"What would really make me happy is..."

"The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are." -- C.G. Jung

I've always found it interesting when I hear people say, "What would really make me happy is..." or, "What I really want to do is..."

What that means to me is that they're not living as much of an authentic life as they could be if they're not experiencing the things they really want or desire. Having the belief that the things that would really make you happy are somehow outside of yourself or beyond your ability to manifest means that you're willing to accept your life without them, and if that's okay with you, that's fine. But if you feel that certain things would make your life more whole, complete or happier, then you might want to ask yourself if you're living an authentic life, meaning one that truly reflects who you are in all areas, which includes creating what you really want.

Here are some questions to help you decide if your life is filled with more "having" or "wanting."

1. What percentage of your life is filled with happiness?

2. What percentage are the things you would like to do but haven't?

3. What percentage is accepting what you haven't done?

4. What percentage are the things you don't have that you desire?

5. What percentage is accepting what you don't have?

6. What percentage are the things you would like to have or do that you feel are unreachable or unattainable?

7. What percentage is accepting what "is" rather than what "isn't"?

8. Would you be okay if you never did what you "really want to do"?

9. Would you be okay if you never have what would "really make you happy"?

10. Do you have what makes you really happy?

11. Do you do the things you really want to?

12. Do you feel you're living an authentic life?

If your percentages are higher than you'd like them to be, or you answered "no" to question 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12, you might want to consider being more proactive about creating what you really want in your life, and not just thinking about it as something you would "like" to do or have, but it doesn't yet exist, or might not ever.

What stops us from having the very things we say we want in our lives is usually ourselves. Whether it's feeling that we don't deserve those things or that we don't believe it's possible to get them, it comes down to changing our thinking around it. If you live your life in the present thinking, "I am doing what I really want" and, "I have what I really want" rather than thinking it "could" or "might" be someday, you will find yourself living a life that's about what "is" rather than one that's accepting what "isn't." When we live our lives true to who we really are, which includes doing and having what we desire, we can then answer the question, "Are you living an authentic life?" with a definitive "Yes!"

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