When I ask people what they want they often tell me what they don't want - and someone recently caught me doing exactly the same trick! It's an interesting phenomenon because as previously pointed out in these pages we attract what we focus on - so when we focus on what we don't want - yes, that's exactly right - we get what we don't want! ....And then frustration sets in and we can relate to what Gandhi said - "The difference between what we do, and what we are capable of doing, would solve most of the world's problems".
I think that to express what we truly want - which would lead us to do what we are capable of doing - can be difficult because it means we have to face the obstacles that are in the way of us getting it. That can mean addressing our internal conflicts and the conditioned thoughts, beliefs and behaviours that we have accumulated through childhood events, disappointments, experiences and challenges.
If we set a big goal or express something that we really want for ourselves an internal conflict will rise to the surface - we might set a big sales target but have difficulty making the necessary calls because of the fear of being rejected, we might want to make a lot of money but think we will lose the acceptance of friends or family in the process or maybe we want to express a skill or talent that we have but have doubts about whether we are good enough. If we don't address these inner conflicts we end up sabotaging ourselves by not taking productive action and another new year's resolution goes into the bin for the 4th year in a row.
I've found some questions from the Mechanics of the Mind course I'm doing with Erica Bagshaw (TheAlignmentGroup@bigpond.com) very useful in helping me become aware of what I need to clear in order to create what I want.