The difference between a wish and a goal

I've done a lot of wishing in my life.  I wished I were thinner.  I wished I were healthier.  I wished I felt better about myself.  Remember the old saying when seeing a falling star, "I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight..." and then you make your wish?  Well, think of all the wishes put out into the universe in a day... in a month... in a year.  I certainly can't count or even remember all the wishes I've made in my lifetime.  Wishes seems fleeting, unattainable... dreamlike.

Now I make GOALS.

And now, because I'm not tossing random wishes out into the air without much expectation of them coming back to me with a note that says "Jan's 189th Wish of 2010:  Status: Granted!", I've started to change the way I chart out my desires.  I set aside time to think about the things I *really truly want* in my life and, rather than wishing for them, I set those things as a concrete goal in my life.

Instead of wishing that I were healthier and fitter, I imagined myself that way, I pictured it clearly, and wrote down a goal in both my mind and in my journal (and this blog).  "My goal is to lose 100 pounds and get into better shape."  That was my biggest goal of the last few years.  It wasn't a wish... it wasn't tossed out there and forgotten.  It became a viable presence in my life.  Every day I chased that goal.  Every day I expected my actions to put me closer to my goal.  Every day I believed I would attain that goal.  And now I am happily able to say my goal was achieved! (There's confetti or ticker tape parades flying somewhere now because of it, I'm sure! lol)

I had another big goal in my sites.  I wanted to be a happy person again.  In all aspects of my life. I didn't say with a sigh "Ohhhh I wish I thought I could be happy again... wouldn't that be a nice thing to wish for...".  Nope.  I turned my wishful thinking into a solid goal and wrote it down.  "My goal is to be happy and content in all areas of my life."  Big goal, huh? : )   Well, I've made an intentional decision every single day since I wrote out that goal list to be happy.  It is a choice.  And with practice of making a choice to look at things in my life positively, to believe I can accomplish anything, to build up my self-confidence by being happy again, guess what happened?  Contentment and happiness found me in abundance and another goal was realized! 

I'm not saying I'm not for wishful thinking.  I love the song "When You Wish Upon A Star" because it is hopeful and positive.  What I want to have you realize, like I have, is that we need to turn our wishes into concrete goals and then chase after them with every bit of energy we have, believing in our hearts we will attain those goals... because if you dream it, believe it, and work after your goal... you WILL achieve it.

I'm proof positive that goals CAN be achieved. And that's NOT just wishful thinking!  : )

Here's to our health, my friends ~

HealthyLoserGal / Jan