An Impossible Quest

Dear Fairy Godmother,

I’ve found the girl of my dreams, but I’m worried her parents don’t approve of us. I feel like I’m constantly jumping through hoops trying to win their approval.

I love my Princess Charming, but I’m not sure I can ever live up to her parents’ towering expectations. How can I achieve such an impossible quest?

Sincerely,

A Prince in Peril

Dear Prince in Peril,

Fear not, brave prince, for I am well acquainted with impossible quests! The good news for you is that those tasks are, in general, quite achievable with some hard work and a little magic.

First, it’s important to realize that these highly difficult tasks have one of two very different motives. Either you are not meant to succeed and the task is the giver’s way of telling you ‘no’, or you are meant to succeed and in the process reveal what your character is.

Luckily for you, the latter option is your moment to shine, and while the former option isn’t ideal, it does ensure that, should you overcome the odds, they are bound by their word.

You’ll want to approach the test carefully and follow my five proven tips for achieving the unachievable:

1. Do not, under any circumstances, cheat. The point of these tests is often to weed out the dishonest and underhanded. It can be tempting, I know, if – for example – you’re instructed to retrieve an item no one’s ever heard of from a place that only exists in stories. But paying someone to make a counterfeit item always backfires in the end, and effort will count more than success in most cases. Often, all the task setter is really looking for is a sincere attempt.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Unless strictly and outright forbidden, your first step should be to recruit allies for your quest. It is not a sign of weakness. Truly, it is a mark of wisdom to realize that you are stronger with others. Consult a wise sage. Hire a skilled warrior. Badger a young scholar. Ask a nearby flock of birds to help you pick lentils out of a fireplace. You don’t need to have all the answers, you just need to know who to ask.

3. Think outside the box. Approach your quest as a riddle to solve, not a list of steps to follow. The wording of the task is terribly important, so pay attention and don’t make assumptions. Yes, your task might be to entirely clean out a stable, but unless your tester specifically says, “Shovel it out,” there’s no reason you can’t divert the nearby river to scrub it out for you.

4. Show off who you truly are. Impossible quests are a smokescreen for a deeper purpose – revealing the true character of the person being tested. Sometimes it’s intentional, sometimes it’s a side effect. Regardless, this is a chance for your personality to shine through, so don’t waste time trying to be who you think you need to be, just lean into who you already are.

5. Overlook nothing and no one. I suppose this tip is really more of an expansion of points 2 and 3, but it bears repeating. No act of kindness is too small, no detail too insignificant. You never know when stopping to help an animal will turn into an unexpected local guide! I can only assume you’ve undertaken an impossible task for important reasons, so take your time and carefully ponder every action.

One final note: Success may not look the way you expect it to. As I said, there are ulterior motives for impossible quests, so the true test may be in how you approach it, how you deal with challenges, or your willingness to persevere. So long as you forge on with a strong spirit and a sincere effort, I have every faith you’ll come out the victor!

And don’t forget, never stop dreaming!

Your Fairy Godmother