Note: I’m writing an occasional series about my own coaching sessions. This is part 4.

Food for thought:

When I decided to take my sabbatical from work in 2021, it wasn’t because I had a deep & authentic desire to spend 6 months backpacking around Vietnam or shadowing wildlife rangers in the Amazon rainforest.

It was simply because I had no other choice. 

Work was so overwhelming and all-encompassing that a sabbatical felt like the only way out.

Same thing when it came to my 5 months teetotalling last year.

I didn’t quit alcohol because of some huge desire to be healthier. 

Truth is, I love a pint of Timothy Taylor’s finest and I would’ve happily kept enjoying a tipple or three.

No. 

I quit alcohol because I was done giving myself a tough time for drinking. 

This same theme has popped up in a few different parts of my life. 

And at some point in the last year or so, I realised I’d gotten a bit fed up using pain-avoidance as my compass.  I’d much rather fill my life with stuff I love rather than spend it avoiding the things I hate.

I mentioned this to my coach and we started chatting about wants & desires.

Clearly we all want things.

These wants aren’t usually logical or universal.  We don’t always know why we want what we want and one person’s dream might be someone else’s nightmare.

But these wants still exist.

And as the coaching session came to end, it dawned on me that wanting is almost like a sixth sense.

In order to see, I use my sense of sight. 

In order to feel, I use my sense of touch. 

So what if in order to know what I want, I use my sense of wanting?  And what if the more I use it, the easier it is to pick up on?

It’s not as crazy as it might sound.

I can tell when an idea lights me up and fills me with energy, excitement & inspiration. 

Sure, it’s not always obvious.  Sometimes it’s very subtle.

But I can still tell.

For instance, I remember first coming across the idea of daily emails. 

A daily newsletter seemed so wacky, so out there, so unusual – and yet so intriguing, so spot on and so FUN!

In that moment, I knew I wanted to start a daily newsletter.

There wasn’t even a big reason for it.  Not that I could put my finger on anyway.  Yet here we are, two & half years later, chugging away and still going strong.

It's a good example of me following my wanting.

And I see how doing this more could lead to a bigger, bolder and more enjoyable life.

When I boil it all down, I guess what I’m saying is this:

I don’t need to try to figure out what I want or why I want it.  All I need to do is listen more to my sense of wanting.

In fact, I don’t even need to listen more.

But I have decided I want to listen more.

Before I sign off:

If you have dreams you’d like to turn into realities, my coaching could help.

Perhaps you’d like to get a promotion at work, buy a mansion or live a happier, calmer life.

Perhaps what you want is simply to figure out what you want.

Whatever the case, I’ve found coaching to be a trusty way to get clearer on what you want and a tried & tested route for making it happen.

If you want to find out more:

https://waitinglist.followingfulfilment.com

That’s all for today.

 - Tom