How to know what you want?

For so many of us, the question: "What do you want?" is incredibly difficult to answer. If you have had this experience, you are certainly not alone.

For most, it's easier to identify all of the things that we don't want.

But knowing what we want to eliminate, doesn't bring us any closer to what we do want.

One of the reasons we find this question such a difficult one to answer is perhaps because we are actually ignorant of what is possible. The ideal life is completely unknown to us.

Yes, life experience has made us incredibly wise as to what we don't like (which is why this is easier to refer back to), but we actually have very little understanding, or knowledge, of any plausible alternatives.

"What do you want?" is a transformative question that requires a significant amount of effort and curiosity to answer. It's really not as easy as just formulating a list of nice-to-haves.

For example, if you have never experienced love in your life, how would you ever know that what you truly want...is love? Love is literally the last thing on your mind, so it is not readily available to you as an option.

Do discover what you really want, you need to go beyond what is known. You need to purposefully get a little lost and travel into unchartered territory, which takes courage and an intention of venturing beyond the known.

The point is that is the question makes you uncomfortable, it's probably because you know, deep-down, that the answer will not emerge from your current library of understanding.

Recognising this is a fantastic first step.