Not getting what you want is exactly what you want.

Monday, October 5, 2026

Not getting what you want might be everything.

When I don’t get what I want, I’m grateful. It makes me realize just how much of the time I do get what I want. It’s amazing to realize just how much has gone my way, and when I don’t get what I want, I become grateful for the many, many times it goes without a hitch.

When I don’t get what I want, I’m patient. I always realize I don’t really need it – there’s no urgency.

When I don’t get what I want, it makes me realize the importance of not being enraged. It helps me with my demanding temperament. If I got everything I wanted, all at once, and when I wanted it, I would become gluttonous and petulant. I would become a turn-off like a trust fund baby who consumes and complains.

Not getting makes me appreciate how limited my wants are, and how special they are, and how much I cherish them if they materialize! But also, how unnecessary they are to my sense of wellness.

When I don’t get what I want, it makes me realize I have some form of it already. If I want money, I realize I have some. If I want a mate to express my love to or spend time with, I have my own company. If I want a vacation, I have my alone time. If I want health, I have some already. If I want a pool, I can use the city pool, right in “my own” back yard.

Not getting what I want teaches me humility, love, gratefulness, patience, and the inner cultivation of peace, much of which I have already.

Not getting what I want helps me realize–Who could possibly ask for anything “more?”

The spoiled brat, that’s who.

https://www.amazon.com/author/ryanhebert