These posts are meant to lead you be your most empowered self and help you overcome those things that are holding you back from reaching your goals. Some of this might resonate with you, or not, and I’m not here to judge anyone or their actions, only to give you something to think about.

We all have needs and wants. That’s absolutely normal. What sets empowered people apart from others is how they approach needs and how they approach wants. Needs are those absolute non-negotiables in our life. We need to eat, we need shelter, we need security, we need safety, we need affection, we need others. Wants, on the other hand, are those nice to have things that aren’t things we absolutely need but we would really like to have them. For example, we need to eat but we want to eat a fancy expensive meal; we need a purse but we want a designer purse; we need a roof over our head but we want to live in a swanky penthouse. You get the picture.

When you focus on your needs and you get your needs met, then you can focus on the things you want. You can’t meet your goals if your needs aren’t met. Focusing on meeting your needs and appreciating what you have empowers you and leaves the door open for more. It means you aren’t approaching life from a desperate or entitled place which can cloud your judgement and lead you to make choices that aren’t right for you because you ignore any red flags.

Where to start:

• Note the things that are absolute needs for you. This is completely individual and personal to you. No two lists are the same. Find ways to ensure that those absolute needs are met.
• Note the things that you want or would like to have. Then write them down as goals. Make sure your goals are realistic and attainable or else you will lose motivation to do them. Start small and move your way up to bigger things.

Affirmation & Gratitude:

Start each day with an affirmation of where you will focus your attention. Make sure to express gratitude at the end of the day for all the good things and lessons learned so that you will do better the next day. Be gentle and kind with yourself.

“Life has a way of taking you past your wants and hopes. Instead, it drops you in front of what you need.”

[Shannon Alder]

Your Takeaway

1. Your needs are limited, essential, immediate however your wants can be unlimited, non-essential and future. We all have needs and wants, but what differs when it comes to empowerment is where you focus your attention.
2. An empowered person can balance both wants and needs giving them each their proper place. For example, they focus their main core energy on needs and use wants as a goal post for where they want to be.
3. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs discusses humans’ “needs” as a precursor of pursuing “wants”. At the bottom of his pyramid are physiological needs (eating, etc). Then safety needs. Then come social, self-esteem and self-actualization.
4. Some examples of needs vs wants: buying cloths is a need, buying a designer purse is a want; packing a lunch meets your needs while buying lunch everyday is more of a want; wanting to meet someone who has similar family values is a need while wanting someone who comes from royalty is a want.
5. Living a grateful life helps you focus on your needs rather than your wants. Being happy and grateful where you are at will open doors to the things you want. Focusing on wants too much takes away your power because you are not in a realistic realm.

TRY THIS: Write down your life goals and put them in two categories, need to have and want to have. Focus your energy on the need to have and look at the want to have as a bonus.

POST IT NOTE: I will focus on my authentic needs

Click for recorded segment exclusively on BlastTheRadio.com: NEEDS [7:45 mins]

READERS: What are your thoughts on this? Please share in the comments!

One.Step.At.A.Time.

Suzie