on feeling stuck
The last few years of my twenties were defined by frustration. I didnβt know what to do with my life, and the more I tried to figure it out, the more I felt completely stuck. I knew I wanted to do something big, to have a tangible impact on others, but I had no idea what that βsomethingβ was.
This frustration came with a spiral of recurring thoughts. What do I want? Why canβt I figure it out? I need to figure it out. Iβm running out of time. Iβm falling behind. Iβm wasting my life. I need to get started. I need to know what I want.
Today, I have a pretty clear vision of the life I want to build. That vision is still constantly growing and shifting, and thereβs still some uncertainty about how exactly Iβll achieve it. But my relationship to that uncertainty has changed. It feels less like a burden and more like a creative opportunity. Iβm excited to bring my vision to life, and I feel I have momentum on my side: finally, thereβs a sense of movement, of forward progress.
It wasnβt my fault that I was stuck. I just didnβt have the tools to connect with my intuition, to understand my desires, and to turn my impulses into action. Now, I have a process for doing so. Thatβs what I want to share with you today.
energizing vs depleting goals
Whatβs hard about understanding what you want is the inevitable presence of βshouldβ. When we think about our future, βshouldβ looms its head in thoughts like βI should find a stable careerβ or βI need to be married by 25β or βI have to finish this project.β
βShouldβ statements arenβt always wrong, but they often point to a desire rooted in fear. They represent a defensive position: βI need to do X or else Y will happen.β
You can understand the root fear by asking βwhat happens then?β e.g. βI should find a higher paying jobβ β βWhat happens if I donβt?β β βThen people wonβt respect me as muchβ β βWhat happens then?β β βI wonβt have any friends.β We can then rephrase the original statement as βI need to make more money or else I wonβt have any any friends.β
Maybe thatβs true! But maybe not. The main thing to understand about βshouldβ desires is that they feel draining. They compel us to do things we donβt really want to do in order to satisfy a fear that may or may not be true. They also generate internal resistance by putting our more joyful parts in conflict with our fearful parts. βI need to make more moneyβ usually contains the hidden subtext of βbut Iβd rather do work thatβs meaningful to me.β Should is trying to force away that βratherβ.
Inner conflict is inherently depleting, and βshouldβ desires cause inner conflict by focusing on whatβs expected of us, pitting it against what we actually want.
But the conflict is an illusion. In the above example, if you look closely, you can see our two distinct desires: βI want friendshipβ and βI want meaningful work". Fear convinces us that these goals are opposed, but theyβre not. With a bit of distance, we can see how friendship and meaningful work could easily go hand-in-hand. We donβt have to choose between them.
Good friends could support us in finding meaningful work, and meaningful work could help us connect with likeminded folks. And both can happen without the inner conflict, allowing us to be energized and present in both pursuits.
Figuring out what you want is all about sorting through the βshouldβ statements to uncover what you actually want, and then taking bold action to bring it to life.
understanding your wants
βI donβt know what I wantβ is a state of confusion, created by conflicting desires. We end up analyzing our various wants to find the βrightβ one. Since thereβs no clear criteria about what makes a desire βrightβ, we end up thinking ourselves in circles.
Asking βis this the right thing to want?β is an analytical process, but desire itself is an intuitive process. When we put the pressure on ourselves to find the most βacceptableβ desire, we end up repressing anything that doesnβt seem safe. Thus we end up circling around the same set of safe desires, that donβt actually speak to our soul.
Knowing what we want, in contrast, starts with making space for our intuition to speak.
The judgement of whether a desire is βacceptableβ often comes from a place of fear. If I genuinely want a certain career, but Iβm afraid of uncertainty or financial instability, Iβll be quick to judge that I βshouldnβtβ want that career.
To make matters worse, that judgement often happens at a subconscious level, leading us to discard desires before they even make it to our conscious awareness. If youβve ever felt βI donβt seem to want anythingβ, thatβs likely a case of subconscious interception.
Our first task, then, is to stop judging our desires. Stop judging any desire. That doesnβt mean we act on every desire; it just means we welcome them all with a smile. That desire to become a famous reality TV star? Nice, letβs make space for that. Wanting to tell your boss to fuck off? Yeah, I feel that. That urge to get revenge on your ex in the messiest way possible? Thatβs cool, I get it.
What weβre doing here is creating a space of non-judgement, which allows your subconscious to feel safe to open up. If you have a desire that is buried under a fear of criticism (including self-criticism), we want to increase the odds that it will surface.
This approach takes practice. Itβs about noticing when a desire emerges, and noticing your tendency to judge it, and gently making space to hold it in your attention.
Over time, youβll find that more and more desires come to mind, from all over the spectrum of acceptability. Again, we donβt need to act them all out. But we do want to take the time to consider what theyβre saying. Once we have created that space of non-judgement, once we have access to our true wants, then itβs time to get analytical.
understanding your true desires
Now we have a sense of all the different things we want. But if your desires are anything like mine, theyβre probably a confusing, conflicting mess. How can βI want to make a big impact on the worldβ and βI want to get revenge on my exβ sit side-by-side? How can we reconcile the tension there?
Simple: we get clear on what the root desire is. And the root desire is always a feeling.
We are embodied beings. All of our experiences get translated and interpreted at the level of the body. Everything we do is a strategy to get access to a certain felt experience. That felt experience might be calm, or joy, or love, or something else. Whatever it is, thatβs what weβre really after.
Every desire you have can be unpacked down to a certain felt experience. All we have to do is ask the question βwhat happens then?β
βI want to make a big impact on the worldβ β βWhat happens then?β β βIβll go to bed at night knowing that my life was worth somethingβ β βWhat happens then?β β βIβll feel like Iβm a good personβ β βWhat happens then?β β βIβll feel relaxed and confident.β
βMaking a big impact on the worldβ is actually about feeling relaxation and confidence. That doesnβt diminish the nobility of that idea; it just means that it springs from wanting to feel a certain way about yourself and your place in the world.
We can repeat the process with a negative desire. βI want my ex to be heartbroken over what they did to meβ β βWhat happens then?β β βThen Iβll know Iβm not easily discardedβ β βWhat happens then?β β βI wonβt be treated like that againβ β βWhat happens then?β β βIn my next relationship, I can feel relaxed and confidentβ.
Ah, itβs the same root desire: to feel relaxation and confidence. βI want to make a meaningful impact on the worldβ and βI want to get revenge on my exβ are two strategies to achieve the same thing. From that understanding springs a greater sense of empowerment, a greater ability to choose which desire to follow.
But before we make that choice, we need to take the time to understand what weβre seeking. Your task is to meet every desire with loving curiosity, and, for each one, figure out what youβre seeking. Keep asking βwhat happens then?β until you get to a feeling, something that you can imagine experiencing in your body: confidence, relaxation, joy, warmth, love, excitement, ease, etc.
As you do so, notice the patterns. Which feelings show up over and over? What feelings are you spending your whole life chasing?
Once we know what weβre after, we get to decide how we go about it.
choosing a strategy
Letβs say youβre paying attention to your desires, and working to understand the root feelings, and you notice that βjoyβ and βloveβ kept coming up. Those are feelings you seem to particularly crave and want access to.
The next step is simple: pick the best strategy for accessing joy and love.
That means choosing the desires which seem to have the best odds of giving you access to those feelings. You might have a desire to βbecome really popularβ and another desire to βspend more time with your oldest friendsβ. On the surface, those desires seem to conflict, but theyβre both about joy and love. Yet which is the better strategy? Which seems more likely to give us the most joy and love?
In this lens, the answers become pretty clear. Getting revenge on your ex is not a very effective strategy for relaxation and confidence, but pursuing meaningful work is. Thereβs no need to shame or judge any of these strategies: theyβre just different ways to access certain feelings. We want to bring a stance of non-judgement and acceptance, but also think critically about what will work best.
In my experience, the most effective strategies also just seem to be the most beautiful and loving ones. But thatβs for you to uncover. Think about your biggest desires, the ones that most easily come to mind. Whatβs the root feeling? Which desires are practical and easy to act out? Which ones could you start today, and start experiencing the feelings you want?
experimenting & creating
From here, itβs just about trying different strategies. I want access to relaxation, and a good strategy for that seems to be morning yoga. So Iβll try that out, and see if it works to make me more relaxed.
If it doesnβt workβif waking up early for yoga actually makes me more stressed and crankyβthen no problem. Thatβs great feedback. Whatβs another strategy I can use to feel relaxation? Maybe itβs calling my best friend in the morning. Maybe itβs going for a walk.
Here I can get creative. I can use a sense of artistry, of working to create the life I want through access to the feelings I most want. At each stage, Iβm noticing the results, turning my day into a series of experiments.
Now we have a way forward. We have a way of accessing what we want, a way to figure out what feeling weβre actually seeking, a method for choosing what to do next, and a feedback loop to tell us whatβs working.
Itβs also a recursive process. Maybe going for a walk in the morning does give me a sense of relaxation, and in turns sparks a new desire: to go for a swim in the ocean. I can ask myself: what feeling do I think that will give me? Ah, joy. Does it seem like a good strategy for accessing joy? Yes? Okay, time to test it out.
The more you see desires as potential experiments, the easier it is to access that frame of non-judgement and acceptance. No desire is bad; itβs just a potential experiment. If it feels like it would be an ineffective or harmful experiment, we can choose not to try it. Having the desire doesnβt make us bad or wrong; itβs just another creative option.
By bringing this process into your day-to-day life, youβll take the pressure off βfiguring out what you wantβ as this big imposing task, and turn it into a fun game of experimentation and creativity. What feelings do you want? How can you access them? What happens next?
putting it into practice
If youβre keen to start this process, you can try this journaling exercise:
Make a list of everything you want or feel you should want. Try to write down every big or little desire, whim, or craving, without judgement, with pure acceptance and curiosity.
For each desire, keeping asking βwhat happens then?β until you get down to the root feeling. How would having this make you feel? As you do so, start to notice the patterns, the feelings that show up again and again.
Pick the 2-3 feelings that appear the most, and pick which desires seem most likely to give you access to those feelings. These are your best strategies for getting the experience you desire.
Take small but bold steps towards those desires, and see if the results match the intention. Does taking those actions give you the feelings you want? Tweak and experiment from there.
Thanks for reading. I invite you to comment below with what comes up for you; what feelings do you crave the most? What are your best strategies for getting access to those feelings?
With love & appreciation,
Scott
π 1:1 coaching with me
The journal exercise was really useful. I was struck by how the desire for a few feeling states (joy, safety, connection, play) seem to be at the root of most of my wants. Remembering those feelings when I'm experiencing resistance to creating feels like it could be a way forward. I'm really enjoying your posts, Scott. Thank you!
Stumbled upon this letter, and felt it in my bonesβ absolutely love what you have written. Reminds me of the philosophy written about in The Inner Game of Tennis- how important it is to not criticize or praise but to simply observe our thoughts, actions, habits, etc. When you limit excessive and mostly unnecessary feedback from your own self, thereβs so much less noise to wade through to get to what you actually want. Thank you for writing!