Last month I finally got myself together and cleaned my so called "paper drawer", where I keep my unused notebooks and bits and pieces of paper I can use for notes. It's been planned for ages and have been procrastinating it for just as long. The plan was to organize them, take photos and write a post about mt notebooks for mipiano's challenge, that also ended ages ago, but in the end I ended up organizing the notebooks and decided to not write about them. Not because I'm lazy, but because I don't know if anyone cares, besides me honestly.
While organizing the individual pieces of papers, I came across a piece with a list on it. It's not something out of the ordinary as I often write lists. Most of you will say I can have digital notes on my phone and save paper, which is true but for me, my own handwriting helps me remember better what it is on the paper by visualizing it. It's a trick I've been using all my life that gives me a huge advantage.
Anyway, the list itself was not a surprise, but what was on it made me smile. It was a wishlist or a list of things I wanted, that I wrote a few years ago. I can assure you, that this is the only one I wrote as it's not a habit of mine to write wishlists. If I want something, I go for it and make it happen as that's the only way to get what you want. Making a list definitely won't get you closer to your goals, so this tells you it was more like a dream, or things that would be great to have, but definitely not a priority. Unfortunately there was no date on it, so I have no idea how many years have passed since I wrote it. Big mistake, that can't be fixed, but I think it was three or four years ago.
There were four things on the list, in this order:
It was funny to read it and even made me smile because I totally forgot about the list, but what was interesting was that three things I could cross over from the list, that's 75%, which is a good achievement.
The three things that I got since then were the first three: air conditioning, wooden shoes and ear pieces.
This brings me to the main point here. For me, everything is a question of want or need. The two things are not the same and if you want to get ahead with your plans, you need to prioritize based on those two things.
The first thing on the list, the air conditioner was the biggest of all and for a good reason. It was both a need and a want. Could I live without it? Of course I can, but how? The weather has changed a lot in the past two decades, summers are so hot that honestly, it's a struggle without air conditioning and two months each year is spent on trying to survive the day, instead of enjoying life the fullest and being productive.
Setting in up required investment as the units are not cheap at all, plus what was again a real pain, was the dedicated electric circuit for them as the current circuit would have not supported the consumption, but it's done! Last year I finally made it happen and can enjoy the summer now.
The other two were definitely want and not need as you can live without wooden shoes and I had earpieces, just not wireless. Now I have both and I'm happy.
Oops, I forgot about the office chair. Well, it's not like I would not enjoy a new one, but the old one is still functional and have been postponing the purchase for years. In other words, this is still a want, not a need, but I'll buy one when it becomes a need.
This topic brought back some old memories, from the 90's when MLM was in the vogue and everyone wanted to get rich by recruiting everyone and selling everything. Motivational videos were everywhere, and the most common method everyone suggested was a list with things you want, posted everywhere, to remind you every day. Well, maybe some of us are forgetful and need to be reminded every day of what they want, but if you are really serious, then you work for it, every single day and you don't need any reminder.
This is kind of similar to the weight loss/gym mentality, where people are ready to buy whatever outfit and gadget is trendy these days, hoping these would make them lose weight, then harsh reality slaps them in the face and realize they actually have to put in the work on a daily bases, without exception, if they want results.
I'm guilty of many things, from procrastination to laziness in some cases, but know that you need to be consistent and strong, if you want to get where you want to be. Daydreaming won't take you far.
What about you? Do you make wish lists? Let me know in a comment.
If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:
