You’re reading this for a purpose. You want something. You need something. You want to become something. You want to have something. You want to do something.

Two words only – You Want.

Human beings; You and I, are goal-seeking machines. Well, maybe ‘machines’ is too crude a word to use. Our brains are goal-seeking mechanisms.

Now let’s think about this thing called “You Want”-ism. Let’s say you want to be a more confident speaker.

What (effective) questions can you ask yourself that will lead you to the right thinking that in turn will lead you to the right decisions and the right actions, and lastly to your desired goal (becoming a more confident speaker)?

3 questions, actually.

“3 Questions To Rule Them All,” I’d say.

These 3 questions are the most important, and they are like templates for ANY goal or outcome you want to achieve.

Just as setting small and attainable goals are the building blocks for achieving success; living a lifestyle of making good health choices leads to greater and more sustainable happiness.

The cliché “You are what you eat” does resonate with pieces of truth and common sense. There have been several health and fitness studies over the years that suggest people who are overweight, smoke and drink excessively have a predisposition to experience more bouts of depression than people who live a more moderate lifestyle in these areas.

So, you have heard all of this before, right? The last thing you need right now is someone else lecturing you about what you are doing wrong and calling attention to the fact you may need to loose a few pounds.

Here’s the thing though, beginning right now, today, you can ignore the lectures and the comments you hear others mutter and whisper. Because today you are in control of your health, and your happiness, by empowering yourself with knowing, and believing, in the following statement:

Every moment in life is precious and not to be taken for granted. Every experience has meaning to be derived from it. I see each moment and each experience as opportunities to learn, grow, develop, and change. With all that happens in our lives, we can learn from whatever seems positive or negative and make new choices to improve ourselves. These are life’s lessons that are gifts if we choose to see them in that light.

What has meaning to you? Which people, events, activities have significance to you? Most people are more in tune with what they dislike or don’t want to do. You need to strive for the opposite. Search for what has meaning to you. Is it family, friends, or your home? Is it how you express yourself both personally and professionally? Is it through the image you present, the people you surround yourself with, the choices you make?

In 2004 a fabulous film was released titled “The Butterfly Effect”, starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart. The film centres around several characters whose lives are incredibly affected because one man can travel back in time. At time during his college years the main character discovers that he has the ability to travel back in time just by reading his diary entries.

During his first journey back in time he makes extremely small changes to his behaviour. He does things differently than he had done originally but he only makes small changes. To his astonishment he sees that everything has changed when he returns to the present. Small changes made in the past have a huge impact on events, people and outcomes in his present. He decides that he can change things for the better and continues to make these trips back in time so that he can make different decisions and perform different actions. As he makes these changes to his past he finds that the present he returns to has changed radically for him and everyone else who is connected with him and the other people involved!

A few days ago I had to stop by my local college’s library for a research book for a project I have at work. I needed to talk to a librarian who was not on the main floor of the library, but who had an office on the 3rd floor. When I rounded the corner to enter her office, I was sort of stunned. All I could see of her from behind her desk was her head and shoulders. The rest of her was blocked by the huge piles of paper covering her entire desk. There was not one inch of desktop visible.

How could she ever find anything, I wondered. And I also thought to myself – at least my desk isn’t that bad. But truthfully, my desk isn’t all that good either lately. Right now I can only see about 50% of my desktop.