Hope.

I hope you have a good day. I hope it is warm outside. I hope I get the interview. I hope this pandemic ends soon. I hope I can see you soon.

Hope, a word used frequently, and yet, what is hope and how does it play out in our daily lives?

· Hope is something that you want to happen. It is the first spark and vision of a desire.

· Hope helps you take the first step toward that desire and allows you to pivot, change, and still see possibilities when at first, you don’t succeed.

· Hope keeps you going because it is the internal trust below all the doubt that you need to proceed.

· Hope keeps you afloat on the days you don’t want to try anymore, and hope is what keeps those around you moving forward. When you have hope you are not easily discouraged.

· Hope is having a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset. It is a backup navigator when you have lost focus. Hope knows that no matter where you are starting, you can and will overcome challenges and do what is necessary to overcome them.

I intentionally lead a hopeful life, and therefore it is weaved into everything I do because I recognize that hope is an inside job regardless of what is happening externally.

How can you create more HOPE in your life?

1. Pay attention! Hope is everywhere and in everything you do or want to do; you just have never identified it that way.

2. Monitor your self-talk patterns. Are they hopeful and forward-focused?

3. Excitement and enthusiasm go a long way in generating hope. Let go, dream, dance, feel into what you want the outcome to be.

4. Stay mindful that having what you want may require you to be flexible and pivot based on life circumstances. That’s okay.

5. Practice gratitude. Being grateful makes you more hopeful as it reflects what we do have, have accomplished, and keeps us aware of what matters to us.

6. Spread hope. Did you know that hope is contagious? When you are hopeful, it sparks hope in others as well. Let’s create a beautiful chain reaction of hope!

Sam, age 16, when asked: What is hope to you? It’s the will to continue and the reason to do it.

May all your days be hopeful.