The Futility of Wishing

It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan. – Eleanor Roosevelt

Let’s get clear on a few terms: wishing, wanting, hoping and desiring, planning and intending.

They are all thoughts.

Thoughts in your head that create emotions in your body.

These emotions either create in-action or action (read on and I bet you can guess which group produces which… ).

***

Wishing is a thought that something, perhaps something in particular, would be nice.

Wanting is a thought that something would be nice, or is missing, and if given the chance or choice, one would take it.

Hoping is a (usually wistful) thought that reoccurs about something wanted; a sort of “if only… ”

***

Desire is a clear preference for something.

Planning is a sustained and disciplined pattern of thinking that creates the means to bring something into one’s life.

Intention is the psychic fuel that allows one to bridge the gaps between desire and planning and achievement.

***

So, don’t waste your energy on wishing, wanting or hoping.

Focus your energy on what you desire, the plan required to make it real and the intention required to start, continue and finish.

Similar Posts

  • Live Like The Champ

    Do not count the days; make the days count. – Muhammad Ali Counting the days is splitting your time between the past and the future. Usually it’s wishing the days gone by were different and hoping the days to come are better. Living well and achieving is all about being-in-the-moment and making each moment – each…

  • Who “Gets” Coaching

    The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: Be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge. – Elbert Hubbard This sentiment really captures who doesn’t get coaching – both literally and figuratively. People who don’t get coaching, figuratively, wonder what the fuss is about. “Coaching? I don’t play a sport, why would I need a coach?…

  • The Key To Change

    Change is a door that can only be opened from the inside. – Terry Neil Any change that doesn’t come from within, that isn’t freely chosen and authentic, is coerced, and will be resisted. Even if one successfully sustains a coerced change, some form/amount of misery will ensue. *  *  * Decide who you want…

  • Where Are You Going?

    It isn’t where you came from; it’s where you’re going that counts. – Ella Fitzgerald The past is useful as a textbook. Something to review on occasion to learn and grow from, but it’s no where to live. It’s certainly no place to worry about. What matters is where you’re going. *  *  * Where are…