No one is ever going to read your mind. At least not really.

There are things that matter. There are hills worth dying on. There are things we really, really want.

But what happens is we doubt our wants.

We ask one time and we get a no, so we never ask again. We avoid disappointment.

When we spend our lives avoiding disappointment, though, we also miss out on satisfaction.

We second-guess our desires. We question whether or not we deserve what we want. We don’t know how we’re going to get it, so we stop wanting it. We don’t want to put someone out so we don’t ask.

We begin to resent. We think that they should know what we want.

But here’s the truth:

No one will ever know what you really want unless you tell them. @katenorthrup
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If you don’t tell people what you want, they can’t give it to you.

If you want to be pleased, tell people how they can please you.

If you want something, ask for it.

Be specific.

Be courageous.

Sometimes you’ll be disappointed when you ask, but less often than if you don’t ask.

No doesn’t hurt as bad as you may think. Because there’s always another way. Or something else. Or someone else.

But yes feels really good. And so does helping someone make you happy.

If you want something, it’s your job to say so.

Help the people in your life win with you.

Become easy to be pleased by being clear about what pleases you.

Support others in making you happy by telling them how.

They will thank you. You will thank them. The world will be a better place.

Do you find it easy to ask for what you want? Do you find it difficult? Why or why not?

Kate Northrup created financial freedom for herself at the age of twenty-eight through building a team of more than 1,000 wellness entrepreneurs in the network marketing industry. Her philosophy is that if you free yourself financially, you can be fully present to your purpose on the planet. She is also the author of Money: A Love Story, Untangle Your Financial Woes and Create the Life You Really Want (Hay House, 2013). Kate and her work have been featured on The Today Show, Yahoo! Finance, The Huffington Post, Refinery29.com, and in Glamour, Red, Prima Magazine, Soul & Spirit, and more. She continues to mentor entrepreneurs in creating financial freedom. Find out more and take her free quiz to find out what your relationship with money says about you at katenorthrup.com and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Image courtesy of Moyan Brenn.