If a man could have just half of his wishes, he would double his troubles. Benjamin Franklin
Destiny has two ways of crushing us – by refusing our wishes and by fulfilling them. Henri-Frederic Amiel
If mankind had wished for what is right, they might have had it long ago. William Hazlitt
Aspiring to nothing but humility, the wise man will make it the height of his ambition to be unambitious. As he cannot effect all that he wishes, he will only wish for that which he can effect. Paul Chatfield
Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true. Demosthenes
If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of potential – for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints; possibility never. Soren Kierkegaard
If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are. Montesquieu
Wishing, of all employments, is the worst. Edward Young
Our wishes are presentiments of the abilities that lie in us, harbingers of what we will be able to accomplish. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe