Oh the perpetual figuring out, juggling wants and needs to be able to say our "yes's," "no's," and "I hope so's." Are we wanting to need, needing to want or just mindlessly incorporating more chickens or eggs into our day to day?
What are some of the ways that you come to understand what the differences are between preference, desire and some of your more baseline needs?
One of the places that might help to begin the sorting process is to be able to ask questions about what helps you be able to get through a day. Some of these include the baseline of what diet works best for you, how much sleep you function well on, and what is essential for you to have in the different spaces you inhabit during the day. The reason it is important to start here, is because of our hierarchy of needs. To liken people parts to car parts, if we don't have gas in the engine, it won't run. If we don't keep an eye on the oil, the whole system could break down. Being more concerned with the color of the interior is not going to help you go anywhere if the tires are flat.
How often we become separated from considering our whole systems. We are often told by media that if we concern ourselves more with the colors and shine of ourselves will ultimately make everything "okay." It is far less glamorous, but far more rewarding to start from the fundamentals of functioning, with our basic baby-selves that need to eat, drink, sleep and find a bathroom.
When we begin with these types of questions, often you will notice the way you prioritize yourself can take on a completely different system than it did before.
From there, after outlining what some of the essentials of your functioning from day to day are, you can begin to work in and work towards more of what it is you want.
Often greater stability lies in growing your capacity to be able to continue a flexible adherence to the baseline of what you need (to be healthy, awake and alive) while integrating more and more of what it is that brings you to greater fullness/fulfillment of self.
