Empower Yourself on Your Hope Journey
With the new year just a few weeks away, now is a great time to discuss this week’s topic: hope. It’s no coincidence that our thoughts and celebrations during this time of year tend to focus on better things to come. We make goals and resolutions for the new year and are eager to put the struggles of the last year behind us. Our hope helps us put everything into perspective, motivates us to move forward, and reminds us that personal growth is possible.
There are many misconceptions about hope. It is not simply a wish, dream, or desire for a positive outcome. It’s much more than that. It’s a belief in ourselves and our abilities. It’s a recognition that we can take on a challenge and make positive progress. And in some cases, it can prompt us to seek the help of others in achieving our goals.
And there’s more good news about hope … It can be learned, and it can be shared with others. When you commit to learning a new skill or having a new experience, you are expressing your commitment to the future. Hope lives when we want to move and make progress, and when we want more out of life in the future. You can also increase the hope of those around you. You can be a HOPEGIVER by sharing your own story, staying connected, and listening to others’ stories with empathy, openness, and no judgment.
Of course, this can be a struggle if you’re caring for someone who has lost hope themselves, or maybe your situation is making it hard for you to have a future-oriented mindset. For my sisters and I, we had an epiphany when our brother lost his battle with mental illness to suicide. We didn’t want to lose hope ourselves, so we worked to raise funds for suicide prevention, calling ourselves the “HOPE Seekers.” This was the beginning of our journey toward healing, wholeness, and building a more hope-centered mindset.
If you find that you need to BORROW hope, it’s important to have a good support team that you can lean on. In times of hopelessness, seek out your “people” and those who have been in similar situations for hope, help, and advice. And don’t forget to practice self-compassion.
Like caregiving, finding hope is a journey. There are good days and bad days, and you’ve survived 100% of your worst days so far. Take a moment today to reflect on what you have seen, done, or experienced that gives YOU hope.