Wanting or Wishing

Today I was thinking about the different between wanting and wishing. I was thinking about how so many of us make statements like "I want to be successful in business" or "I want to be more healthy". Often these statements reveal good intention, but do not result in action.

I think that often we are really wishing more than anything else. Most of the time I feel that when we say we want something, we really mean we just wish things were that way. We are not actively involved in changing our circumstances, but if someone offered to come along and suddenly fix everything then we wouldn't stop them. Thinking about this made me wonder just what we mean when we say "want".

Literally, the word "want" only communicates a desire or wish for something. If I were to say "I want a drink of water," it simply reveals my desire to drink some water. In reality, though, this would imply I will now go and get some water or I expect someone to give me some. It would be odd for someone to say "I want a drink of water" and for no action to result.

I suppose "want" and "wish" are similar, yet in everyday usage "wish" is more likely to be used in situations where there is no hope of it happening. "I wish I was at the beach" might be muttered under one's breath during a board meeting, for instance.

The reason I was thinking about this so much was the realisation that my life is full of "wants" that don't result in any significant action. I want to be more like Jesus. I want to have more clients with my business. I want to understand God's plan for me better. I want to speak French better for my girlfriend. I feel as if I'm kidding myself when I think of all these things. Desires that don't result in action are nothing more than well-intentioned imaginings.

I've decide that I need to change that. I must consciously choose to be active and not passive. That's something I'm choosing to do from this moment on. I'm going to challenge myself whenever I think or say something that starts with "I want...". It's time to act on the things that I think are important and not just wait for them to happen. Life doesn't happen by accident.