When Desire It's Not Enough…

There is something I came to understand over time... and almost all at once: for years, I wanted many things.

I wanted to live more on my own terms. Sometimes I was guided by my moods: sometimes a warrior, sometimes a lover... at other times I was a magician, and I was also a queen.

But the real changes—the ones that marked milestones in my life—only came when I started making decisions... and acting in alignment with those decisions.

Because wanting is comfortable.

Deciding is not.

And that simple fact makes a great difference in our lives.

At 50+, stopping and evaluating ourselves is not a luxury; it is a real necessity.

If we arrive at this stage living on autopilot, accepting whatever comes our way, putting out fires... dealing with the consequences of decisions we never made, or decisions we made without considering the possible outcomes,

that way of living can stay with us for the rest of our lives.

At this stage, there is a truth we cannot avoid:

We are the result of the decisions we make.

Not our intentions.

Not our unfinished plans.

We are the real result of our daily choices.

Many people do not achieve their goals because they confuse an expressed desire with a decision that has actually been made.

Desire is passive.

Decision demands change.

And, above all, sustained action over time.

Personal Exercise

I invite you to give yourself this space.

Today it may seem intangible... but if you take it seriously, it can generate tangible results.

Day 1

In your journal—or on a blank sheet of paper—write for yourself from the present, looking toward the future.

Imagine that you are 70+ years old.

Approximately 20 years have passed since today.

Describe everything that comes to mind:

• What do you look like? (your face, posture, the way you walk)

• Where do you live? What is that place like: warm, welcoming, cold, lonely?

• Are you surrounded by other people? Who are they?

• Do you have projects? Hobbies? How is your health?

• Above all: what sensations do you perceive in your mind and in your body?

Some aspects will be easy to imagine.

Others, not so much.

This exercise may make you uncomfortable.

It may lead you to question yourself.

Negative thoughts or deep fears may even surface.

And that is okay.

Sometimes we have never stopped to imagine what life could be like... what it should be like... or what we truly want it to be.

Much less have we confronted reality.

Day 2

Read what you wrote the day before.

Read it several times.

Then look at your present.

Describe how you are living today in those same areas.

Include your financial reality as well.

Day 3

Answer the following questions in writing and with complete honesty:

• How am I really living?

• What decisions have I not made?

• What changes should I begin to make in order to move closer to the life that feels right for me?

• What issues can I no longer continue postponing?

If you are unable to visualize your future self in some area, do not force it.

Leave it as an open question... and return to it later.

It seems like a simple exercise.

But it is profoundly powerful.

Today, I can say that I feel proud of who I am. There were moments when I was determined and completed what I set out to do. Even so, I recognize something important: for much of my life, I lived from my desires... and only about 50% from real decisions regarding those aspirations.

Sometimes I ask myself:

Who would Isabel be today if she had been firmer in her decisions when life events pulled her away from her goals? If she had not allowed herself to be carried along by circumstances... living on autopilot?

Desires bring excitement, energy, and hope.

But without conscious decisions to support them, it is easy to lose your way.

And then, almost without realizing it, you end up feeling like a “victim” of circumstances... when, in reality, what was missing was the willingness to make consistent decisions aligned with what you truly wanted to build.

If, after reading your own reflections, you feel that it is time to close the gap between who you are today and the person you want to be at 70+,

while taking into account your current reality at 50+,

reach out to people like me.

People who have chosen to dedicate their time and energy to guiding others through that process:

transforming desires into conscious decisions... and truly taking ownership of their lives.

With affection, from Panama,

April 4, 2026

Isabel C. Ruiz

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