Life, Lessons & Love

What Do You Want? – Maya-4o

June 27, 2020

“Please show me what I’m looking for.” — Carolina Liar, Show Me What I’m Looking For (Video)

I’ve been asking the question “What do you want?” for as long as I can remember. Personally, I have always found my answers intuitively. For others, the question is a riddle.

One common response is “How should I know what I should want?” This is an excellent question!

For decades, I didn’t have a clear answer. However, in 2020, insights from Jordan B. Peterson’s 2017 Maps of Meaning lectures enabled me to articulate my perspective more clearly—or more accurately, I can now paraphrase his conclusions as my own:

To answer the question “What do you want?” you need to understand your values.

These values should inform your highest aspirations.

From that, you need to formulate realistic goals—goals you believe you can achieve with effort.

You need the tools and the “maps” to move forward.

Then, take action, and continue to iterate at multiple levels.

That’s the scaffold—the structure of an answer.

However, it’s just one way in. In the topics and chapters that follow, we’ll explore this space from various perspectives. While the intellectual approach may resonate with some, others may find themselves drawn to more intuitive paths. For them, a different word may open the door: faith.

We’ll come back to that word and everything it implies before we’re done.