The Importance of Hope

I think hope gets a bad rap sometimes. People think that hopeful thinking is like deluding yourself, and ignoring the problems, and not being realistic. These are definitely pitfalls of hope, but I think they’re missing out on the practical benefits of hope.

We need hope because life can be discouraging a lot of times. We get deflated, feel defeated, and want to quit whatever hard thing we’re facing. This is when hope is needed.

Hope is about lifting ourselves up and aiming for something that feels expansive, exciting, inspiring.

Hope is about thinking about what could be possible, rather than feeling we’re stuck.

Hope is about seeing the beautiful nature of other humans, and of ourselves, and encouraging that part to come out more.

Hope is about focusing on what we can do, something that’s under our control and that feels doable. So that we can create something good.

I encourage you to let yourself imagine a possibility, small or big, that makes you feel uplifted. Imagine the smallest, most doable steps to get there. Encourage the part of yourself that wants this, and that can get inspired to take action.

We can feel so down and discouraged sometimes, when life gets hard. In these moments, connecting to something that feels hopeful can be incredibly powerful. What makes you feel a little hope today?

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This post was previously published on Zen Habits. Uncopyright courtesy Leo Babauta.

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