Want vs Desire — The Language That Shapes Our Lives

When we reflect on the changes we want to make in our lives — especially at the beginning of a new year — we often ask a familiar question:

How do I get what I want?

It sounds reasonable. Practical, even. But hidden inside that question is a subtle assumption — one that can either empower us or quietly undermine everything we’re trying to create.

The key lies in language.

What “Wanting” Really Means

To want something implies absence. A deficiency. Something missing.

When we say, “I want a better job,” or “I want to be in better shape,” we are often unconsciously reinforcing the belief that we are lacking — that something essential is not yet present.

This framing matters because language doesn’t just describe reality.
Language creates the world we live into.

A mindset sourced in wanting tends to be rooted in scarcity. And scarcity is not an empowering place to create from.

Desire as a Different Orientation

Now consider the word desire.

To desire something is to express a wish to obtain — without declaring lack. Desire does not say, “I am incomplete without this.” It says, “There is abundance, and I am drawn toward an expression of it.”

That distinction changes everything.

Desire is pulled forward by possibility, not pushed by fear.

Two Paths

From here, two paths emerge:

• A less empowering path, driven by lack, resistance, and internal conflict

• A more empowering path, characterized by ease, alignment, and clarity

The path we walk is shaped not by what we say we want — but by the beliefs beneath the words we use.

👉 Next in this series: The Hidden Feeling Beneath Desire: Beliefs at Work [LINK]