Marian Zimmer Bradley said, “The road that is built in hope is more pleasant to the traveler than the road built in despair, even though they both lead to the same destination.” Thus, the main difference between those who are hopeful and those who are hopeless on the same journey is that the former look at the positive side of their journey while the latter look at the negative side. The hopeful group enjoys the process while the hopeless group dislikes it. Here are six reasons why hope matters:
1. With hope, we can continue living.
The main reason is that hope helps us live. Those who abandon hope abandon the flow of life. When life becomes dark, we don’t want to continue the journey. When hopeless people find themselves at an apparently dead end, they end their lives because they don’t see any way out of that darkness. Hope helps us see a way out. It shows us the light at the end of the tunnel. By keeping our eye on the light, we become positive and continue the journey of life no matter how dark the situation.
2. With hope, we can live through tough times.
Life is like a roller coaster. It has ups and downs. The downs are tough times that we face in our personal and professional lives. With hope, we know that the down times will pass. We overcome our fears and doubts, work hard, and keep going while looking forward to the good times. We do not just wait through the cold winter for the spring to arrive. Rather, we move through winter with joy in order to bring the spring. This way we never feel the coldness of winter because we have the spring in our hearts.
3. With hope, we get strength and become energized.
Can you recall a time when you had no hope in a difficult situation but all of a sudden circumstances changed and you saw a positive sign that made you hopeful? What happened at the moment when you noticed there was hope? You felt energized and got the strength to move forward in a second. You became positive and motivated. Without hope, we close the doors and do not let the life force flow, so we feel weak and alone, and we suffer. Hope has the power to connect us to the Source, which provides us with strength and the positive energy needed to reach favorable results. Hope helps us open the doors that we had once closed on ourselves in despair. As Christopher Reeve said, “Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.”
4. With hope, we open up to new possibilities.
In the absence of hope, we isolate ourselves. We close the doors to opportunity and avoid risk. We just sit and wait hopelessly in the dark for a favorable wind to come and take us to the destination. Well, that favorable wind will never come if we are not willing to switch from hopeless to hopeful mode. As soon as a spark of hope appears, we become active again and open up to new possibilities. We take risks in the hope of getting a reward. We do our best to place ourselves in the hands of the favorable wind. Always remember this old saying, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Hope helps us use our will and find a way to succeed. It encourages us to look ahead and move forward without being attached to what is happening.
5. With hope, we take action.
In the middle of a hopeless situation, if we see a spark of hope even for a second, we are filled with energy and continue to our goal. This also happens when we have lost hope and someone makes us hopeful. Do you recall such moments?
One positive action may be enough to change our perspective about a difficult situation and open many doors toward success through other opportunities. Giving hope to the hopeless is like giving water to a thirsty person. As long as we are thirsty, we do not move. As soon as we find some water, we do whatever we can to get the water and move on. Similarly, if we are hopeless and there is no sign of hope, we do not take action. As soon as we see a sign of hope, we do whatever we can to become hopeful and move on. So hope helps you take action, overcome challenges, and achieve your dreams no matter how big or small.
Now take sometime and answer the following two coaching questions:
– What are the three major factors in your life that cause you to feel hopeless?
– What are the top three motivators in your life that make you hopeful in difficult situations?
