I had a long conversation where, regrettably, I did not use the words, “I want …”

I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t use the phrase directly.

Now that the conversation has passed, I think about how much better it might have been had I stated clearly:

Here’s what I want to happen.

or

This is what I want.

It’s easy to get caught up in laying out facts and explaining situations — so much so that we forget to state what we want.

Sometimes the most useful thing to do is to just come out and say it.