I wish... I cycled to work

Cycling to work sounds fantastic: It's cheap, good for the environment, improves your fitness, and you don't get stuck in traffic jams.

On the other hand, cycling to work sounds awful: It's hard work, subject to weather conditions, and undeniably dangerous.

So why do I wish that I cycled to work?

I loved cycling when I was a child. I loved it when I was a teenager. I forgot about it when I discovered cars and girlfriends. But I fell in love with it all over again when I moved to London and realised the quickest and most reliable way to get around was on two wheels.

I cycled six miles to work, then two, then four. Along roads, along cycle paths, along canal towpaths. As long as I could shower or change at the other end, the weather didn't bother me.

Then I moved out of London.

I couldn't cycle to work anymore. I had to catch a train. Two hours each way. Horrible. So I got a new job. Bit more local. Thirty to forty minutes each way. Better. But by car. One word: traffic.

I wish I could cycle to work again.

It's 18.8 miles. A climb of 1309 feet. 1 hour 58 minutes of cycling. According to Google Maps. It's not something I could do every day, but I could do it once. I could do it by the end of September.

I will cycle to work by the end of September!

What is your wish of the month? What are you going to do about it?

I wish... I fulfilled my own wishes and had no regrets

There are two types of wishes: wishes that you can fulfil by your own actions, and wishes that you can't.

A lot of people spend too much time and energy wishing for things that are beyond their control:

• I wish it would stop raining.
• I wish there wasn't so much traffic.
• I wish there were more hours in the day.

Better to wish for things that you can control:

• I wish I was fitter.
• I wish I could speak a foreign language.
• I wish I spent more quality time with my family. 

Notice how the wishes that you can control are wishes that will improve the quality and richness of your life, and the lives of those around you.

Write a list of all the things that you wish you could do. The things that bug you. The things that you have thought about doing for a while but have never got around to. Things that, frankly, make you feel embarrassed for not having done them already.

Choose one wish, choose one month, and DO SOMETHING to make that wish come true! Set a realistic target for the end of the month, set aside some time each week to take action, and DO IT!

At the end of the month, tell me how you got on. Show me a photo. Shout it from the rooftops if you feel like it. In French.

One more wish fulfilled is one less regret.