I’ve been reading a book called The Desire Map by Danielle Laporte. It’s about figuring out what your core desired feelings are. That is, the feelings that you most want to feel in your life. Such as a sense of freedom, joy, tranquility, abundance, security, etc. The reason for doing so is that it helps to know how you want to feel when setting goals or making choices. It’s like having a compass by which you can gauge whether you are going in the right direction. For example, one of my core desired feelings is freedom. Having realized that, I can now assess any new opportunities as to how or if they will provide me with a sense of freedom in my life.
The idea is that instead of just setting goals, you can ask yourself whether the goals you are contemplating are going to make you feel the way you want to feel in your life when you accomplish them. Sometimes we pursue a goal and then, when we get there, it leaves us feeling hollow, not filled up like we hoped it would. That’s because the goal didn’t align with what we were really wanting. I’m totally not doing Danielle’s book proper justice, so you’ve got to read this book yourself!
When I asked myself what is meaningful to me, I came up with being inspired and inspiring others. Another principle that is important to me is telling the truth. Truth is such a fundamental principle to me and is an important theme in my life as I learn to tell my personal truth (which is sometimes suppressed because I don’t want to ruffle any feathers or when I don’t want to shine a spotlight on myself).
When I let my truth come out, it feels so good, like my chest is clear and I can breathe deeply with ease. Following my truth and telling my truth is like keeping my eyes firmly affixed on my own North Star and trusting that it will ultimately take me home.
The Desire Map is definitely a great tool for discovering one’s truth!