It seems like everywhere I turn lately, I hear people start a sentence with “I need X,” with X invariably being something that they do not in fact need at all – they simply want it.

The tragedy of this situation is that by assigning all of these trivial non-needs (hereafter referred to as “needs”) the importance of a genuine need, we lose the ability to focus on what’s most critical in order to propel us to what we really want.

A common example:

You really want to devote your life to pursuing your passion and derive a comfortable income from doing so. Making this change would require having at least three months’ income set aside.

However, you are living paycheck-to-paycheck in a 9-5 that you don’t like, you have a girlfriend who demands you spend your every free moment with her, and you live in a spacious apartment with nice furniture and a big-screen television in a nice neighborhood where you drive to the grocery store and the drive-thru burger joint almost everyday.

Each day, you express—and indulge—many “needs” throughout the day. You “need” to drive to work. You “need” a coffee at Starbucks. You “need” a newspaper. You “need” a Mountain Dew from the soda machine at work. You “need” to go out for lunch. You “need” to catch the season premiere of Lost tonight with your girl, a couple beers, and take-out Chinese.

Now you need to ask yourself what’s more important:

Being able to wake up each morning and indulge your greatest passion, free of the stress of overdue bills and a temperamental supervisor, or:

• Coffee at Starbucks (instead of brewing it at home, or making tea, or drinking water)?
• Driving to work (instead of taking the bus, or biking, or walking, or car-pooling)?
• Watching TV?
• Eating fast food (instead of eating inexpensive foods at home)?
• Lounging at home with your significant other (instead of working overtime, or a part-time job, or freelance work)?

Don’t confuse convention with need, either. If you’re truly passionate about your goals, you’ll suddenly see that you don’t need a car at all—you can bike, or walk, or run, or bus, or FlexCar around town.

The best part is, by cutting your expenses to the minimum, you’ll be able to live for that much longer on that much less money. If you initially need three months’ expenses set aside in order to take a stab at that new business, and your monthly expenses are cut in half, then you’ll only need one half of your original estimate.

Remember—these short-term sacrifices won’t last forever. Once you’ve put aside the resources you need to take the leap into doing what you really want, you will once again have the resources to splurge on dinners out and a nicer apartment—if those things are even important to you anymore.

Now, I am not advocating living off nothing but ramen and living in a tent in the park. Life just wouldn’t be enjoyable if we only tended our true animalistic needs and ignored all the rest. But there’s a difference between going through life unaware of indulging our wants and CHOOSING which to indulge and which to ignore in pursuit of a higher purpose.

However, when we sacrifice that which we want most for that which we want right this minute, we sacrifice the greatest enjoyment life has to offer for nothing but short-lived satiation.

As you go about your day, stop yourself and ask:

Do I really need to buy or do this? What alternatives do I have?

I challenge you to identify and eliminate five “needs” from your life this week! I’d love to hear what you chose and why, and what greater goal(s) you’re thismuchcloser to achieving as a result!