In a world of chaos, there is always hope. Finding thankfulness when you feel hopeless is not easy. Nonetheless, hope is present and lives in the smallest areas of our lives, we just have to peel the curtain back, and peek through.
Personally, I have always been a very hopeful person. In contract, life’s journey hasn’t always been what I imagined, however, even in the depths of anguish, I found hope. I value hope it’s not something I want to ever lose, otherwise I will cease to exist. This is how important hope is to me.
I am hopeful in all things and in all people every day. I’m a true balance of optimism and melancholy.
Hope
What is hope? To sum it up, in my interpretation hope is a feeling you hold deep within your heart. Hope is an expectation that something good will happen with a certain situation.
Do things always turn out the way we want, of course, not. Remember when you had that great job interview, and you just knew you would be called with an offer the next day? You had hope, right? Remember when the call never came and how disappointed you were. Shaking off that disappointment, remember when you got right back in the game, nailed that next job interview, and was called with an offer? Hope showed up, it knew what you needed, and it wasn’t the other job. The job you got was where you needed to be. That was hope.
Feeling Hopeless
Hopelessness, well I don’t think we need a dictionary or therapist to tell us. I’ll sum it up like this, hopelessness is a sickening feeling of despair, lost in the cycle of disappointments, thinking that things will never get better.
Hope is lost in not having enough money to our pay bills, marriage falling apart, you stop looking for a job because it’s rejection after rejection. You can’t afford a new car, put food on the table, and so life goes on with a litany of endless fears and disappointments.
It doesn’t matter the situation or circumstances, you lose hope, because you feel no matter what you do, things just won’t work out or get better.
You Matter
We all have our own movie we watch in our heads every day. Some of us see the same storyline over and over. Hear the same words and feel the same feelings over and over. Nothing ever changes.
Personally, I have come to believe we spend too much time in our heads. We are constantly on our phones and on social media. We’re too busy looking down and not looking up.
Up is where hope lives. Positivity lives there too. Trying and enthusiasm are hope’s neighbors! In fact, you can move in the neighborhood anytime you are ready. Contrary to what we all think sometimes, life can get better, even when we’ve lost most everything we own or when we have a complete meltdown over our hair.
But, before I go any further, I want to say to you, that you matter. You have substance and depth and have experienced life in a way that only you can share and teach others. You are worthy of all life has to offer and you an invaluable to humanity.
No one can do you, but you. Begin to share this with yourself. Just say, “I matter”.
5 Steps Towards Feeling Hopeful
Finding thankfulness when you feel hopeless is a painstaking job, that takes a lot of energy when you feel like a failure. But I am here to share that failure is just another word or two for opportunity for growth. We don’t fail at anything; we are still learning. We only know what we know, until we learn how to do it differently. Simple, but not so much, I know… I know. From my own life experiences, I want to share with you what works for me when hope becomes cloudy.
- Accept life’s difficulties: Life doesn’t always turn out the way you plan, give yourself a break! Take a pause. Stop with the unrealistic expectations you put on yourself and others.
- Visualize “your” happy place: Visualization is a powerful tool to add in your “life’s toolbox”. Visualization will give you the positivity you need in your mental space. Happy thoughts! Happy thoughts!
- Be kind to yourself: Aren’t you tired of beating yourself up? Your body probably needs a bandage or two. Start with “I matter” and write down at least one positive things about yourself. Perhaps you’ll find more than one, I’m sure.
- Value your life: You made it this far, you keep going. YOU MATTER! The past is the past, there is nothing back there. Move forward and work towards what you really want. It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s important to you, that’s what matters.
- Gratitude Meditation: Specific meditation on being grateful. Start small, none of this has to be grand. It’s simple mindful thoughts of gratitude. “I am here, I am worthy, thank you for my life”.
Final Thoughts
Most of what we want, we really never get. We constantly evolve and change, and those things weren’t meant for us anyway. I truly believe that what is meant for us will never pass us by in our lifetime. However, we have to put forth the effort! We can’t sit by and watch our lives play out in what we thought it could be or what we imagined. Life goes by fast and there is not a manual for it. But there is a manual waiting for you to write for yourself.
An encouragement, live in the present and show up every day. Learn from the past and be excited about the future, because there is one for you. Push through the dissatisfaction, frustration, and disappointments and re-imagine the “real” life you were meant to live.
Finding thankfulness when you feel hopeless is your opportunity to show life you can handle whatever comes your way, fight for you. You matter.
“Hope is the last thing ever lost.” —Italian proverb
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We’ll chat soon,
