You can find HOPE in the word HOPELESSNESS. In times of struggle and uncertainty, hopelessness becomes your unwanted companion. You don’t have to succumb to hopelessness. You can overcome it and rise above.
Uncertainty is an uncomfortable and scary place to be. You don’t know what is waiting for you around the river bend. Will the river be calm or will it be rough? How are you going to navigate the river? Belief is the set of oars you will use to help get you down the river. Fear will slow you down. Push fear out of the canoe whenever it tries to creep in. Fear is the quick route to the rushing rapids. It rushes against the rocks and builds and builds. If you have belief to reassure you that you can get down the river in one piece, fear will lose all its power and the river will create an opening to pass through to calmer waters. Believe in your resilience. You are powerful. You are the driver of your life. Allow belief to be your co-pilot.
You must remember that nothing lasts forever. Sure, the experience you are living may feel endless, but there will be an ending. Perspective can help you to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hope is the driver of the train heading your way. Of course, it is not easy, almost impossible at times, to look at what IS that is unwanted and uncertain and be able to see any positive light, but if you can stop looking at what IS and place your focus on what you WANT, you can change your perspective and be able to see the light shining upon your situation.
Change is one of the things in life that we have all learned is inevitable. We were introduced to change from the moment we took our first breath and we quickly realized that it is one thing we can rely on. Use change for your benefit. Don’t allow change to overcome you. Allow it to move you. Allow it to be an opportunity for growth. Find ways to improve yourself as you move through change. What can you do to improve yourself, your life, and the lives of others? Change can create a better you if you allow it to. Don’t let it beat you down. Let it lift you up. Take control in the moments that you feel the most out of control. You are powerful. You have the power to be, have, or do whatever you want in life. Change is often the creator to kick you in the butt and get you jumpstarted. Take hold of the reins and ride.
Hope will allow you to hang on. Hope is the catapult that can change a hopeless situation into a hopeful situation. If you lose hope, you lose yourself. You don’t have to swim in turbulent seas wondering which wave is going to drown you. Hope can be your safety vest. Affirmations of hope repeated like a mantra can be helpful to keep your head above water. When you feel like you are drowning in a sea of hopelessness, repeat these powerful words: “I am strong. I am a survivor. Nothing lasts forever. This moment is my chance to grow and learn.” Repeat this mantra as often as you have to until hope begins to emerge from the depths of hopelessness.
Daily meditation is very helpful to ground and calm. Spending as little as ten minutes every morning will help you to enter the day more relaxed. When worries creep up during the day, your moment of meditation will help the impact to be weaker. Listen to a guided meditation. You can find many on YouTube. There is a lot to choose from that are specific such as anxiety, worry, etc. I personally recommend The Honest Guys. Their meditations are professional and the narrator’s voice and music is very soothing. Set yourself up the night before by placing your phone with earphones on your nightstand so that you can reach up and listen as soon as you wake up without leaving your bed. You will soon look forward to this habit if you do it every morning.
Follow your meditation with gratitude. FORCE yourself, if you have to. Find something in your life every morning after you wake up to be thankful for. If you are finding it too hard because you have so many worries flooding your brain, keep it simple. You are alive and breathing. You made it through the night. From this starting point, you will begin to remember other things in your life to be thankful for. Place your focus here every time your mind begins to drift to unwanted thoughts. End every day by counting your blessings like sheep before you go to sleep. Think of positive things to focus on so that you can marinate on these thoughts during your sleep. This will help you to have more pleasant dreams and wake up with a more positive mindset. Of course, when you are feeling uncertain and fearful these thoughts will probably come rushing back when you wake up so focusing on what you have to be thankful for after you awaken is important.
Talk to a trusted friend or family member about whatever is bothering you. You will be surprised when they share their feelings and you realize that you are not alone. You are the tree. Your loved ones are the branches. We are all in this together. This thing called life. We are all connected.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, please reach out to someone. Call the Suicide Hotline 800-273-TALK (8255). You can visit their website for help at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
very nice content, loved reading it.
Thanks Sam!