Comments on: How to Discover What You Want

By: How (and Why) to Be Self-Disciplined

How (and Why) to Be Self-Disciplined — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:42:19 +0000

[...] have short-term and long-term wants. Short-term wants can be fulfilled right now, while long-term ones require prolonged and consistent [...]

By: miketuritzin

miketuritzin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:07:25 +0000

Thanks, Ilina. I’m definitely interested in checking out your web-app when it’s ready!

By: ilina

ilina — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:43:32 +0000

Wow, brilliant post… I am working on a web app which helps people manage their lives (life planning, time management and action planning) and your ideas make me wonder if something like this can be included as a feature someday. Actually, it would probably be cool to make a whole app that helps people discover what they want, step by step… hmm…

By: Why Grad School Might Not Be Such a Good Idea

Why Grad School Might Not Be Such a Good Idea — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:04:19 +0000

[...] talked in the past about performing thought experiments to discover what you want. Those can be effective, but they’re not the best method. The [...]

By: What to Do When You Don’t Know What You Want

What to Do When You Don’t Know What You Want — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:47:22 +0000

[...] already written about how to discover what you want. The basic idea: Try as many things as possible and see what sticks; project yourself into the [...]

By: miketuritzin

miketuritzin — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:40:40 +0000

I did think about a related issue while writing this: is long-term happiness (or unhappiness) something that must exist? Is it possible to live fully in the moment all of the time? Maybe it is, but I am skeptical that _I_ could live that way. And even if I could, I’m not sure if I’d want to.

I think you can think about the future without “worrying” about it–I prefer words like “plan” or “strategize” I completely agree that it’s a bad idea to be thinking about the future all the time. It does make sense to make a plan and then stick with it for a little while before reconsidering. Every action doesn’t need a long-term justification.

In terms of trusting your intuition, I think the trick is to recognize when you are feeling fear rather than a real intuitive sense of what you should do. If I think of speaking in public, I immediately feel nervous–but I don’t consider that my “gut reaction.” Intuitively, I feel that speaking is a good idea even if the idea is fear-inducing.

By: Chris Turitzin

Chris Turitzin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:53:41 +0000

Nice post.

This is definately something that I think about ALL THE TIME! And certainly to a fault.

I have found I can fall into two personal states, either living in the present, or worrying about the future.

Nearly always, I look back on the times of worrying about the future and wish I had just ‘relaxed’ at the time and enjoying what was actually happening!

I feel confident that I will eventually make the right decision, but what bothers me is the process that leads up to that. When deciding to leave/stay at a job, or leave/stay in a relationship, the absolute ideal is to not think about the question AT ALL until the occasional (every couple of months) personal check-ins. You look over how the last months have been, how you feel now, and how you feel about the future, and you decide to keep going or to quit.

I enjoyed Seth Godin’s book, The Dip. It addresses the issue of knowing WHEN to quit.

And then there is the issue of gut trust. When should I trust my gut? And when should I challenge it? I believe our gut feelings are not always right, and often it is a good idea to PUSH ourselves outside of our internal impulses.

To conclude, it’s a complex issue that haunts the most self-aware the most.