“We all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing“.

The first step in making a change that will be followed by actions is to make a wish! Psychologists and inspirational personalities all say that it is a fantastic tool for turning hopes into reality because having a goal makes our steps and actions more efficient and we know where we need to go.

Our brains can’t really spot the \difference between a well crafted image built in our minds – detailed, rich in feelings, and sensations – and our reality: it will always produce happiness hormones to make us feel energised enough to take real actions and decisions that will lead step by step towards a new reality. For this reason, our brain’s chemicals are amazing allies in our projects. This technique is known as visualisation and is commonly used in coaching or talking therapies because it can easily and quickly influence our minds. The practice of manifestation that is so popular relies on that trick. It is no different from other forms of wishful thinking, if only you take it seriously. Modern paganism uses it as well in many rituals. 

Our brain gives us the opportunity to use this super-power but we need to know how to harness its strengths: we need to feel free to think big, create with imagination and picture ourselves in a different reality.

We all deserve better than a reality that does not satisfy us. We all owe that to ourselves, and failing and striving is part of the journey. We shouldn’t worry too much.

If you are dismissing the idea of dreams and wishes as a childhood fantasy, you have probably ignored that it played a big part in our ancestors’ daily life. From blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, or looking for shooting stars, to dropping coins in fountains, it is an intention setting that goes directly to our subconscious minds and there it keeps working for us.

Ancient cultures took wishes seriously. Greeks believed that the god Artemis (the goddess of the moon) would be pleased if offered a rounded cake (to represent the moon) with little candles on it to stand for the moonlight; blowing them and obviously making a wish was supposed to be the next step. We still do it on our birthdays, but with less determination and hope.

We as humans need to dream and have goals in life in order to feel happy and satisfied, to feel we are really doing something and not just surviving. It is for this reason that happiness starts with a wish.