Today I want to challenge you to see HOPE in your darkest times. It is in these places of hardship, difficulty, and trauma that you have the capacity to experience and find HOPE easier than when times are good. I aim to explain this in this post. Stay with me as I am sure you are already saying to yourself, "It's Impossible."
As a society, we seem to embrace hopelessness and fear like they are our best friends. They hang around as if they are welcome guests in our lives while causing us so much harm. Why do we entertain these states of mind so easily? Why do we sometimes carry them around with us like they are badges of honour? Like they somehow justify or validate our plights in this life? Hanging on to these mindsets will NEVER improve your situation. It will only cause you to live there and never see your way out of the mess. This is why those who are hopeless often resort to Suicide. I am speaking from experience. I once lived this way and I know the devastating effects that come from living a life without HOPE! If you lose hope then there is no reason to live or there is no meaning and no purpose for this life. I once found myself in this place and the thoughts of how I could end my life consumed me. My thinking was if I could end it all then at least I would not be suffering anymore. What I had not realized was that I was choosing to live in this hopeless state, I was allowing myself to be overcome by a spirit of hopelessness that permeated every area of my life. Can you relate?
What if we chose something different? What if we didn't choose to see life through the lens of a victim? Yes, we have all experienced difficulties, trauma and hardships that are unthinkable. Even trying to express them sometimes triggers the trauma response within ourselves. I do not minimize these losses at all but in each of them, we have a choice. We can allow ourselves to be overcome by them or overcome them.
So what is the answer? I am here to tell you it is HOPE! Hope is not a feeling but a CHOICE!
As defined by 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.[1]
As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish a desire with anticipation".[2]
Among its opposites are dejection, hopelessness, and despair.[3]
Hopelessness is simply the absence of HOPE! Have you ever heard the concept of light versus darkness? There is no such thing as darkness it is simply the absence of light. Light can be measured and quantified, but darkness cannot. There is nothing to measure the intensity of darkness it is all based on how much or how little light there is to illuminate the place. The same is true with Hopelessness. Hope is the quantifiable state of mind. It is something tangible that can change one's point of view, circumstances and ability to see beyond a difficult circumstance and see good in the future. I will repeat myself to emphasize this point: HOPELESSNESS IS SIMPLY THE ABSENCE OF HOPE. You do not have to live your life in hopelessness and despair. Life is full of possibilities and opportunities.
Every perceived setback or problem is a stepping stone to something much better, bigger and more amazing than you can imagine at the moment.
Resilience; what makes one person more resilient than another when faced with the same circumstances? It is simple. A mindset of never giving up, never accepting defeat, always getting back up and looking forward with optimism. HOPE is the driving force and catalyst behind resilience. An expectation of good for the future even if my current circumstances are horrible. An ability to see the light in what we perceive to be dark times. There is always light leading the way out of our pits of despair. We get to choose to stay where we are or walk toward the light. The light shines the way out of our dark, hopeless and desperate situations. It calls for us to choose something better. To not live in the dungeons where there is no light and no hope.
If you find yourself in a place of hopelessness right now where you feel it would be better to just give up than to keep fighting, I want to encourage you that you do not have to stay there. Look around you and find the light! Find the HOPE within your current situation and refuse to give up. Move towards the light and choose to have a mindset of expecting better in your future. HOPE is the catalyst and the fuel you need to step out of hopelessness and despair and you will start to see the light.
"Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light." Micah 7:8
Reach out to someone you can trust and share with them where you are at. They can help walk with you and find hope for your future. For more support or to have a mentor walk with you can contact us or book a one-on-one session with one of our mentors.
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