We've all thought about doing what we really want to do, about doing what we love, at one point or another. How seriously we considered actually doing so is usually the main factor in deciding whether to go ahead and do it or not.

Fact is, how much harder would it be to do what you really want to do? Personally, when I asked myself this question, the answer jumped at me.

I asked myself how much harder it would be to do what I really wanted to do instead of doing what I was doing at the time and didn't like.

The answer was that it couldn't possibly be any harder. What I was doing at the time was as hard as it could get. I was overworked and underpaid, I felt abused and unrewarded, I was poor, I drove a decrepit vehicle and I was in debt. Plus, I had little hope that things would get any better in the future.

The specifics of my situation are not all that important. Be it known, for the record, that I was a graduate student in a Ph.D. program. However, I could have been doing something entirely different and be just as unhappy.

What matters is that I asked myself the all-important question: how much harder would it be to do what I really want to do, what I love?

The question brought the answer. As is often the case, the question was the answer. Ask the right question and you will get the right answer. I did not ask myself 'How could I make more money?', 'How could I work less?' or 'How could I get a better car?' Each of these questions would have brought valid answers, but they would not have convinced me to do what I really wanted to do.

Instead, asking these other questions would have led me to look for a better paying job, or for a job less demanding of my time. Most likely these jobs have been just as frustrating in the long run. Asking these other questions would have led me to find ways of getting a better car, which most likely would have resulted in getting a loan and in turn would have put me further in debt.

Ask not how to better your situation. Ask how much harder it would be to do what you really want to do. When I asked myself this question the answer surprised me and led to make a major change --for the better-- in my life. It might surprise you as well.