Tag: Self Improvement

Last week, we wrote:

As you prepare to set goals and make plans for the year ahead, ask yourself: What do I definitely not want?

Make a list of what you don’t want and keep it handy…

If you spent time working on this question, you probably noticed how much easier it is to list what you don’t want, rather than trying to come up with a list of goals, plans, etc.

(If you haven’t made a list of “don’t wants” yet, then do it now.)

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✨ Here comes the magic…

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Now take your list of “don’t wants” and for each item on the list, ask yourself: What would be the opposite of this?

For example, if you wrote: “I don’t want to work a 9-5 job anymore”
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Then the opposite of that could be: “I want to set my own work hours”

You might find that writing down the opposites gives you some inspiration or drives you much closer to a clear vision of what you really want.

For example: “I want to have a career that I’m passionate about and control my own time and priorities.”

Or maybe even, “I want to start a travel blog for parents with toddlers.”

If that happens, great!

But don’t worry too much about the details for now, just write whatever comes to you that gets you inspired and excited.

Next week we are going to use this new list of opposites and give you one more powerful question to figure out how to make it all happen for you.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes it’s easier to express what we don’t like or don’t want than what we do?
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This happens with everything from food (“this dish is too salty” or “it needs something“) to design (“the placement of the logo looks weird”).

You can dismiss this tendency as complaining or you can call it inversion and put it to work on your behalf…
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As you prepare to set goals and make plans for the year ahead, ask yourself: What do I definitely not want?

Try to focus on the things that you can control — like your habits and decisions. Here are some examples:

• I don’t want to work in an office everyday
• I don’t want to sit around watching Netflix every night
• I don’t want to be alone
• I don’t want to live in this city anymore
• I don’t want to work for a company that doesn’t appreciate me
• I don’t want to be in a toxic relationship
• I don’t want to spend time with people who bring my energy down

Make a list of what you don’t want and keep it handy… We’ll use it as part of next week’s question.