The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness

by Jeff Olson

Have you ever wanted something so badly that it hurt? Of course you have. Everyone has. Sometimes it’s a sweet sort of ache, sometimes not so sweet, but either way it is a powerful force. I call it the ache of wanting. Having a dream, a goal, an aspiration, is not always a matter of all roses and sweetness; ambitions, aspirations, and desires can be uncomfortable, even painful. The word “want” has two meanings. It can mean you desire something; it can also mean you lack something. (That second sense of the word, by the way, is its original and far older definition.) And in a way, those aren’t really two meanings; they’re two sides of the same meaning. We tend to desire what we lack, and lack what we desire.