Wish Translation

I wish I could be more present. I wish I could complete my college degree. I wish I had more time to focus on my goals. I wish I had more direction. I wish I was more confident. I wish I was more motivated. I wish I could live close the ocean. I wish I felt less frazzled. I wish I could enjoy more time with my loved ones. I wish I got more joy from my life. I wish I knew what I wanted. I wish I could change careers. I wish I was healthier. I wish I could wear that. I wish I could work for myself. 

What do you wish for?  Wishes are not just fantasy, they give us insight into who we are, who we want to be, and how we want to live our lives. I find myself saying, “in a perfect world I would ________.”  When I hear myself say those words, I remind myself the world doesn’t need be perfect for us to create the life we wish to live.  We hold more power and skill to turn our wishes into reality than we often acknowledge.  I call this process (and yes, it’s a process) wish translation.  Translating your wishes into reality is reasonable, attainable, realistic, and requires thoughtful, planful steps.  As you take each step you grow more motivated, confident, and energized to translate your wishes into everyday living.  I have outlined wish translation into 9 steps.

1.     Own and articulate your wish – Be specific.  Explain your wish in 7 words or less.

2.     Cultivate your vision – Describe what translating your wish looks and feels like today, tomorrow, in 1 year, in 3 years, and in 5 years.  

3.     Specify options – Lay out all possible routes and alternatives.

4.     Establish thoughtful action – Select meaningful actions that produce outputs that will help you move forward. 

5.     Identify and plan for potential obstacles – Be realistic about the consequences and risks and account for these.

6.     Recognize strategies, support, and resources – You are not alone. Everyone needs help.  Recognize what you need and from whom to translate your wish. 

7.     Set accountably – Even if you really, really, really want it - that is not enough.  You need goalposts and specific check-ins along the way.

8.     Reflect on and celebrate your learning – Recognize your progress!  This means celebrating what you learned from successes and missteps. 

9.     Apply your new thinking and learning to make your wishes a reality – Put into action what you have learned along the way.  Identify what accountability strategies worked and leverage these in the future. Reflect on what support resources were most useful and build these to your plans to accomplish other tasks. 

Wish translation is easier and more fun with a coach.  It’s helpful to explain your wishes to a coach to get clearer about what you really want.  As a coach, I facilitate each step of the wish translation process and celebrate milestones with you along the way!