Crossword Genius

Hiking, whilst fun, creates the illusion that what you desire will come true (7,8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

wishful thinking

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'illusion that what you desire will come true' is the definition.
'wishful thinking' can be an answer for 'illusion' (wishful thinking is a kind of illusion). I'm unsure of the rest of the definition.

'hiking whilst fun creates' is the wordplay.
'creates' is an anagram indicator.
'hiking'+'whilst'+'fun'='hikingwhilstfun'
'hikingwhilstfun' anagrammed gives 'WISHFUL THINKING'.

'the' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for wishful thinking that I've seen before include "pure fantasy" , "over-optimistic expectation" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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