Do you know what you want?

Want. What does it mean to you?

English definition: desire; feel or have a desire for; want strongly; "I want to go home now"; "I want my own room"; "I want a 2009 Bentley convertible."

We have all experienced "want" as a desire for something we do not have at the current moment.

When you are hungry, you want food.
When you are tired, you want sleep.
When you are poor, you want money.

It seems so easy and clear and yet millions of people really have no idea what they want. People spend enormous amounts of time trying to figure out what they want. Think about how long you peered at a menu in a restaurant before you made your choice. And how long do you spend in a dress shop, looking for the perfect dress. And then again time spent to find the perfect shoes that you want to match the dress...and then the handbag...you get the picture.

Everyone spends an inordinate amount of their lives simply trying to figure out what they want.

If you still don't believe that you spend lots of time trying to decide what you want, contemplate the opposite scenario, when you know exactly what you want. For example, when you crave a hamburger, your decision is quick and easy. Select a restaurant that serves hamburgers. When you want a blue silk handbag with crystal tassels, you will be very quickly scanning accessory departments to find your target. Naturally, the more precise and unique your want, it may take longer to actually find and fulfill the want--but that is for another blog on another day.

For the moment take this thought with and try the following experiment.

Tomorrow morning when you wake up, glance at the clock and write down the time on a pad of paper. Next, ask yourself if you want to eat lunch later in the day. Not what to eat, or when to eat, just whether or not you want to eat lunch. When you make a decision to eat lunch or not, write down the time of the lunch decision. Chances are it will simply be a minute or two (or even 10 seconds) after your first time notation. That's because you know your routine and your daily wants. If you normally eat lunch, the question is easy. If you normally don't eat lunch, again the decision is easy. If each day is different, and you are never really sure if you will or won't want lunch, chances are it will take longer before you decide if you want lunch.

I have not even begun to ask you to consider the question of what you will want to eat for lunch. Again, the lesson in the exercise is to understand that if you do not know what you want, it will take a longer time to actually get it.

And you will be left with a feeling of wanting for a much longer time.

A very simple concept, yet with massive impact on our overall happiness.

The next blog will consider your comments and / or add more perspective on how to get what you want on a regular basis.