 

What do you really want? 

The simplest yet most unanswered question.

 

What do you want? It’s a simple question that even for the most aware of us, remains unanswered. Simple, because we all already know what we want; and unanswered, because we are so eager to let life get in the way.

 

Not anymore!

 

It’s time to live our lives in active pursuit of who we truly want to be.

 

Believe.

I encourage that we approach the question of what we want from a fresh viewpoint. Belief and Trust in ourselves.

 

We are so eager to go and find what we want or who we want to be, looking for validation from something external that we’ve become blind to the truth – the answer is within.

 

To live a life fulfilled it need not be complicated, simply stop searching and start listening.

 

 “What do I really want?” It is the most important question we ever ask of ourselves. In answering, we need assistance to know; and in actioning, we need the courage to ask.

 

Know What You Want.

Our view of what we want is best obtained by asking ourselves who we want to be. Fortunately, we can be this person immediately because they are already within us!

They are uncovered by the values that when acted upon, give our lives their greatest meaning.

 

There are multiple avenues to uncovering your values. Here are a few ideas:

• Think of the person you most admire in the world. What traits of theirs cause you to admire them?
• Your best friend just accidentally pocket dialled you, she is talking to a group of your mutual friends describing you and you get to eavesdrop. What attributes do you hope to hear her say?
• Think of your top two or three most proud moments from life. What characteristics did you display during those moments that make you proud?

 

Now that we are aware of who we want to be, it becomes much easier to know what we want (as that person). The part that doesn’t become easy, is acting in alignment with the values of who we want to be.

To do that, we need to have the guts to ask for what we want.

 

Ask for What You Want.

With every thought, sentence and action we are indicating to the world the life that we want to live. Our everyday habits become our behaviours, these turn into our persona and before we know it – that’s who we are!

Many of us live our lives unaware that we created it!

 

Luckily, if we created it once, we can do so again.

 

In everything that we do, we should be operating in alignment with our values. To act in accordance with the values we hold dear is to ask the world for what we truly want.

 

 

Please, have the courage to ask.

 

Have the courage to create the habits and behaviours that truly embody the values you uncover.

• If you value your relationship, then have the courage to nurture it daily.
• If you value your health, then have the courage to create the daily habit of moving.
• If you value honesty, then have the courage to speak up when no one else will.

 

Uncovering our values is important but it means nothing without the courage to act on them.

 

To live our most fulfilled lives we need to believe. Believe and trust in ourselves that we already know what we want and have the courage to ask for it.

 

Who you want to be and what that person wants is already within you – stop searching and start listening!

 

 

 

Michael Puhle is the Inspirer of Ambition, Executive Coach & Speaker and Founder of Words With Oz.