---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If he had to wish, what would he wish…"
description: "\"“If he had to wish, what would he wish for, he asked himself. What was there to wish for... a wish asked for the unattainable. The impossible.”\" — Dale..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/dalene-matthee-69495_impossible_if-he-had-to-wish-what-would-he-wish-for_2637856.jpg"
---

#  If he had to wish, what would he wish for, he asked…

![“If he had to wish, what would he wish for, he asked himself. What was there to wish for... a wish asked for the unattainable. The impossible.” quote by Dalene Matthee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/dalene-matthee-69495_impossible_if-he-had-to-wish-what-would-he-wish-for_2637856.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/dalene-matthee-69495_impossible_if-he-had-to-wish-what-would-he-wish-for_2637856.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/dalene-matthee-69495_impossible_if-he-had-to-wish-what-would-he-wish-for_2637856.jpg)

> ““If he had to wish, what would he wish for, he asked himself. What was there to wish for... a wish asked for the unattainable. The impossible.””

Dalene Matthee

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Desire for the unattainable reveals the human longing for impossible wishes.

**In simple terms:** Wishing for the impossible shows deep yearning.

Key Takeaway

Accept limits while nurturing hope.

Themes

desire impossibility longing human nature hope

Mood

melancholic hopeful

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- personal goal setting
- spiritual reflection
- artistic inspiration

Key Concepts

Existentialism psychology of desire

Questions to Reflect On

- What drives us to wish for the impossible?
- How can we balance hope and realism?

A Different Perspective

Obsessive wishes can lead to frustration.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [Make a wish," said Indigo. Rose made a wish and then asked, "Why?" "That's what I always do. Wish on the moving ones." "Does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mckay/make-a-wish-said-indigo-rose-made-a-wish-and-then-asked-why-that-s/)

[Hilary McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mckay/)

> [The unattainable, the impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-sartin/the-unattainable-the-impossible/)

[Megan Sartin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-sartin/)

> [“He was lying there on his death bed, and he asked for her as his last wish. She came with tears in her eyes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishikant/he-was-lying-there-on-his-death-bed-and-he-asked-for-her-as-his-last/)

[Nishikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishikant/)

> [“You don’t really hate me…do you?” he asked. “Sometimes I wish that I did. It would make everything a whole hell of a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/you-don-t-really-hate-me-do-you-he-asked-sometimes-i-wish-that-i-did/)

[Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/)

> [When God opened the window of heaven, he asked me what I would wish for today. I replied - Please bless the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-god-opened-the-window-of-heaven-he-asked-me-what-i-would-wish/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If you wake up one day and were asked to have a wish, what would it be? Mine would be that our love would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-wake-up-one-day-and-were-asked-to-have-a-wish-what-would-it-be/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When God opened the window of the Heaven He asked me: What is your wish for today? I said : Please take special care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-god-opened-the-window-of-the-heaven-he-asked-me-what-is-your/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [One of the saddest sentences I know is "I wish I had asked my mother about that." Or my father. Or my grandmother. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/one-of-the-saddest-sentences-i-know-is-i-wish-i-had-asked-my-mother/)

[William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/)

> [“I wish that I would have asked my grandparents more about their early lives in Italy when I had the chance to do so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-perry/i-wish-that-i-would-have-asked-my-grandparents-more-about-their-early/)

Marianne Perry

> [Never answer the question that is asked of you. Answer the question that you wish had been asked of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mcnamara/never-answer-the-question-that-is-asked-of-you-answer-the-question/)

[Robert McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mcnamara/)

> [“Augustus Waters–style, I read him the letter in lieu of saying hello. “Wow,” he said. “I know, right?” I said. “How am I going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/augustus-waters-style-i-read-him-the-letter-in-lieu-of-saying-hello/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I just wish I’d asked you sooner. We could’ve had ages . . . months . . . years maybe. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-just-wish-i-d-asked-you-sooner-we-could-ve-had-ages-months-years/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When we do interviews and we get asked the same questions over and over, I'm like, 'I wish we'd get asked something different.' But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perrie-edwards/when-we-do-interviews-and-we-get-asked-the-same-questions-over-and/)

[Perrie Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perrie-edwards/)

> [Unfortunately, neither of my grandfathers were alive by the time I decided I wanted to write a book. I wish I had asked them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shweta-bachchan-nanda/unfortunately-neither-of-my-grandfathers-were-alive-by-the-time-i/)

[Shweta Bachchan Nanda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shweta-bachchan-nanda/)

> [By the time you get into other kinds of music - R&amp;B, country, or whatever - it becomes something that's romantic. It becomes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/by-the-time-you-get-into-other-kinds-of-music-r-b-country-or-whatever/)

[Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/)

## More by Dalene Matthee

> [“...unhappiness was something you got used to or something that passed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalene-matthee/unhappiness-was-something-you-got-used-to-or-something-that-passed/)

Dalene Matthee

> [“The power of a woman was different, he decided: sly, fearless, changeable as the moods of the sea, but he knew instinctively that that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalene-matthee/the-power-of-a-woman-was-different-he-decided-sly-fearless-changeable/)

Dalene Matthee

> [“But memories got left behind while you kept walking on; every time you had to retrace your steps further to return to your memories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalene-matthee/but-memories-got-left-behind-while-you-kept-walking-on-every-time-you/)

Dalene Matthee

Explore all 4 Dalene Matthee quotes

## More Impossible quotes

> [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/)

[Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/)

> [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/)

James Cross Giblin

> [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/)

[Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/)

> [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. It knows and it teaches that it is impossible to find two events that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bloch/history-is-in-its-essentials-the-science-of-change-it-knows-and-it/)

[Marc Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bloch/)

> [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/)

[Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/)

> [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [I've heard from the movie marketplace that James Cameron did such a killer job with 'Titanic' that it's almost impossible to do anything better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-ve-heard-from-the-movie-marketplace-that-james-cameron-did-such-a/)

[Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/)

> [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/)

[Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/)

> [Ronaldo is just an athlete. He works so hard and back to back; he is always there. But if you work hard, can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-davids/ronaldo-is-just-an-athlete-he-works-so-hard-and-back-to-back-he-is/)

[Edgar Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-davids/)

> [In such a diversity it was impossible I should be disposed to melancholy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-boone/in-such-a-diversity-it-was-impossible-i-should-be-disposed-to/)

[Daniel Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-boone/)

> [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/)

[Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/)

> [I just like stories about redemption about getting a second chance at life, I think everyone in the world has a few major mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-just-like-stories-about-redemption-about-getting-a-second-chance-at/)

[Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/)

> [It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/it-s-impossible-to-know-who-donald-might-have-been-under-different/)

[Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/)

Browse all 7,633 Impossible quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“If he had to wish, what would he wish for, he asked himself. What was there to wish for... a wish asked for the unattainable. The impossible.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Dalene Matthee"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalene-matthee/if-he-had-to-wish-what-would-he-wish-for-he-asked-himself-what-was/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Impossible"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalene-matthee/if-he-had-to-wish-what-would-he-wish-for-he-asked-himself-what-was/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/dalene-matthee-69495_impossible_if-he-had-to-wish-what-would-he-wish-for_2637856.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/dalene-matthee-69495_impossible_if-he-had-to-wish-what-would-he-wish-for_2637856.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/dalene-matthee-69495_impossible_if-he-had-to-wish-what-would-he-wish-for_2637856.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If he had to wish, what would he wish for, he asked himself. What was there to wish for... a wish asked for…” — Dalene Matthee",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Dalene Matthee",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalene-matthee/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“If he had to wish, what...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalene-matthee/if-he-had-to-wish-what-would-he-wish-for-he-asked-himself-what-was/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalene-matthee/if-he-had-to-wish-what-would-he-wish-for-he-asked-himself-what-was/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
