What’s want but a second hand emotion?
What’s want got to do, got to do with it?
Who needs a want when a want can be broken?
OK. Enough Tina Turner, right?
But seriously, what does want have to do with anything? I mean besides EVERYTHING.
You can’t even have a regular story, let alone a strong story, without the protagonist wanting something. You’re the protagonist in your story…want something for heaven’s sake. If you’re really ambitious, DESIRE something.
Neal A. Maxwell once said:
“Desire denotes a real longing or craving. Hence, [our] desires are much more than passive preferences or fleeting feelings. Of course our genes, circumstances, and environments matter very much, and they shape us significantly. Yet there remains an inner zone in which we are sovereign, unless we abdicate. In this zone lies the essence of our individuality and our personal accountability.
“Therefore, what we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive.”
Take a good look at whom you’ve become and what you’ve received. Are you happy with what you see? Either way, understand that you are who you and you’ve received what you received because of your desires. You’ve got to start desiring better.
There are three things you need to know about desire.
DESIRES HINT AT YOUR CONTRIBUTION
John Eldredge writes, “There is a secret set within each of our hearts…It is simply our desire for life as it was meant to be.” That secret is whispered from time to time on the reticent longings of your heart.
The problem is that, too often, we neglect these desires to the point of abandonment. This is a tragedy. As Eldredge writes:
“[T]he greatest human tragedy of all is to abandon the desires of your heart, to give up searching for life. For in those hidden desires, you will discover the person you were meant to be and the life you were meant to live.
“The secret of your life is written on your heart’s desire.”
Are you paying attention to your heart’s desire. It may be trying to tell you something.
WANT THE RIGHT THINGS
When you start listening to your heart, you will start to notice that you want to live more fully, with greater purpose, and with greater meaning.
Donald Miller gives us a metaphor:
“If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn’t tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you’d seen. The truth is, you wouldn’t remember that movie a week later, except you’d feel robbed and want your money back. Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo.
“But we spend years actually living those stories, and expect our lives to be meaningful. The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.”
Don’t desire Volvos in your life. Seek out meaningful pursuits. Want to make a contribution. Want to lighten the burdens of others.
THE DEGREE TO WHICH YOU DESIRE MATTERS
Do you quantify your desires? If you really want something, you really need to start quantifying. On a scale of 1-10 (10 meaning you want it really, super bad), how badly do you want it? Order these desires from highest to lowest.
Start working on the 8s, 9s, and 10s immediately. These are your burning desires. These are the desires that will spike your creativity, ignite your strengths, and resonate with your motivating why.
Napoleon Hill reminds us, “There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.”
If your initial desire is less than an 8, choose something else. Otherwise, keep digging into the desire until you find the underlying hunger that is an 8, 9, or 10.
Start with desire. You’ll find yourself in your desires. You’ll identify your unique contribution to this world. Be sure to want the right things and make sure to want them with all your heart.
Get your desires right and you’re on you’re way to living a strong story.
Live a Strong Story. The world needs it.