On our recent family vacation, I was sunbathing while my kids napped; a Mommy’s heaven. As I lay there, soaking-up my sun and surroundings, I listened to my nieces. 

Most of their conversation topics were what I would expect of young girls; dolls, school, friends, hair. But what struck me, was how many times they said, “I wish I had…”. 

I wish I had a pony, a puppy. I wish I had a sister and not a brother. I wish my hair was curly like yours. Their chatting was speckled with,”I wish I had”. 

Why do we wish we had something else or something more than what we have? Is it the fault of our making a wish every birthday as we blow out our candles? Maybe that’s the culprit. 

I wish I had the answer. I wish I had all sorts of stuff, too. But, my time spent wishing is usually detracting from time I should be enjoying. It’s the ruminating; the wishing that’s the thief. 

Now, I can’t put a complete strike through it. Sometimes, “I wish I had…” is a good self-motivator, when used effectively. It drives us to want more for ourselves, for each other. 

But, when we wish for unrealistic things, dwell on things we wish we’d done differently, or wish we had things that aren’t attainable, it will only squish our joy. It’ll take what we have. 

So, my final wish, with the exception of blowing out my birthday candles wishes, is that I wish I had all the time back that I spent wishing I had things. 

Go after what you wish you had; within reason. Otherwise, you will be stuck in the muck of “I wish I had”. Maybe you can’t have that unicorn you wish you had. But, chances are, a lot of what you wish you had, you can have.