Are your financial goals merely financial wishes?

If I were to ask you to share with me a list of your financial goals, you would probably be able to rattle of a quick list of things you'd like to have or accomplish. Your list may include phrases such as "I want to be financially independent." "I want to be able to buy a home in the next few years." "I want to be debt free" and so on.
Once you've completed your list I would probably congratulate you on your ambitions and ask you what you are doing to reach your goals.

If you can easily describe specific and consistent actions you are taking to reach your intentions, then you can be confident that you are headed towards your financial goals. If, on the other hand, you are at a loss for words when attempting to detail specific actions you've taken to manifest your financial intentions, then you are fooling yourself into believing that your wishes are goals.

Wishing is defined as yearning for, desiring, or hoping for something to take place. By saying that you would like to have more money in the bank, you are aspiring for money. There is nothing wrong with aspiring for more and better. In fact, without our aspirations, we would be complacent and stagnant with our growth. Vocalizing our desires is quite noble and must take place if we are ever to better our financial situation.

It is when you stop at the yearning stage that things begin to go downhill. When you desire something and do nothing to support your desire, you are wishing for it to happen. You hope that somehow, someway, you will wake up one day and suddenly be free of debt. We both know that the chances of that actually happening is slim to none. Unlike wishes, however, your goal is the object of your ambition and effort. Your financial goals must be the object of your steady efforts.

So if I were to ask you about your financial goals, you should have the ability to detail the actions you are taking to reach them just as easily as you can describe the goals themselves. Your actions should be consistent otherwise your are teetering on the wish category. Inconsistency will have little impact on your financial outcomes. If you only save money once in a while, how much will that impact your financial standings? That's like eating fruit only once in a while and expecting to lose 20 lbs.

Take a quick second to mentally review your financial goals. If your actions are consistently aligned with what you want then your desires can truly be classified as goals. Wishing, to me, is almost as bad as lying to yourself. You say you want it, but you show no true evidence of wanting to make it happen. If you are lying to yourself you need to stop it!
Today you should spend some time thinking about specific actions, even if they are small steps, that you'll take consistently, to turn your wishes in reality.