Focus on Hope and Change

Why is hope important?

Hope is crucial in our lives. Without the conviction that good things and good experiences are available to us, we will become anxious, feel powerless and get depressed and desperate...'hopeless'.

However I also know people who rely on hope as a way of avoiding addressing any difficulties in their lives – voicing their hope that “things will be alright” even when 'things' are clearly not okay. It is like being an ostrich, burying your head in the sand and waiting for the difficulty to pass, or hoping that someone else will sort it out.

So hope can be a powerful energy to bring about change in your life or it can keep you stuck. You keep doing nothing or following the same old patterns in your life and hoping that something will change.

In the words of Albert Einstein "Insanity: is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting (hoping for) different results."

Having Realistic Hopes

How do we know if our hopes are realistic? Test them out. Say them out loud or write them down. Most importantly, take small steps and stay flexible and motivated as you move towards your dreams. Resist the temptation to take large impulsive steps.

Make sure your hopes are linked to action and are not just in your head. Hoping that someone or something else will change doesn't work. Your hopes have to be for yourself!

Get inspired and examine your own and other people's experiences of moving from hoping to having.

Get support and talk to people that you trust and are helpful for you. Work out a plan of how to achieve your hopes.

Most importantly, take small steps and stay flexible and motivated as you move towards your dreams.

Make a plan

Spend some time now answering the following questions and build your own action plan.

1. What is your best hope for yourself, now, in this moment?

2. Is it realistic i.e. can you make it happen today?

3. What is the first thing you could do towards achieving that hope, now, today?

4. What support or resources will you need to access and use, that will ensure your hopes are most likely to be realised in the medium and longer term?