This article was originally published in Don’t Act Accordingly on February 23, 2023.

What did you say?! No, that can’t be right. Yes, it is!
It is EXACTLY RIGHT.
There is a lot of pressure to find your passion and to know what you want. Yes, that’s important. But what do you do if you don’t know what you want? If you can’t find your “one thing” or “big why?”
Hell, maybe you are just trying to:
- get through the day,
- get out of your toxic workplace,
- keep from screaming at the top of your lungs for everyone to get out of you eff-ing way.
- Maybe you just want the room to breathe, so you can think.
Knowing what you want, or finding your passion, is crucial because it filters out all of the stuff that gets in the way of your progress. It helps you focus and achieve your goals with more efficiency and clarity. It also reduces the stress of indecision.
But guess what – knowing what you DON’T want does the same thing.
So let’s take the pressure off, sit down and take that breath.
Grab your notebook, notes app, or the back of a napkin and free write all the things you don’t want.
Just get all that shit out of your brain and onto a piece of paper.
Start by filling in the blanks below:
- I don’t want to feel _________
- I don’t want to do ___________
- I don’t want to be treated like ______________
- I don’t want to be somewhere ________
- I don’t want to be _________
I’ll start. This is what I wrote when I did this exercise a couple of years ago:
- I don’t want to feel powerless and on edge all the time
- I don’t want to do all this work securing high-profile partnerships that aren’t valued
- I don’t want to be treated like my time and attention don’t matter.
- I don’t want to be somewhere that takes more from my mental and emotional health than it gives back.
- I don’t want to be in the same place a year from now, feeling the same way, doing the same thing.
My solution was to quit my executive gig and focus on my health, happiness and launch my business full-time. Doing so has:
Reduced my stress and empowered me.
Allowed me to make the most out of my social capital and follow through on the strategic partnerships I develop.
Given me back my time and attention to use as I see fit.
Improved my mental and emotional health.
And I definitely feel very differently than I did a couple years ago!
Now it’s your turn – What DON’T you want?!