What Do You Want to Do?

As someone focused on tackling procrastination and creating motivation for meaningful action, I can forget that at times that a lack of drive is not the only problem people face. As I believe that all humans have this natural tendency or drive to seek happiness, then addressing some of the reasons why some people don’t is important.

I suspect many of you did not know what you wanted to be as an adult when you were in middle school. Well maybe you did, but just changed your mind a few times, then all of the sudden wake up one morning and realizing you were already an adult. I knew what I wanted to be since kindergarten; a bus driver. Then a few years later; a garbage man. After that; a teacher. My first real dream was becoming a child psychologist. I was in middle school health class and when I learned about how deep and complicated the human mind was I knew that I had to figure this out. I mean, being an awkward preteen made me think I could save some kid the trouble of making the same mistakes I made. That dream stayed with me until college where I majored in psychology and went on to earn my Masters in mental health counseling. It wasn’t until I neared the end of my graduate schooling that I realized that being a psychologist was not what I wanted to be for the rest of my life. What I did know was that I wanted to help people. I wanted to help people in the most effective and time efficient way. That is as why I began coaching individuals.

OK, now you want to know how you can figure out what direction you should be going in or where your efforts should be focused. If you’re at the point in your life when you are ready to shape your future around something you are passionate about then try this exercise.

I believe that anybody pursuing the goal they are truly passionate about will find success and happiness. If you can imagine going to bed tonight and while you are sleeping something magical happens. All the problems and roadblocks that were set before you are now gone. Now, this change happened while you were sleeping so you are not yet aware of this change. When you wake up and go through your day, what things will indicate that this amazing change happened? What are you doing? Who is around you? What do you feel, see, hear, smell? Go into as much detail as possible including what you are doing for work and what you are doing on your free time.

This is a variation of the ‘Miracle Question’ used in solution-focused therapy. I want you visualize your life free from any excuse or roadblock to your happiness. By detailing what you would experience using your five sense, you unknowingly outline your blueprint for success. You answer the questions of what does being happy and being successful mean to you.

Another way to uncover your life calling or passion is to ask yourself: “If I could work any job and still get paid $1 million per year, what job would I do?” This will remove money out of the equation so you can just focus on passionate action.

If you do know what you want to accomplish but don’t know where to begin, work backwards. Start with the end result you want and then write the immediate task that needs to get done for that goal to be met and continue on down the list to the most basic and primary task. When setting small tasks for myself as part of a larger goal, I start as small as possible to build the momentum as I cross things off my list. It can be as simple as committing to making a necessary phone call by the end of the day or having two consultation sessions in a week. Start small and build on your momentum.

What did you want to be when you were young? When you didn’t know anything about paying bills or needing to be rational. Send me your responses in the comments below. #SolutionFocused #Dreamer #FreeToBe