Your Daily Dose of Hope

I was fortunate to go on a business retreat recently and one of the things that I came away with was the idea of no agenda. Not the meeting agenda but the "no agenda" idea that sometimes I can do things just because. Because it feels right in the moment, or because it makes me happy, or because it's something I like to do. In the business sense I recognized that I can share things that are helpful to others w/o agenda - no expectation of making a sale, or building my list - just being helpful because that's what feels good. Sometimes I don't do what I feel like doing because someone ELSE had an agenda for me . . all those things I "should" do like clean house instead of reading a book It's time for some "no agenda" ideas.

Sometimes, we can’t find hope within ourselves—but that doesn’t mean we have to go without it. Borrowing hope means you can lean on the belief, encouragement, and vision of others when our own feels out of reach. That might look like the friend who reminds you of your strength, the mentor who sees your potential, or the community that uplifts you when you’re struggling.

Hope Floats, a poem by Donna Ashworth

Today I want to share a few resources that I find hopeful. There's a lot going on in the world at large and most of us are doing the best we can to make good choices and decisions for ourselves and our families today. Big problems require big solutions and there are times when I feel like nothing I do will really matter. Except it does. We have evidence that when we do what we can to stay grounded and hopeful we find solutions and resources and people who can help. Here are a few that are helping me - the hope-bringers.

One of the things I like best about the idea of holding hope and being hopeful is that it can exist in less-than-favorable conditions. Hope doesn't require perfection or ease or a plan. In fact, when none of those things are around - that's when hope is most helpful. Today I'm covering few examples that came to mind for me when i was thinking about how hope can co-exist with all manner of circumstances.

I've been thinking about the infinite nature of hope. We all see and experience the world through our own lens after all, but I do think hope is one of those universal truths – one of those things that transcends culture, time and space and everything that makes us all unique humans. In that way hope is for all of us, everywhere, in any circumstance. What does it mean to share hope as a resource that can be used again and again like a treasured family recipe, handed down so that others will never not know or go without? I have some ideas and it's why we're never without access to hope.

Hope is a risk because it's a choice. It's choosing to move forward when we'd rather quit. It's asking for help when we'd rather not. It's saying I'm worth it when the world wants us to devalue ourselves. It's risky to want things, to hope for a better tomorrow, to have faith that things can improve. Because they might not. We aren't guaranteed anything in this life - even tho we'd like to think so. One of the biggest obstacles to hope is the belief that things will always be the way they are right now. We tend to settle into a sense of sameness - even when things are anything but. Change is constant. We know this rationally, but it doesn't mean we always see things that way. When the simple things we rely on aren't working anymore where do we turn? What can we do?

Why is it so hard for us to admit we need help now and then? Is it a woman thing? I don't think so. I know plenty of men who would rather struggle for hours on something before asking for help. It may be a bit of an American thing. After all, part of being an American is the belief that we can do anything, accomplish anything if we just try hard enough. But we know that effort alone isn't always enough. This concept has always frustrated me. I'm willing to work hard and learn new things, take risks, fail and try again, but there comes a time when the right thing to do (air quotes) is to let someone else do what I cannot or at minimum ask for help.

What does it mean to be an advocate? How can self-advocacy help us? I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Today I see information related to advocacy around things both political and cause related. At it's essence it's taking a stand for myself, for others, for a cause I care about and it's a way to engage with our world. Big problems often require complex solutions that aren't black and white. The things that can't be solved with a checklist of tasks. At times that can make us feel that there's nothing we can do that matters. But that's not right. Advocacy is how we can make a difference.

What would your tomorrow self think about what you are doing (or not doing) today? today? That perspective is helpful for me especially when I'm avoiding a task or project that needs my focus and attention. Sometimes it's little things too. Like emptying the dishwasher. I don't know why I avoided this but a I did and then a couple years ago, I had something heating in the microwave for a couple minutes and decided to deal with putting the clean dishes away and I completed the task in less time than it took my food to cook. I'd been avoiding something that took less than 2 minutes. That's when it clicked that the story we tell ourselves about how much time things take is often very, very wrong. Which is why the tomorrow version of things can be so helpful.

Car trouble when I was away from home meant I needed to ask for help. Thankfully, there were people who did and who showed concern and kindness in what would have been a much more stressful moment. Their kindness brought me hope and made me think about my own willingness to be helpful and what it means to befriend a stranger if even for a few minutes.

A few days ago I talked about the idea of a bucket of hope - things we carry with us to help us stay hopeful on the days when you need a little help. A friend mentioned that affirmations do that for her. I wanted to know more since that's not something I've really used. Here's what I've learned: Neuroplasticity, or your brain’s ability to adapt to different circumstances throughout life, is part of why affirmations can work. You've likely heard how our brain doesn't differentiate between reality and imagination - that's why affirmations can be so powerful. For example if you focus on a mental image of yourself doing something — like acing a nerve-wracking interview or practicing a skill - it activates many of the same brain areas that actually experiencing these situations would. Regular repetition of affirmations can encourage your brain to take these as fact to treat it as reality. When you truly believe you can do something, your actions often follow. Remember, action is key

What's the next thing? I'm a small business owner and many of my days are full of "next things" like the next deadline, the next zoom meeting, the next podcast launch. I'm guessing you have days like that too. I'm okay with it because I like the work I do and I enjoy our clients so much - they are so talented and smart. It's fun work. But there are days when I spend too much time thinking about what's next instead of enjoying what is. This moment. right now. today. There are always things to do and of course it's important to meet commitments and deadlines but - I also think it's okay to be intentional about being in the present. A few minutes of mindfulness to check in and see how I'm feeling makes a huge difference.

What's your soul's purpose? Is that something you think about? I confess wonder now and then about the whole meaning of life - I mean why ARE we here? My friend recently did a soul reading for me based on a specific practice that she's learned and it was fascinating to hear what felt like my thoughts spoken back to me. I believe you and I are here for a reason and I think that we are connected in some way for a reason too.

Why hope? Good question. There are so many things in life that are unpredictable and outside our ability to change or control - hope is one of those things that makes the uncontrollable feel less overwhelming. I'm not talking about the rainbow and unicorns - maybe we'll win the lottery kind of hope (not that there's anything wrong with that) but hope that's grounded in what we know to be true. About our world and about ourselves. So what is true? I had a conversation a couple months ago with a friend about this topic. Are there universal truths that apply to all of us?

Just Let Them” a poem by Cassie Phillips speaks to the art of releasing control and finding solace in acceptance. It's a simple message that reminds us to trust the choices and journeys of those around us, even when they differ from our own. The author invites us to embrace the freedom that comes with letting go—freeing ourselves and others to follow our own path, allowing each of us to find our own way. “Just let them."

We are all driven by things that affect us in a personal way. It's not that we don't care about big issues that may not affect us directly like poverty or military conflicts or natural disasters - of course we do even if we aren't personally impacted - but we experience life in a series of every day moments and repeated decisions - filled with routine circumstances - and often we don't really find ourselves looking for hope until our every day regular-ness or routine-ness is affected. Then things can go from routine which we're okay with to difficult or even scary. Hope can feel elusive at those times so it's worth nurturing a bit of hope every day. That concept reminds me of a quote about little bits of hope - and I went searching for the whole thing and it's by Desmond Tutu: Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. Desmond Tutu

From a fav Michelle Obama Quote: You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.

What would it take to make HOPE a movement? I don't have THE answer but I think part of it has to be sharing what's in our own bucket of hope with someone else. Today I have 7 things you can do in minutes - that could really make someone else's day and you're going to feel pretty great too.

When I feel my anxiety levels start to rise it's almost always because I've been looking at my phone and scrolling social media or reading news alerts - and when I'm doing that I feel like I'm on autopilot - not really engaged but stuck just the same. Not the conscious choices I want to make. That reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from James Clear - the Atomic Habits Author is "The Information you consume each day is the soil from which your future thoughts are grown. We get to choose what we consume. Let's make it hopeful.

I asked Chip Conley, the Author and the founder of the Modern Elder Academy what hope meant to him. I got a lovely response that sounds just like his book The Rebel Rules: Daring to be yourself in Business. He began by saying " Hope for me is rooted in the belief that we each have something unique to share." He also talked about how our hope and impact affects those we connect with and encourages us to be mindful of who and what we let in.

Hope can be nurtured and we've curated a top 10 list to help you sustain hope in your life.

Sharing some of my favorite authors and their books about hope and resiliency. Titles: Man's Search for Meaning Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith Almost Everything: Notes on Hope A Heart on Fire: 100 Meditations on Loving Your Neighbors Well My Life Gets Better Every Day: Daily affirmations to create joy, improve relationships, and live your very best abundant life.

What if your social media feeds were hopeful and fun? One way to make that happen is to be the sharer of good news. It's tempting to fire off a snarky comment or post about the latest horrible thing that's happened (I'm guilty of this) but from here on I'm making an intentional effort to be a feed of happiness and hope and I hope you'll join me.

Trying new things can be fun, rewarding and a way to create new connections. It's also good for your brain, reduces stress, helps you become a better problem solver not to mention the chance to immerse yourself in something that provides new experiences.

The book Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us was a fascinating read and it helped me understand the benefits of creating and consuming art. It's not just for experts either. No matter our skill level, we can get the brain benefits, lower stress and more when we engage our creative side. Quote from the book: Magsamen and Ross offer compelling research that shows how engaging in an art project for as little as forty-five minutes reduces the stress hormone cortisol, no matter your skill level, and just one art experience per month can extend your life by ten years.

We've all done it. We carry fears, anger, and past disappointments with us when we don't have to. We drag them around like reviewing past moments of disappointment will somehow make things better or help us make better decisions. What they really do - keep us from moving forward. All of this got me thinking about what a bucket of hope might look like. What if we carried that around with us? What if we depended on that when we were having a bad day, or ran into an obstacle. I'm not talking about painting a happy face on challenges that need our focus, but some days go off the rails when we see an unkind post on social media or when we're on day 9 of gray skies and rain and dipping into our bucket of hope could be helpful. Check out what's in the bucket.

I have a confession about gratitude - for a long time, I just couldn't connect being thankful with being hopeful. Yes, of course I'm thankful. For all the things. Somewhere along the way things got a bit muddled. Was I thankful that chemo made my husband cancer free, yes but I can't honestly say I was thankful for the actual process and side effects that came with it. Who would be? Was I thankful he made it, of course, but part of me also wondered why he had cancer in the first place. That wasn't fair, right? That's why I want to talk about gratitude today - especially as it relates to hope and hopefulness.

When researching the concept of hope, I knew I'd need to see what researcher and author Brene Brown had to say on the subject. In her book Atlas of the Heart she declares "We need hope like we need air." She explains that hope is not a warm, fuzzy emotion rather it's a way of thinking. A cognitive process. An experience that combines 3 elements, goals, pathways and agency.

Today I am sharing something I learned from friends O'tion and V. They are two amazing humans who teach people how to heal trauma using what they call SIT which stands for Subconscious Imprinting Technique. Amazing humans doing amazing work. In one of their emails a few months ago they used the word hope as an acronym. H O P E standing for Help One Person Everyday. I loved it then and it's stuck with me. Most of us know that helping others is worthwhile and rewarding. Paying it forward is often used to describe our actions of kindness and generosity - that don't expect any sort of reciprocation or even acknowledgment. We do good, because we want to feel good and now we know there's science that proves why it literally feels good to help others.

What if you are here for just this moment? What if everything I’ve learned, experienced, studied and shared What if the total life experience to this point is what you needed to bring you this very moment? And what if this moment is here in front of us because we’re meant to do the thing, make an impact, be a friend, solve a problem, cure heartache, to be the neighbor others can depend on or the leader others need to show them the way? What if that’s the point?

Hope is one of the foundations of our world And what’s even better is that hope isn’t just something we can have, it’s also something that we can give. Hear the 5 Stages of Hope and how they can help you recognize how you can cultivate and nurture hope.

"The future is an infinite succession of presents", and to live now as we think human being should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory. There's a lot of uncertainty in the world right now, and most of us would say that it's not all bad, there is good in the world to be sure. But there are problems that feel so big - so overwhelming - it's no surprise we wonder if being hopeful is possible. Quote by Howard Zinn

This is the first episode and since it’s dropping on MLK day I thought it was only right to begin with one of his quotes. Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. Martin Luther King, Jr. This quote always gives me hope and encouragement. Life is unpredictable, and despite our best efforts to control circumstances and outcomes we can often find ourselves feeling uncertain. It doesn’t feel good to be unsure and many of us will stop ourselves from taking action just to avoid uncertainty. It’s uncomfortable to be uncomfortable and in an effort to avoid feeling that way, we often resist doing something that’s going to move us forward, and help us feel better. Today, I'm reminded by Dr. King's words that action is almost always the way forward. Do what you know to do, take the first next step no matter how small or insignificant it may feel. Even if that step is asking for help, you’re moving forward. Often, if we’re truly honest with ourselves, we can identify at least one action to take.

Your Daily Dose of Hope Start your day with inspiration, positivity, and practical wisdom on Your Daily Dose of Hope. Each episode is a brief, uplifting journey designed to empower you to face life's challenges with resilience and optimism. From heartwarming stories and motivational insights to actionable tips for personal growth, we bring you the encouragement you need to thrive. Whether you're navigating tough times or just looking to add a little brightness to your day, Your Daily Dose of Hope is here to remind you that better days are always ahead. Tune in daily for your much-needed spark of hope!