What the World Needs Now is...Hope

Zig Ziglar said "Failure is merely an event...it adds to your experience...it is an attitude". It seems like everywhere I turn these days I am coming across people who are having extremely hard times. We too are feeling VERY challenged right now.
Notice I said we are "feeling challenged"? You see, I refuse to state that anything in our lives is a "fact" or a "statement". Why? Because how I see it, feel about it, and affirm it determines how it WILL be. You see, time moves along. So how things are in this moment does not determine how it will be an hour from now, or tomorrow, or the next day. MY attitude however, absolutely will!

Many people need lots of things right now, but I dare say that the fundamental need in our world right now is hope.

Faith is the only anecdote for failure!

We all get to choose whether we are going to think about how bad things are, or affirm that "they are getting better". I know, "just saying it won't change anything." Actually, if you believe it, it will. If you really believe it, you will begin to look for ways to make it better! To paraphrase the great Zig Ziglar, "Do you believe that there is something that you could do today that would make your life worse? Then there MUST be something that you can do to make it better!"
But you won't even try, if you don't believe it is possible!

Think of the difficult times you have had in your life, that we as a country have had in our history. They have ALWAYS been temporary! They have always gotten better. These times will be no different.

Do you find it hard to have hope? Look for reasons to! You will always find what you are looking for! If you are looking for evidence that times are tough, you will always find it. If you look for reasons to hope, you will find those too!

Where to start?
1. Gratitude...
Not "I know, I know, I have a lot to be thankful for, but..."
Get a small notebook and write down 10 things that you have to be thankful for at least 3 times a day. Yes, at least 3 times a day, and yes, you have to write them down. Don't believe it will work? Try it! The more that you are thankful for, the more you will be given to be thankful for!

2. Journal...about the times in your life that you had no hope and how amazing they turned out. Write about the wonderful things and people in your life that you never even imagined you would have.
If you are currently journaling about how tough things are, leave space at the end for the "rest of the story". Leave "room" to come back and write about what a blessing it turned out to be. Then, take it one step further...imagine how amazing the "ending" could be. Go ahead and "make up the ending".

3. Look for ways to help others. No matter how much you are struggling. or how little you have, there is ALWAYS something that you can give to someone else. Even if it is just a word of encouragement. This is truly powerful. Don't disregard it! You will create an immediate shift in your thoughts, emotions and potential when you stop looking at yourself and start looking for ways to help others. Tell that pregnant girl who looks down how beautiful she is, ask that grumpy clerk "what's wrong" and tell her that you believe that her day is going to get better. Tell that child that just made a huge mess "building something" what an "amazing imagination" they have and how "cool" that is!

4. Turn off the news! Stop feeding yourself "food" that makes you sick! Look for healthier choices! Find music, videos, and stories that will "feed your soul". They are everywhere! I have a 9 yr old who is very sensitive and gets easily upset when someone says something ugly to him. We have secretly decided that "we have an invisible shield". So when we are confronted (as we all inevitably are)with negative people, stories, etc., we imagine a clear shield coming over us (kind of like Buzz lightyears helmet). You CAN be standing in front of someone and not "really hear" what they are saying. You can! Just smile and go through your "thankful fors" in your head!

5. You can't just eliminate negative thoughts. "The universe abhors a vacuum". Make the conscious choice to affirm the way you want to be. If you tell yourself daily that you are "always late...totally stressed out...completely unorganized,etc", you will be! Instead affirm to yourself that "I am getting better and better every day! I am getting more organized, more punctual, more successful" or whatever it is that you want to be. Imagine things the way that you want them to be! Visualize what that will "look like". Visualization is far more powerful that I can cover here.

Just do it!

Imagine what you could do if you didn't believe that you couldn't! Do you believe that you "can't" because of a lack of money, or college education? Watch this...