What do you want? Really want?
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
OMG! Where has the month gone? I can’t believe it’s almost July!
I know you’ve been doing a lot of cleaning and clearing of both physical and mental clutter. Now I have one more task to springboard you into next month’s theme-Clarity.
Lately everything I see and hear is asking me “What do you want?”
About 10 years ago, I went to an art gallery reception in Boston. I was drawn to these particular photographic works. There was a man standing nearby.
“Is this yours?” I asked. He nodded affirmatively.
“Where was this?”
“India,” he said. “I finally took the trip.”
“Why finally? What stopped you before?”
“Well, I was hit by a truck, but that wasn’t why I didn’t go. That’s why I finally went.”
Heck, who can turn away from a conversation like that!
“Tell me more,” I begged.
“I love photography. Always have, even as young kid. The whole idea of seeing something from a different eye, a different perspective, fascinated me. But I grew up in a very traditional New England family, a family of lawyers. The only path I was told was viable and sustainable was Law. So I gave up photography in college and went to Law School.
Then one day, out of the blue, as I was walking across State Street, I was literally hit by a truck.
As I lay there, going over my life, I told myself, ‘If I survive this, I will give up law and go back to photography.’
And that’s what I’ve done. I’m traveling the world now taking photographs and I couldn’t be happier and more fulfilled. You know, sometimes you just have to get hit by a truck to course-correct and regain your vision.”
The Question of the Week involves decluttering the voices from the past and zeroing in on what you want for your future.
It’s a three step process. Detaching what others want and need from you. Defining what you really want and then asking for it. And don’t wait-thinking things have to change for you to live the life you want. The only change necessary is in your thinking and belief in yourself. There is no time like the present. Everything can shift on a dime.
What messages have I been told about who and what to be?
Do I want that for myself or something else?
What do I really want my life to look and feel like 3 months from now?
Here’s something I use to help me forecast my future and tap into what I really want - I have a conversation with my future self and ask her what she really wants.
By asking her instead of myself, it removes a lot of the stigma of what I think I can have, and more so, what I think I can’t have.
I usually use mediation but honestly you can have the conversation anywhere - on a walk down the road taking to the trees, writing in your journal, driving your car. Being with yourself is what really matters so you’re not hindered by another’s presence.
I hope you have fun with this. Life is truly meant to be fun, not hard, not sad, not full of worry. There are no right or wrong questions or answers to anything. Just ask away - your future self knows what she wants and needs to be happy.
Oh, and that beautiful photograph that man took - it’s the one above in this post.
Each time I look at it, it simultaneously grounds me into my purpose and catapults me into possibility.
Best,
Janet
“I honor my self-worth by asking for what I want.”
- Anonymous
If you’d like to join the BBA conversation just email me - janet@hutchensmedia.com
We meet on Zoom - Thursdays at 6-7:30pm EST.
Tuesdays at 9am and Noon are also options - let me know if that’s better for you.