What do you want?

What do you want?

And why is this deceptively simple question so difficult to answer?

It seems like such a nice question to be asked but can actually be one of the hardest questions I could ever ask you.

It can feel pressured - like a really big dream-board kind of big vision way. Like if you get the answer wrong in some way, you’ll be stuck living someone else’s life  (a bit like that scene in When Harry Met Sally where Sally’s friend tells her she needs to get back out in the world of dating or “someone else could end up married to your husband”!)

Or maybe, and most likely, you’re too overwhelmed to be able to pinpoint and describe it right now.

Or maybe you’ve learnt that it’s best not to answer truthfully to avoid disappointment. If it's not possible, what's the point in voicing it?

Maybe you've learnt it's best to keep quiet. Maybe you felt ridiculed in the past for saying what you want and so keep your true dreams shoved down deep inside you.

I'm going to ask you anyway because it costs you to hold down inside you that answer.

And it’s something I wish someone had asked me properly in 2007. Asked me properly, held the space for me to find the answer held deep within me and have the courage to voice it. Then helped me map out a plan to make it happen and held me accountable as I took the courage to build my coaching business.

Instead, as I describe in this week’s podcast episode, I took a long and messy route to becoming the coach I am today.

I’m pretty sure my clients are grateful for the skills and insight I picked up on my messy route!

But this I know to be true: when you learn to listen to your heart, life gets unexpectedly lovely :)

Episode 117 of The Overwhelm is Optional podcast is available on Apple podcast, Spotify and wherever good podcast hang out together.