I’ve been in a number of situations where I kept saying, “It’s going to work out, it’s going to work out,” and, it didn’t even come close. I thought it was my deep abiding cosmic faith that kept me hanging in when things were clearly failing, but it was really just a case of slightly gross, awfully sticky, and obviously doomed wishful thinking.

Wishful thinking is tangled up with craving. We want what we want. So we ignore the evidence that we’re very likely not going to get what we want out of a situation. Craving… wishing. Craving… denial. Craving… tolerating. It’s a wishous cycle.

You become excessively tolerant or overly pleasing. And all the while, anxiety about getting what you want is rumbling in your stomach. In a mindful moment you may ask yourself, “Why am I putting up with this shit?!” And then, in all seriousness you’ll tell yourself that it’s a means to an end.

But really… it’s because you’re afraid of the consequences of putting an end to putting up with it.

Examine the evidence. And as for wishing… wish for the strength to do the right thing.