Do What I Want

It is a synth-pop, electropop and R&B song featuring 1980s-style synthesizers and an electronic instrumental track. The song's lyrics discuss the media's appetite for publishing opinion and critique, with Gaga telling detractors that her thoughts, dreams, and feelings are her own, no matter what one does with her body. Critics praised the song's simplicity and production. The single cover for "Do What U Want", a close-up of Gaga's buttocks in a floral thong, was photographed by Terry Richardson who had also directed the song's music video. The clip was planned to be released through BitTorrent in December 2013 but was cancelled for unknown reasons.

Do What I Want

Gaga confirmed Richardson as the director during her ArtRave party. Richardson had previously shot the "Cake Like Lady Gaga" snippet video, featuring the singer playing with cake. He had been wanting to do music videos for some time, and started his work in the medium with the video for Miley Cyrus' single "Wrecking Ball" and Beyoncé's "XO".[99] After her provocative performance of the song on Saturday Night Live, many interviewers had questioned Gaga regarding her chemistry with Kelly, leading the singer to tweet the following message: "Many interviewers quelped today about my 'SHOCKING' performance w/ R Kelly on SNL I'm beginning to think y'all aren't ready for the video."[100]

However, the bundle as well as the video was not released in December; Gaga later released a statement in her social networking website Little Monsters that the video was delayed since the singer was given just one week to plan and complete it, like the video for "Applause". She added that it was unlike her since she preferred planning her videos over a period of time to honor her creativity.[104] The clip remained unreleased and on June 19, 2014, celebrity news website TMZ published footage from the video showing sexually suggestive scenes. In one of them, Kelly, playing a doctor, reaches under a sheet covering a naked Gaga, causing her to moan. In another scene, Richardson appeared to be photographing Gaga as she writhes on newspapers, which was compared to Jelena Karleuša's 2013 artwork for "Baš je dobro biti ja".[105][106][107][108] Pitchfork described the video as "Kelly hosting a softcore orgy with Gaga's anesthetized body".[87] According to the TMZ report, the video was cancelled possibly due to weariness and fear of backlash for Kelly's past trial on child pornography, as well as sexual harassment claims by several models who had previously worked with Richardson.[109] According to Page Six's unnamed source, "[She] had a video directed by an alleged sexual predator, starring another sexual predator [...] With the theme, 'I'm going to do whatever I want with your body'? It was literally an ad for rape."[87] Daisy Jones of Dazed said it was for the better that the video was not released. She opined the song's lyrics, Kelly's and Richardson's involvement, and the music video's concept were "bad ideas all around."[42]

Everything involves sacrifice. Everything includes some sort of cost. Nothing is pleasurable or uplifting all of the time. So, the question becomes: what struggle or sacrifice are you willing to tolerate? Ultimately, what determines our ability to stick with something we care about is our ability to handle the rough patches and ride out the inevitable rotten days.

When I was a child, I used to write stories. I used to sit in my room for hours by myself, writing away, about aliens, about superheroes, about great warriors, about my friends and family. Not because I wanted anyone to read it. Not because I wanted to impress my parents or teachers. But for the sheer joy of it.

For example, what do we like to do? When are we the happiest? Who are we with when we are the happiest? What goals bring a smile to our faces? Now, what kind of life would help you do these things and feel this way more often?

Next, it can be helpful to ask ourselves which needs are most important to us right now. Now, be careful not to confuse needs with wants. We might want a million dollars, while we might need financial security. We might want the perfect partner, but we might need a partner who loves us and treats us well.

Values serve as guiding principles that help us move forward in ways that matter to us (Roccas, Sagiv, Schwartz, & Knafo, 2002). So reflecting on our values can help move us in the right direction. We might value social connection, and that helps us see that what we want in life involves being around others. Or, we might value kindness, and that shows that what we want in life may be a career helping others. By reflecting on your core values, you can better understand what you want.

So ask yourself, what kind of life do you want to lead? What kind of feelings does this life have? How will the pieces fit together? What does it look like when you look in it from the outside? Asking these questions can hopefully help you understand more about what you want in life.

Maybe you want to learn to play the saxophone, leave your partner or job, go back to school, or be more assertive. Everyone has their own desires and wants, but the question is: What keeps you from doing what you want to do?

To keep yourself from simply going of autopilot, slow down and before making a decision ask yourself: "Is this something I want or something I think I should do?" Wait, take your time, see what emerges -- a "supposed to," an expectation of others, a real solid gut reaction of wanting. Now sometimes a should is actually a modified want, one based not on others but your own deep and committed values. If it comes from there, your core base, go for it.

This way of thinking may indicate clinical depression, and if so, you may need help to directly address it. But it also may be a confusing of achieving with doing, shoulds with wants, or a learned protective stance based upon things having not worked out in the past. Like self-criticism your not-doing is a reflection of an underlying problem, a way of thinking and treating yourself that you need to tackle directly.

In other words, think more about what you have to offer and how you could make an impact rather than why getting the job would benefit you. Here are three questions to consider as you develop your response:

In an actual interview situation, you want to deliver your prepared answer in a polished but natural way. Consider using one of the following lead-ins as the inspiration for crafting your tailored response:

Michele was sharing what she tells the artists in her mentorship program who complain of not having enough time to do their art. Her words were intended for her mentees, but it felt like they were aimed directly at me.

How to break the cycle? By looking resistance square in the face and taking responsibility for finding a way instead of finding another excuse. By acknowledging what is really important, and committing to making it a priority.

If you already know the employer well, you might as well skip this step. Just keep in mind everything you know and like about them and incorporate that into your answer to explain why you want to work there.

Growing professionally is something that interests both you and your potential employer (you want a successful career, while they want productive employees), which makes this a win-win answer for everyone involved.

Explanation: The candidate directly refers to the quality of the company's products here, which is flattering for the hiring manager to hear. As a user of the products, this candidate demonstrates that they are already knowledgeable about what the company does, and how much they want to be a part of the team.

"What do I want?" It is a question many people ask themselves, even though there generally is no clear answer. After all, everyone wants something different in life and interests and talents differ between individuals. It is also possible that a career does not turn out to be what you expected. Even a job that you carried out for a long time, might not seem so fitting anymore.

When the career choice you made does not seem to be the right one, it may be time for a career switch. To avoid ending up in the same situation, it is wise to overthink your new choice carefully. The question of what you want is important again. What do you really want, why are you not satisfied with your current job, and what do you expect from your new profession?

We probably will never reach the ultimate point that Confucius describes (only partially because we may find it impossible to determine the perfect thing to want to want!) but are guaranteed to make progress if we work at it.

Once you understand that you are what you want, and that you can reprogram your wants, then the task is to discover what you want to want in life, and how to want what you want. You can do that by 1) experimentation and seeking direct experience, and 2) surrounding yourself with those who want the same things.

The more vigilant we are about this the more our desires will flow from our experience instead of outside influences. The more we pay attention to our experience the more soundly we can determine what we want to want.

The Amish have mastered this. As a community they are relentlessly focused on what they want to want and using their community to help solidify these wants in each other. William Irvine discusses this in On Desire:

I met someone recently who is living in northern Missouri without electricity or any modern tools. He and a small group of people are disgusted by society and want as clean of a break as possible. It sounds to me like a lonely, hateful endeavor. 041b061a72