Choosing Hope

For most, the holidays are a festive and happy time of year. Everyone is joyful and celebrating, spending time with family and eating lots of great treats. There are some, though, that don’t find the holidays such a happy time. For one reason or another they could find this time of year depressing. Perhaps they have lost their family, or the holiday brings up some sort of memory that isn’t pleasant. Not everyone has a large family or the money to buy gifts or take trips to see their extended family.

It’s for these people I wanted to talk about hope. Hope is one of those things that seems so simple, but in reality is extremely complex. When you don’t have hope, it’s hard to believe in anything happy or positive. Without hope, you may feel that things will never get better. You may think that you won’t be happy again, will never meet your goals, or something else. When a person loses their hope, it’s tough to think in any sort of positive way.

The important thing to remember is that sometimes you have to choose hope. You have to choose to have hope in all circumstances. It may seem as though it’s tough to be hopeful with things aren’t going well, but that is the most important time to choose it. Sometimes you have to make the decision to have faith that everything will work out. Nothing lasts forever, and when you have faith that it will get better you don’t worry as much about the negative. Learning to find hope in your struggle can help make your life seem much more positive.

If you know someone who struggles with hope, maybe now is the time you should reach out. Show them how powerful hope can be when you choose it. We have all been there at some point. When everything was going wrong and we just wanted to give in to the negativity.  WHile the holidays aren’t about presents and money, it is about kindness and showing others that we care. Those people can be blood relation or only family because we love them as if they are.

Having hope for the future is a great way to battle all the negativity. You must be thankful for all the things that you do have, and feel hopeful that those things you don’t want in your life are only temporary. Believe that those things you don’t like will eventually be replaced with things that you do want. Choose to remain positive and keep looking forward. There are plenty of things in your life to be grateful for, even if it’s a bit difficult to find them initially.

Start your new year with a fresh perspective of the world around you! Practice being grateful each day and see how it transforms your life. Watch those negative thoughts turn around and begin to form into something new. Something positive. See how hope can change your world and of those around you.