Wishing upon a star is basically the same as Wishful Thinking.
There’s no Faith in it…
There’s no Intuition in it…
Wishful Thinking is similar to Daydreaming – Talk with No Action.
In fact, to some extent, it’s associated with Laziness and Excuses.
Wishful Thinking vs Positive Thinking
Some people believe they are just optimistic. They think they are positive thinkers. However, they only want to hear positive news and ignore all negative feedback.
This is an unfortunate misunderstanding of “Positive Thinking”. This is indeed called “Wishful Thinking”
Positive thinking is actually a philosophy that is built on the basis of the actions you take in your life – the concept is linked to the thoughts that go through your mind when you are doing each task in your life. Unlike wishful thinking, positive thinking isn’t simply thinking and wishing something to happen when doing absolutely no action.
The Wishful Thinker:
Positive Thought -> Imperfect Condition -> Act If Perfect Condition -> Never Achieve Goal
The Positive Thinker:
Positive Thought -> Imperfect Condition -> Act to Change Condition -> Achieve Goal
For example,
At the workplace, you want to get to be a part of big projects, but there may be a problem dealing with the boss, and he doesn’t pick you to take part in any big project.
The wishful thinker says, “I want to get on a big project. I think it’s possible. I have the required qualities. But I can’t have this opportunity now. Why bother to work on it? The conditions are not perfect. The boss is biased and listens to gossips. His favoured staffs are good at pretending to work hard. The other coworkers don’t care to change the atmosphere. I will work on it if these conditions change.”
The positive thinker says, “I want to get on a big project. I think it’s possible. I have the required qualities. Even though the conditions are not perfect now, I can start to work towards it. The boss is biased and listens to gossips. His favoured staffs are good at pretending to work hard. The other coworkers don’t care to change the atmosphere. But I will take action to change these conditions so that I can work towards the goal.”
As you may notice, positive thinking and wishful thinking is not alike at all. It’s somewhat opposite indeed.
How to Stay as a True Positive Thinker
When things are going well, both the Positive Thinker and the Wishful Thinker act similarly and both will achieve their goals easily. But when obstacles appear, then we notice differences in various aspects between the Positive Thinker and the Wishful Thinker.
- When facing obstacles, resolve on a plan of action, instead of doubt, panicking and freeze
Positive thinkers always think positively about their capabilities, skills, talents, etc. They will take negative feedback as great information to further improve their own abilities. Wishful thinkers tend to have doubts about themselves, so they will rely on the perfect circumstances to appear. - Proactive, instead of Reactive
Positive thinkers like to initiate their actions. They don’t wait for the perfect opportunity. Instead, they work towards creating their own perfect condition. They don’t wait and react only when the perfect condition shows up in front of their sight. - Dealing with Setback instead of Classifying Setback into “Negativity” List
Positive thinkers are not afraid of setbacks. They see setbacks as a part of their working processes, so they always try to convert setbacks into learning opportunities to help them achieve their targeted goal. Wishful thinkers are a bit worried about encountering setbacks because of their doubtful thoughts. When obstacles appear in the situation, they will claim the condition is no longer perfect and refuse to move on. - Realistic instead of Idealistic
Positive thinkers are immersed in reality, but they do not see themselves being limited by the reality. They see the obstacles, and they acknowledge the existence of these obstacles, but they are always willing to work their way through these obstacles. Also, they can give realistic assessments of the situation and they handle obstacles and setback with confidence. In contrast, wishful thinkers tend to avoid seeing the true reality. They selectively pick the paths that can avoid negative feedback or obstacles. If they cannot meet the ideal situation, they always stay in the waiting mode – They usually claim that they have been positively wishing for the condition and that they would love to move forward, but the condition has not been perfect yet.
Most of us tend to slide along in between the Positive Thinker Mode and the Wishful Thinker Mode. Of course, it’s the best scenario if we can always stay as positive thinkers. But we are human, and it’s normal to be imperfect from time to time. We just need to notice that we are sliding off the track when it happens.
However, life has no guarantees.
Sometimes, positive thinkers may never manage to reach their goals, whereas some wishful thinkers may get their luck and get this perfect condition.
Nevertheless, there’s one thing for sure…
Being a positive thinker will always have a more fulfilling life because of the positive way you see in every situation, no matter if the paths are clear or full of obstacles. And you will always have a smile in the deepest of your soul, no matter if it’s rain or shine.
With love,
Cecilia Or
Always Remember W.H.Y.
Be Well, Be Happy, Be You
