Introduction
What powers you? Have you stopped to consider? What moves you through your day? Why do you make the choices that you make and where are you headed, anyway? Would you say that your current choices are aligned with where you are going? Have you ever considered the question?
The Desire Engine provides a way of bringing focus to questions like these. It offers a new perspective on just what moves us forward in life, both individually and collectively. It can serve as a practical tool for bringing more deliberate presence and awareness to our choices, and as a way to help align these choices with our dreams — on a day-to-day basis.
"Desire is what moves us; purpose is often how we justify the validity of our desire."
–Mark Petruzzi
These days there is a lot of attention given to living a purposeful life, and rightly so. By considering first what moves us, we benefit from a very powerful way of living on purpose for three reasons:
First, in asking what moves us, we focus on making choices and living life now. The whispers and shouts of what moves us are as near as an earnest listen to what's going on within during any given moment. The present is where our power of choice is always available.
Next, Aligning our lives with what moves us will almost always mean that we will soon choose thoughts and experiences that are more in tune with who we are. As a result, we'll find ourselves happier, and delivering more value to ourselves and the lives of others.
The decision to make more choices this way will give us the energy and courage to make small changes that will add up quickly – delivering the big changes we are seeking from the inside out.
Lastly, aligning with what moves us will quite often lead us to fulfilling our life's purpose, and on the way, we will have had great fun and contributed much more than if we'd simply taken on someone else's idea of success or worth.
Can you think of a of a situation wherein acting powerfully on what moves us is not the same as living purposefully? It is we who bring the meaning to our lives and actions. Desire is what moves us; purpose is often how we justify our desire.
There are levels of motivation and levels of purpose. By working with the Desire Engine, we can choose to shift our awareness from our more superficial motivations, to our more internal ones, bringing new perspectives.
When our desires are deeply connected to who we are and where our heart is, that is when we are having the most fun. That is when it feels better than motivation or even inspiration. That is when we feel like we are riding a wave and our role is to enjoy the ride. That's living!
First, in asking what moves us, we focus on making choices and living life now. The whispers and shouts of what moves us are as near as an earnest listen to what's going on within during any given moment. The present is where our power of choice is always available.
Next, Aligning our lives with what moves us will almost always mean that we will soon choose thoughts and experiences that are more in tune with who we are. As a result, we'll find ourselves happier, and delivering more value to ourselves and the lives of others.
The decision to make more choices this way will give us the energy and courage to make small changes that will add up quickly – delivering the big changes we are seeking from the inside out.
Lastly, aligning with what moves us will quite often lead us to fulfilling our life's purpose, and on the way, we will have had great fun and contributed much more than if we'd simply taken on someone else's idea of success or worth.
Can you think of a of a situation wherein acting powerfully on what moves us is not the same as living purposefully? It is we who bring the meaning to our lives and actions. Desire is what moves us; purpose is often how we justify our desire.
There are levels of motivation and levels of purpose. By working with the Desire Engine, we can choose to shift our awareness from our more superficial motivations, to our more internal ones, bringing new perspectives.
When our desires are deeply connected to who we are and where our heart is, that is when we are having the most fun. That is when it feels better than motivation or even inspiration. That is when we feel like we are riding a wave and our role is to enjoy the ride. That's living!
"So, what is the Desire Engine?"
The Desire Engine is a model that we can use to examine important "inner-life cycles" and see how these can influence our emotional and physical reality. The internal cycles could last only the blink of an eye, or span a lifetime...or anything in between. We have multiple engines in play at all times. Consciously working with these engines can help us understand the difference between what moves us, and what is simply "going through the motions."
The Desire Engine traces our natural progression in an internal cycle from Desire, through Creation to Evaluation*, and how this progression literally powers our lives. It further describes how we may use deliberate, conscious choice to give us a greater sense of engagement and empowerment as we move through the world.
The cycle is happening in our thought processes all the time–whether we are paying attention or not. Yet, small, conscious changes to the Desire Engine cycle could mean big changes in how we choose, create and experience our lives. Consciously using the knowledge of the Desire Engine is a choice we can make towards greater opportunity for productivity, expansion and joy.
The more you work with the Desire Engine, the more aware you are of where your strengths and weaknesses are in making choices within the cycle. Even better, once you understand the cycle (and that's not hard), you will have a powerful tool to help you make choices and remove the obstacles and glitches that slow your forward motion. You will more often stay in touch with the question: "What moves me?"
*The cycle may also begin with the "Evaluation" step, and proceed through Desire to Creation and back to Evaluation.
Desire Engine Basics
What gets you out of bed in the morning? Before going on, just think about it, then scroll down to under the first graphic below.
Well? Was it breakfast? A special project? Perhaps you hear a voice that tells you that you must get out of bed, and so you do so to appease a belief, a person, or a principle.
No matter what reason you would give for getting out of bed in the morning, that reason is driven by one kind of emotional energy at its foundation: Desire.
Every choice that each of us makes, and every action each of us takes is driven by the emotional energy of desire — even if that desire is only to appease another, or find relief from the of the tyranny the superego.
No matter what reason you would give for getting out of bed in the morning, that reason is driven by one kind of emotional energy at its foundation: Desire.
Every choice that each of us makes, and every action each of us takes is driven by the emotional energy of desire — even if that desire is only to appease another, or find relief from the of the tyranny the superego.
Yes, every day, every moment, every choice we make is driven by desire. It's impossible to eliminate desire, since since that very thought is itself born of desire.
For the purpose of the Engine model, then, "Desire" is meant as both a emotional objective, and the energy driving that objective.
You may ask, "What about fear?" By the end of this article, you'll know how fear fits into the Engine.
At this point, it's helpful to know that not all desires are created equal. There are "Direct Desires" and "Indirect Desires." There are "Core Desires" and "Functional Desires." The book, "The Desire Engine" will go into much more detail regarding these.
For now, what do you think comes next in the Desire Engine? Once you have a desire, what is the logical next step?
For the purpose of the Engine model, then, "Desire" is meant as both a emotional objective, and the energy driving that objective.
You may ask, "What about fear?" By the end of this article, you'll know how fear fits into the Engine.
At this point, it's helpful to know that not all desires are created equal. There are "Direct Desires" and "Indirect Desires." There are "Core Desires" and "Functional Desires." The book, "The Desire Engine" will go into much more detail regarding these.
For now, what do you think comes next in the Desire Engine? Once you have a desire, what is the logical next step?
If you guessed, "I am going to take some kind of action to make make my desire happen," then you are right on track. The next step in the Desire Engine is "Create."
The Create step includes any thought, choice or action that contributes to fulfilling your desire. Period.
By now either you have scrolled ahead, or you are staring at the brown circle (taupe, for you color-name cognoscenti) wondering what happens after you create, right?
The Create step includes any thought, choice or action that contributes to fulfilling your desire. Period.
By now either you have scrolled ahead, or you are staring at the brown circle (taupe, for you color-name cognoscenti) wondering what happens after you create, right?
It only takes a moment's thought to realize that we are going to ask ourselves if we like it—or not...
The Evaluate step is where we both evaluate what we've created in experience or material, and begin forming our next desire. What did we like about this experience? What didn't we like? What do we want next?
If we dislike our creation (even if our creation is only an action or an idea), we will most likely find ourselves desiring again very soon. Even if we truly appreciate what we have created, it is in our nature to eventually seek improvement or novelty and move again to form a new desire. Sometimes, we desire to keep the status quo a bit while we evaluate further.
Still, eventually, an emotional charge builds up, and a new desire is born. We may heed it, we may find a reason to dismiss it, or we may desire to suppress it. No matter what we decide, as long as we are alive, the cycle begins again...
The Evaluate step is where we both evaluate what we've created in experience or material, and begin forming our next desire. What did we like about this experience? What didn't we like? What do we want next?
If we dislike our creation (even if our creation is only an action or an idea), we will most likely find ourselves desiring again very soon. Even if we truly appreciate what we have created, it is in our nature to eventually seek improvement or novelty and move again to form a new desire. Sometimes, we desire to keep the status quo a bit while we evaluate further.
Still, eventually, an emotional charge builds up, and a new desire is born. We may heed it, we may find a reason to dismiss it, or we may desire to suppress it. No matter what we decide, as long as we are alive, the cycle begins again...
The Engine can begin with Evaluation
A free-spinning can begin just before the evaluation point in the the Desire Engine cycle. For example, an unpleasant surprise like a sudden, unwanted loss of income might cause us to perform a reflexive (not fully present/conscious) evaluation of our experience that generates fear. This fear may strongly influence our next desire — to be rid of the fear and the fearful situation!
From the same reflexive experience we might create a limiting belief from an instant desire to never experience that surprise again! An Evaluation-Desire-Create cycle.
A free-spinning can begin just before the evaluation point in the the Desire Engine cycle. For example, an unpleasant surprise like a sudden, unwanted loss of income might cause us to perform a reflexive (not fully present/conscious) evaluation of our experience that generates fear. This fear may strongly influence our next desire — to be rid of the fear and the fearful situation!
From the same reflexive experience we might create a limiting belief from an instant desire to never experience that surprise again! An Evaluation-Desire-Create cycle.
But wait, there's more...
What would happen if we introduced careful, conscious choice into the Desire Engine with greater frequency? Sure, we some of us do this quite naturally at times in our lives. Often our more important desires serve to focus us on making deliberate, even heartfelt choices. By far, however, most of us spin through our Desire cycles on a kind of barely-conscious auto-pilot.
Below, you'll note where the Desire Engine places the most significant opportunity to take back personal authority and regulate the particular "engine" we are in. You'll notice that these "Power Choice Points" occur between the main points of Desire, Create, and Evaluate.
What would happen if we introduced careful, conscious choice into the Desire Engine with greater frequency? Sure, we some of us do this quite naturally at times in our lives. Often our more important desires serve to focus us on making deliberate, even heartfelt choices. By far, however, most of us spin through our Desire cycles on a kind of barely-conscious auto-pilot.
Below, you'll note where the Desire Engine places the most significant opportunity to take back personal authority and regulate the particular "engine" we are in. You'll notice that these "Power Choice Points" occur between the main points of Desire, Create, and Evaluate.
So what does *conscious choice* look like when we introduce it to the Desire Engine?
While we can't slow our lives to a crawl to get conscious about every choice we make, we can easily see the benefit of working with our knowledge of the Desire Engine in those areas of our lives where we're seeking improvement.
To that end, let's look at the "Power Choice Points" from a more detailed, but still high-level perspective. The Power Choice Points are shown in the oblong (elliptical) shapes below. These are critical "process breaks" between drivers of the engine. If Desire, Create, and Evaluate are the energy/pistons/machinery of the engine, then the Power Choice Points are gates. They're the throttle controls that can make all the difference in the power of your "motor."
While we can't slow our lives to a crawl to get conscious about every choice we make, we can easily see the benefit of working with our knowledge of the Desire Engine in those areas of our lives where we're seeking improvement.
To that end, let's look at the "Power Choice Points" from a more detailed, but still high-level perspective. The Power Choice Points are shown in the oblong (elliptical) shapes below. These are critical "process breaks" between drivers of the engine. If Desire, Create, and Evaluate are the energy/pistons/machinery of the engine, then the Power Choice Points are gates. They're the throttle controls that can make all the difference in the power of your "motor."
Individuals who work with the Desire Engine for the first time often reveal that they rarely ever consciously ask questions along the lines of those in the above graphic. Once more, they don't ask important, revealing questions at the critical points in the cycle (as shown). Some explain that by itself, the realization that this approach is valid and available, brings a sense of hope, and a helpful change in perspective on how they can move through life.
It's true that just thinking about asking certain questions at key points in the cycle can influence us to acknowledge another "level" of awareness that is often just underneath our automatic routine — giving us a feeling of greater power and choice. Imagine how centered and empowered we could feel with regular practice — especially in the areas of our lives where we're seeking improvement.
In future blogs, we'll take a more detailed approach to "Power Choice Points" and look at some specific examples to better illustrate the importance of leveraging them.
You can also look forward to reading about additional Desire Engine concepts including Choice Alignment, Direct & Indirect Desire, Direct & Indirect Choice, and more...
It's true that just thinking about asking certain questions at key points in the cycle can influence us to acknowledge another "level" of awareness that is often just underneath our automatic routine — giving us a feeling of greater power and choice. Imagine how centered and empowered we could feel with regular practice — especially in the areas of our lives where we're seeking improvement.
In future blogs, we'll take a more detailed approach to "Power Choice Points" and look at some specific examples to better illustrate the importance of leveraging them.
You can also look forward to reading about additional Desire Engine concepts including Choice Alignment, Direct & Indirect Desire, Direct & Indirect Choice, and more...