And Hope Keeps You Alive

By Dr. Bhavana Jain

Hope is compelling because it is universal. It crosses all human boundaries: age, race, class, gender, ethnicity and religious, political or any other persuasion. Everyone needs it and almost everyone exhibits at least some measure of hope if they have made it as far as this day.

But it simply isn’t enough to just “wish” for something to happen. Hope is important because hope involves the will to get there and different paths for you to take. Life can be difficult and that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Yet, hope allows you to keep going down different roads, to see things differently. And to try and make things for your perfect deal. This holds true, even when there seems like there isn’t a solution. In fact, the word “hope” is in the definition of the word “faith”. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of the things not seen. Furthermore, Faith without works is dead. Meaning, if you simply wish on something to happen, but do nothing to work toward it, then it is of no use. In order for us to fulfill our Ideal of Hope, we have to take action with our hope. 

Fulfilling our Ideal of Hope looks different for different people. Sometimes, this is a practice that we do without even realizing it. For example-

∙         “Hope to pass an exam”, you don’t just take the quiz without studying. We study and put in the amount of work necessary. We research and memorize information. Then, we hope to retain all of the information when it comes time to take the exam. 

∙         Another example- I hope I get the job. It would be quite unusual to just show up unprepared for an interview. We research the company, put on our best dress and put the finishing touches on our resumes. Right before the interview, we hope that everything we did to prepare will land us in this job. 

In both those examples, we apply actions to our hope because we know that just by hoping for something and yet taking no action has little to no effect. The same goes for our perfect Ideal of Hope for our lives. We study, we put in the time, and we research. We stay dedicated and motivated by our goals and dreams by keeping a clear image in our heads of what we want. Further we translate those dreams and ideas into action. Hope allows us to approach problems with a proactive, positive mindset and increase our chances of success. It aids in overall well-being and is an effective buffer to stress.

When we are faced with difficulties, the mind tends to eternalize and generalise them. Remember that everything around us is constantly changing. Everything is temporary and so is the virus. This phase will pass as others in the past have. Nature never gives us a problem that cannot be handled. There is an Energy that is always caring for you. When you connect with this benevolent force, fear vanishes and you develop immense strength and depth. If one can become comfortable with the world of constant change, then it becomes easy to consciously respond to capitalize on the vast possibilities of life.

When we are worried and stressed, the body’s immunity drops, making us more vulnerable. Science says when we panic, the amygdala, the emotional management mechanism of the brain gets hijacked, compromising our ability to respond to make correct decisions. What creates panic is the fear of losing control of life and the future outcome of actions. The fear is unfounded because, in truth, there is little that we are in control of.

No doubt life is a solid war zone. Life is unpredictable, hard and quite notorious at times. Things go out of hand and beyond our control many times.  Many of us could not even live a life of peace without having hope deep inside the heart. It’s very hard to keep up with the inner faith during the most critical times, but those who never leave hope, actually make it till the end.

We have to learn to keep hope alive when things are not going our own way. We have to keep hope alive when our enemies come against us. We have to learn to keep hope alive when friends are not friendly, when neighbors are not neighborly. We have to learn to keep hope alive when our loved ones are not lovable. People will be jealous of your joy, angry about your attitude, furious because of your faith, concerned about your creativity, provoked because of your praise and peeved because of your peace. KEEP HOPE ALIVE.

When hope is damaged, it affects more than one person. When real hope is denied, it is hard to replace. When a person loses hope, it can be hard to find motivation again. All these statements hold true. The most important impact we have on each other is through how we affect each other’s hopes. Hope breeds hope. When hope exists, we engage with our environment more. We devote more of ourselves to what we do- as does everyone else around us. Hope engages our creativity and our problem-solving skills. Sometimes, we may call upon to help someone to keep their hope alive. That is a noble thing to do; when we help others remain hopeful. We in turn see that we are constantly motivating ourselves to stay hopeful as well. Being a positive influence on the world around you will inspire and motivate people to stay hopeful in their goals. They will realize that things may not be as bad as they may appear. It will help others to keep up with their actions applied toward their hopes. Each of us has the capacity to influence each other to stay hopeful. The capacity to hope is an indispensable human quality; even in times of crisis when confidence and trust have been broken, hope sustains in our living.

In challenging times, hope is the only way forward. Hope not only gives you the strength to overcome pain, but it also makes the journey for the future easier. Let’s not worry about the fact that today is bad. Hope keeps telling us that tomorrow will be better than this. Hope is optimism. When you hope for anything, you think that sorrow and difficulty of today will end soon.  Hope keeps us positive. As you know, our mind has lots of effects on our actions. If your mind tells you to stay strong on a path and not to lose courage, you will do so. So hope gives you positive mind power. It generates an aura around you which protects you from the negativities. This is why; hope will always be the essence of life.

When we stay positive about our future and feel that we have to fight to win the problems, our probability to succeed increases. It happens because we fight, try to stay mentally strong and give our best efforts. Hope is a belief. You believe something good will happen. The intensity of this feeling really changes your present and future. It’s said hope, which is also your belief, is a deep sense hidden in our subconscious mind. Remember that our subconscious mind is the most powerful thing on the earth. With its help, you can make the impossible possible or win a war.

For example- A true hope or belief is unbreakable. There are many theories regarding the pure definition of hope. But you don’t have to confuse yourself with so many options. Just ask yourself- what you believe. If you believe to have something good in the future and expect to happen, that is hope. When you keep telling yourself that there will be no more pain and suffering soon, you hope for it.

“Where there is a Hope, there is life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again”.

HOW TO PRACTICE HOPE???

It is easiest to have hope when things are going well in your life. It’s when life gets difficult that we need to utilize the most. Here are some ways to practice hope.

∙   First, we must keep in mind that hope is active, it is something we do rather than something we have. If you find yourself in a situation that you would like to turn around, get out and start doing something about it. Put some action behind your hope. For example; if you want to learn a new language, download an app. If you can’t physically go to school, look into online classes.

∙    Second, surround yourself with positive uplifting people that are out to better themselves and the world. There is a proverb that says “As Iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another”. Meaning this: If a knife is blunt, it continues to be a knife. It just isn’t as effective as it could be. When you start to polish and sharpen the knife, it becomes more useful in the ways it was intended to be used. In the same manner is why we need to surround ourselves with positive and uplifting people. To help us stay sharp and motivated. To keep us the positive attitude towards our Ideal of Hope. Ultimately, we must take part in helping to keep our preverbal knife from getting blunt.

∙   Thirdly, make a list of possibilities. Plan short term goals to change what you can and take steps to move yourself closer to the outcomes you hope for. Do this while continuing to trust that things will work out if you continually take steps toward your goals. This is a good way to practice because it starts you off one step at a time. Your Ideal of Hope may be something huge for yourself or even something miniscule. Regardless, it might require just more than one step. Making a list and starting from step one is an action. It is getting you to realize, on paper, what must be done to accomplish your dream. Following one by one, you can start applying your actions to your hope an idea and start crossing your short-term goals off your list.

CONCLUSION

As you now understand, the essence of hope is always very sweet. It’s an inspiration to live the best life we can. So make your hope strong. Hope will give you the courage and inspiration to stick to your dream as long as you breathe. If you have a strong aspiration, hope and faith, nothing can bring you down. It lets you aim at the sole purpose of your life.

By Dr. Bhavana Jain