How to Get a Wish to Stick
I just made a wish.
How many times a year do you do the same?
Make a wish for good luck.
Make a wish because you want or need something bigger than yourself.
Make a wish because you are not sure. You hope.
Make a wish that is a goal or a dream.
Perhaps your wish is prompted by your birthday and blowing out the candles on a cake. Maybe when you put together a bucket list you simply wish it would materialize in real life. Our wishes come and go at New Year’s, during life-cycle events, or induced by health-related, or personal or professional hardships. If you have ever seen a ladybug, a four-leaf clover, or a dragonfly…you may have indulged yourself with a hopeful thought. A wish that you imagined would stick.
Yet, wishing alone does not often produce the results you seek. Wishing sets an intention in motion. Intentions are powerful. What happens next is not only up to the Gods or powered by the Universe…although both support your destiny. Prayer and spirituality are key components of successful wish fulfillment.
However, what I have come to realize is that wishes that become reality are intentions that intersected commitments.
You need to do the WISH WORK in order for the wish to stick! The intention is great, but it is your commitment and follow-through that supports you in crossing the finish line.
Here are 3 ways to tackle and active your WISH WORK:
1.
Stop chasing tomorrow and wish for today:
Most of us play a waiting game with ourselves. We set a goal or thought in motion and then tell ourselves that we can attain that thing we most want
WHEN
something in the future (more time, more money, less responsibility, more visibility) is available to us. Then we glamorize how that will make us feel happy, successful, fulfilled, less anxious. Then life gets in the way and we don’t get traction on that goal or thought because we were waiting for something to happen tomorrow rather than making something happen today.
Here is the twist on all of that. Instead of wishing on a feeling and following the possibility down the road, wish on the
one small aspect
you can actually impact NOW.
Steer yourself toward that thing…your own one thing.
What can you do today that will take you one small step, one commitment closer to what you most want?
Wish smaller!
Yes, this is the opposite of what we are always told, which is to wish big! Then, when that smaller wish sticks, celebrate and acknowledge your win and wish again for the next piece of your goal. Breaking down your wish into smaller parts will bring more success to the equation.
2.
Be creative:
Rework your wishes so that you can grab hold of aspects of them even if the whole wish is not immediately attainable. Example: Your wish is to see the world, to travel more and to immerse yourself in other cultures. Maybe you wished this at your birthday, or at an anniversary. Great wish. Yet, the budget and time to support that may not actually exist in the traditional sense.
Being creative with your wish can allow in aspects of that wish into the present moment, generating a feeling of success and accomplishment and getting you closer to your goal of extended travel. Think about ways to drive this travel bug differently and still expose yourself to other cultures and people. Here are some ideas:
-
Challenge yourself to eat a different cuisine every day for a week or even every day for a month! If you live in a major city that is certainly possible!
-
Read books and watch movies that take place in the places you want to visit. Picture yourself in the story.
-
Explore ways to trade apartments, take classes, attend a summit or conference in places you would like to explore. Dive into what is possible in a non-traditional sense and how it can get you a bit closer to your goal.
3.
Don’t quit, PIVOT:
Along with chasing tomorrow, we also tend to focus on
HOW
we are going to do something. Let’s face it, if you make a wish and then get trapped in how you will ever make that happen, you greatly reduce your chances of that wish materializing. So next time you wish for something
believe
in what that wish is and why you want it. Envision your life with that wish as a reality. What is different for you if you actually lived this dream?
How
you will get your wish will disable your ability to do so because
how
is where fear hangs out. If you begin to act as if you have the thing you most want, you will organically move closer to elements of that wish. If you feel yourself veering off course or quitting STOP. Re-evaluate your wish. Where can you tweak it and pivot toward another aspect of it rather than quitting because of fear or other obstacles?
Where can you active your
WISH WORK
and move ahead?
Wishing may not make it so…but the decisions and choices you activate can!
