You go to a birthday party. The cake comes out. Everyone says to the birthday person, “Okay! Make a wish!” The birthday person closes their eyes, makes a wish and blows out the candles. “What did you wish for?” Someone in the crowd asks. Every head turns to stare—doesn’t that person know better than to ask? You’re not supposed to say your wishes out loud. This is an age old ritual…well, at least I think it is…

But why? Why can’t you ask what someone’s wish is? I have a hunch that it’s because we are so afraid that our wishes aren’t going to come true and if they don’t come true and all of these people know what we wished for maybe it’ll be embarrassing, maybe we’ll look stupid, maybe we’ll feel like we’re not enough.

However, I have a new theory about this tradition. What if we spoke our wishes aloud? Not just on our birthdays, but always. We don’t have to tell the whole world, we can even just tell one person we trust, but I believe that being bold and speaking our wishes out doesn’t set us up for failure, but actually increase our chances of them coming true. I believe there is power in speaking something aloud for the universe to hear how serious you are about what you want and your confidence in believing it can be a reality speaks volumes. Of course, we have to let go of things like the timing of when wishes will come true and exactly how they will happen and whether or not they will look exactly like we envisioned them, but if we allow ourselves to speak our wishes out loud we give them the power to come to fruition and it also gives you people to support you in your wishes and dreams and accountability.

Think about it. If I told everyone that came to a birthday party of mine that I wished to become a published author don’t you think those people would be more likely to let me know if they heard of an opportunity that might help me or introduce me to someone that might be able to help? And on top of that I also have a group of people then rooting for me to succeed and when we put out those positive vibes only good can come from it. Even if it’s scary, by sharing your wants, wishes, and dreams with people you trust you are opening yourself up to amazing possibilities and opportunities. You also become accountable. You’ve put out there what you want, there are people who know you want it so what are you going to do about it? How are you going to make your dreams a reality? Because I know you can. You don’t have to be afraid to dream big. The world will not come to an end. And even if you change your mind and decide you want a new wish you get to change your mind. It doesn’t have to be set in stone.

You don’t have to be afraid of your dreams. Love them and embrace them. Make them your best friends not something that scares you. Partner with the universe to create your dreams and know that they are yours for the taking and it doesn’t all have to be so hard. 

So, I’m going to make this my new tradition. I will speak my wish aloud and then blow out my candles. I will ask people to root for me, my wishes, and my dreams. I’m excited. What do you think? How do you feel about sharing your wishes and dreams?

You don’t have to wait until your birthday, you can start now. It’s almost the new year, what a beautiful time for a new tradition, right?

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day filled with beautiful, big dreams. XOXO, CAMDW

PS There are two tools I have found particularly helpful in opening myself up to the Universe and releasing my hopes, dreams and allowing myself to dream big. One is, Deepak Chopra’s 21 day abundance meditation that you can find on the Chopra Institute website and the other is Gabby Bernstein’s book, Super Attractor and accompanying meditations. Both of these tools have been fundamental in how I approach manifestation, dreaming, and growing.