Know what you want and waste less time

Hello friends!

This past week I have been learning about a very valuable lesson in life. When you know exactly what you want, you waste less time on irrelevant matters. I’m not sure I am ready to share all of the details of how I came to this conclusion, but let me tell you, when I did come to this conclusion, it was life changing. Here is a hypothetical situation I experienced this last week..

Chocolate. Not everybody wants it, nobody needs it. There are lots of different kinds of chocolate. Some people prefer chocolate candy bars and some people prefer small pieces of wrapped up chocolate. A couple weeks ago I decided I was ready to begin exploring the different kinds of chocolate out there to see if there was one right for me. I started off by walking through the candy aisle to see what my options were. One of the candy bars started calling out to me. I picked it up and starting reading the wrapper to see what it had to offer me. It didn’t seem too awful so I went ahead and bought it. I started eating the candy bar and the first few bites were good but as I continued to eat it I realized how many things were in the candy bar that I was not too fond of. By this point I was angry that I prepared myself to find the perfect kind of chocolate, dragged myself to the store to look for it, brought it back home, and found it completely gross. I started thinking about why I didn’t like this candy bar and what would make it better. The candy bar I purchased had a hidden taste of coconut, I don’t really care for coconut. Some people like coconut, but it just isn’t for me. Also, this candy bar was rather large in size, it made me feel like it was forcing itself on me and that I had to give in to eating the whole thing. Another thing I didn’t like about this candy bar, it was messy and melted on my fingers. I had to wash my hands of the crap that it left behind. It suddenly became clear to me as to what I really wanted. I wanted a Hershey’s Kiss. What is so great about a Hershey’s kiss? There isn’t anything hidden on the inside. It’s small and bite sized making it less messy and you aren’t forced to eat a lot at once. The “kiss” part also implies something romantic, it wants you too feel loved and good about yourself. Finally figuring out what type of chocolate I wanted made my hunt for the perfect chocolate so much easier! I no longer have to waste my time walking through the candy isle looking for the perfect chocolate. AMAZING!

While this is not really what happened to teach me this lesson, I did learn this lesson. Before you go out searching for something or set out to reach a goal, figure out exactly what you are wanting. It makes things so much easier and you don’t waste time working for things you really want. Never settle for something less than what you want either. Keep searching and working toward what you want and when you finally get it, it will be so worth it!

Don’t give up.

So here I am, about a week and a half after my last post about what I want to accomplish this year. My first week of classes are done and I am quickly approaching my weekend. Sure I have been busy with classes, going to work, attending campus student organization meetings and catching up on the new seasons of my TV shows, but have I really accomplished much in doing all of that. As I look back on the list of things I said I wanted to accomplish this year, I have already forgot what some of them entailed.. It hasn’t even been two weeks yet. I don’t feel like I have totally failed, but the thing I am thinking about more is, what keeps us from working towards the things we claim to want? Do we not want them bad enough or do we really even want them at all? It can be so easy to lose sight of the goals that we set for ourselves. So many things get in the way and distract us: homework, work, friends, electronics, social media, sleeping, gaming, etc. How to we get past all the crap that holds us back from looking at the big picture and reaching for those long term goals? Here are just a few ideas that I have…

For those of you who have given up on your 2013 resolutions already…

2013 is officially underway and all around the world people have set New Years resolutions and some have even broke them already.  The top ten New Years resolutions that are set in America each year include: losing weight, getting organized, spending less/saving more, enjoying life to the fullest, staying fit and healthy, learning something exciting, quitting smoking, helping others in their dreams, falling in love and spending more time with family.  Embarrassingly enough I am highly likely to set all of those as New Years resolutions.  Statistics say that about only 8% of Americans who make New Years resolutions are actually successful in achieving them. However, people who make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who do not make New Years resolutions.  I myself have not officially set my New Years resolutions yet but here is my attempt to set some goals for this year and have them in a place where people can hold me accountable.