Skip to main content

Will vs Want

Building your Dreams with Commitments 

I saw an interesting video earlier today from Patrick Bet-David. In 68 seconds he told the story of an interaction with his 8 year old son. 

What is the difference between will and want?

His perspective was this. If we say we will do something, then we have to do it. If we say we want something, won’t don’t have to.

How do you feel now saying you ‘want’ anything for yourself? That’s a heavy frame.

It connected with another idea I came across recently. It was a similar juxtaposition, the difference between seeing something as an obligation versus an opportunity.

Here’s the viscous cycle then that people fall into.

What identify things that we want. These are our opportunities. Things that we would like to do or represent some ideal self to achieve. For some, they may be their dreams.

Everyone encourages you to pursue your dreams. To go after whatever it is that you want, yet we are all ready to accept that it doesn’t have to happen.

Counterbalanced against our dreams, we manage our responsibilities. I am not suggesting that this is “the bad bucket” by any means. What falls here is much of got us to where we are now. It is the foundation for things that we want. They are however commitments that we have in place.

They often take priority because they are real. Our wants haven’t happened yet, so they are much easier to push off.

Knowing that there’s a disconnect in our mental model around wants, the easiest thing you can do to achieve your goals is to make them obligations.

No, I am not telling you just to think of them differently, that’s a start though.

Frame those opportunities with realistic goals. I hate using systems but S.M.A.R.T. goals do work.

  1. Break down what you want to achieve into steps
  2. For those steps, what things do you have to do or learn to make them happen
  3. Set dates when you plan to complete them by

This creates accountability. This will help you succeed.

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to Avoid the 'Quick Fix' Lure of Technology That's Stifling Your Creativity

  We live in a world that is obsessed with solving problems with a system or technology. How many times have you hear someone [basically] say "let's get an app for that"? Crazy. I'm all for shiny new things. I love my toys as much as you do.  Rarely however does that new systems, application or software suite fix any of the underlying issues. When was the last time you started using something new, either in your personal or professional life, and it immediately fixed your problem and you changed nothing about what you are doing. Often, what ends up happening, is that as businesses look to implement some new tech, they also end up having to change HOW they are doing things. The changes that are made to core processes is what drives the success. Using your phone to track your steps, your sleep, your workout or to even help you write. Pause for a second, think about any of those situations.  Tracking your steps and setting daily goals means that you are actually walking ...

The Delicate Dichotomy of “The Right Choice”

  The Best Decision Isn’t Always as Obvious as It Seems Your success at work is correlated to the quality of your relationships. Easy right? It’s common sense. You might even be wondering who doesn’t already know this. The challenge isn’t about attitude though. You’re right, nobody likes the as%ho^e — Don’t be that person. The challenge comes when you have to choose between being right or making the right choice. The Problem My team and I had been working on a large project that had been pushed back multiple times over the years. The market finally got to a point where the problem in the field had to be addressed. We dusted off our files and started looking at the information we had built 3 years prior. We made our plans for what needed to be refreshed and how we would go about it. We cut through the project quickly. The team had matured a lot in that time and those roadblocks from the past were mere pebbles on the road this time around. Cue the problem. The fundamental assumptions...

The Irony Of A World That Needs Big Leaps

While Promoting Nothing but Fear  The dream of previous generations was to find a good job, settle in, work hard, get promoted and retire. People were happy to be in one place, and for many of them, one place provided them everything they needed. The world has change. Business has changed. People have changed. I recently read the book Jump by Kim Perell. It's not exactly a business book, definitely geared towards taking big leaps - more framed for life in general. The core ideas are great. Nothing dramatically different than a lot of what you will find in other books in the self-help genre, however the presentation is on point and well structured. Kim sets up the three main buckets for why people need to take big leaps (or jumps) in their life. You have no choice (i.e. something has happened to you) You see an opportunity You're feeling stuck The book did connect for me on a personal level, however I found a lot of parallels for my professional life as well. I've spent the ...