According to Wikipedia, ‘hope is an optimistic state of
mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to
events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large.’ Hope is a trait that is almost a requirement
for flourishing in life. We need hope in
order to look to the future with confidence.
We also need hope so that we can see our troubles as a passing storm,
with a brighter future ahead.
This past year has been a difficult one for most of
us. We’ve battled Covid 19, had loved
ones die from it, had job losses or reduced salaries, businesses have struggled
to stay afloat, lockdowns, adapting to life in lockdown, homeschooling, working
from home, the introduction of face masks, the list goes on. We were thrown into the deep end without much
notice. Some people took the changes in
stride while others struggled to cope. In addition to all that, there was also a
spike in domestic violence cases, mental health cases and an increase in teenage
pregnancies in some countries during lockdown.
I believe that what caused the difference between those who took the challenges
in stride and those who struggled to cope was the presence or absence of hope.
The hopeful ones viewed the effects of the pandemic as
temporary and they even made plans for their lives post pandemic. Then there were those whose lives stood still
and they froze, unable to think or do anything constructive due to fear and
uncertainty. I was one of those who was
unable to think straight for a while, it took time for me to change course and
determine the direction that I would go.
What I found out during that season was the importance of
hope. As cliché as it sounds having hope
for the future is what keeps a person going, through the darkest of times. Believing that you will come out of the
trials a better and stronger person and that the challenges are temporary is a
method of ensuring that you overcome the storms in a hopeful manner. Daring to believe that the struggles that you
are experiencing will end and going through each day with that belief is the
best way to overcome a problem.
So, how do we acquire this hope or how do we grow it
within us? These are some of the methods
that we can use:
1.
Create a viable plan of the next steps that
you will take to keep you moving forward when it looks like everything is
falling apart. Choose to focus on the good
things that happen to you each day. This
will program your mind to dwell on the positive things that occur instead of ruminating
on the negative ones. When you focus and
talk about the positive things, your hopes and your dreams, they will
eventually turn into self- fulfilling prophecies because you will be motivated
to accomplish those goals and dreams.
2.
Concentrate on making each day a productive
day. Do not start worrying about what
will happen in the next 3 months, just think about the present day and how to
achieve the most out of that day.
3.
Start believing that each day is better than
the previous one and start looking forward to taking the steps required to fix
the situation. Take action and do what
you can to address each problem every day and eventually you will get to the ‘brighter
future’ that you are hoping for.
4.
Engage in a hobby, do something that you love
and reach out to a community that has similar interests as you. This will relax your mind and it will also
give you a set of friends that you can talk to.
It will enable you to look at your challenges with a fresh mind and help
you to come up with new solutions.
5.
Respond to your situations, avoid reacting to
them. For example, your business may be
struggling during this time, but you can create a plan and act on the plan to
start the recovery process. It may take
a while before it returns to optimal operations but a step in the right
direction is better than none at all.
6.
Associate yourself with hopeful people, they
will make you hopeful too. By being
around them you will pick up their thinking patterns and you will start seeing
life differently.
Last year was a difficult year for most of us and we
struggled to cope with the changing circumstances. This may have caused us to feel helpless and
discouraged but regardless of what happened, if we choose to have hope we will
have the opportunity to turn our situations around and have a better year, this
year.
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