Do you NEED it? or Do you WANT it?

Know the Difference!

Beth Tate
4 min readMar 4, 2023

Do you “need” to do something differently? Or do you “want” to do something differently?

Do you “need” that shiny new object? Or do you “want” that shiny new object?

Do you know the difference?

How often do you say to yourself, “I need to start (fill in the blank.)”

It could be, “I need to start working out every day.” Or “I need to lose 5 pounds.”

Do you NEED to do it, or do you want to do it?

Understanding the difference between what you WANT and what you NEED can make a big difference in changing your habits or behaviors.

Let’s try to clarify the difference.

Merriam Webster defines “Need” as a verb, “a lack of something requisite, desirable, or useful.”

For our purposes we’ll talk about “Want” as a transitive verb, defined by Merriam Webster as “to have a strong desire for.”

If you are out of shape and finding yourself huffing and puffing on the stairs, perhaps you NEED to start working out. But if you are in reasonably good physical shape and just want to be more fit, then perhaps you just WANT to start working out.

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Beth Tate

Beth Tate is a Career Coach and Business Consultant in Northeast Florida. "Connecting People and Solving Problems" Beth@TheKesleygroup.com