Sometimes, I get lost. Everyday, I get hit by advertisements that confuse my understanding of what I want and need. Everyday, I receive tons of information without context, which results in confusion because I don’t know how I’m supposed to judge that information; what should I think or feel? Everyday, I have to make decisions, and everyday, what I’m trying to achieve with each decision changes: Today it might be finding cheaper food to save money, tomorrow it might be finishing work on time so I can have more personal time, etc.

The cure is to know what you’re doing, so that you can focus on that. If you know what you want, then you can quickly decide whether the advertisement is relevant to helping you achieve it or not, and dismiss, or at the very least de-prioritize, the “want” that the advertisement is trying to create in you. If before you go on social media or internet websites, you tell yourself why you’re going on (to see what [specific] people are up to, to cheer myself up, to make myself feel bad about how unsuccessful I am, etc.), then you don’t get distracted, or you know when you are distracted, because you have a stated focus to use as your anchor. Finally, if you set goals for your life, remind yourself of them often. That way they don’t get lost in the depths of your mind, and you always know how to make your short term decisions.

If you have a goal, and remember the goal, then you know where you are in relation to that goal, and you are no longer lost, but found.

Related:

Know the difference between needs and wants.