Do you ever find yourself “wishing?” I mean, musing, thinking, desiring, or wishing for something that either is not, or even just can’t be?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve realized that sometimes I get caught up “wishing” when I should be working. I may spend valuable time thinking about things that either can’t be, or at least probably won’t be instead of working on specific things around me that will make life better (for me or others) right now! And, when I allow this to go on too long, I end up letting my mind wander into that danger zone called, “Oh, what the heck? What does it matter anyway?” Yes, my old friend “apathy” shows up at the door step once more.

I know some people who wish for something different, something better, or even something that is just what it should be for a change. Many times, these are the most important things (relationships, fulfilling work, meaningful service), yet they go unfulfilled. And, because the unfulfilled thing often requires someone else’s participation to be made complete, folks will give up on that, and just go find something – anything – that seems good or wholesome (or maybe not so much) to try and fill the void! All too often, at least for me, these are far less important things to be done than the original things that went unfulfilled. I think that’s what “settling” looks like, and I think settling is unfortunate.

Listen, friend… You matter! You matter to your Creator, you matter to your family and friends, and you (should) matter to yourself! So perhaps we should make a pact. Let’s stop “wishing” and get to working, hmmm? Let’s DO something today that will move us toward goals that really matter. Let’s not allow distractions to cause us to obsess with things that ultimately don’t matter, just to keep us from having to address what really matters.

Instead, let’s address what really matters most, and do the hard stuff it’s going to take to find fulfillment in those areas of our life. That may mean the next thing we need to do is tell someone (or ourself), “No.” to something. It could mean we have to make an even tougher decision. But, whatever it takes, let’s strive for progress today against what really matters.

Won’t you join me?