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

  • Failure

    “I’m a failure.” I failed. Things didn’t turn out exactly like I thought at the outset. I learned something about my goal and my choices along the way. There is no such thing as “failure;” everything produces results. I have examined my inputs (thoughts, beliefs, exclusions, inclusions, emotions, moods, choices and non-choices) and results. I…

  • Uncover The Story, Move Forward

    If you’re even willing to believe it’s possible, how do you transform negative interpretations about a situation, that you seem to keep holding? The answer, or at least part of the answer, is to uncover the story you have about how, somehow or another, holding on to that interpretation serves you (generally, serves your emotions)….

  • The Basis of Success

    Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. – Jim Rohn Sometimes people get confused about how to be successful. They think it takes something they don’t have, things others were born with. It’s just not so. First, success is an individual thing and second it’s a process. Success is what you decide it be (even if…

  • All You Have Is What You Do

    My actions are my only true belongings. – Thich Nhat Hanh Your legacy, what you truly leave behind, is what you’ve done. All your possessions are fleeting and can be lost in an instant — and will fade and decay anyway. What endures are the choices you made, the work you’ve done and lives you’ve touched….

  • Knowledge Without Action

    This is something I have been thinking about a great deal these days. I am collector of knowledge and wisdom. I have a belief that if I fill my head with great ideas, and think realistically positive thoughts as much as possible, and carefully craft my speech, that my life will improve. And it has….