You Are Your Only Hope!

“The future may bring darkness, but it can’t take away your ability to create light.” Phil Stutz

A beautifully articulated statement of a truth I cling to daily.

You may already know, it’s common to experience an emotional shift as the seasons change. As we move from winter to spring and anticipate brighter, longer days, how can we take advantage of right now? Of the light we have today? What knowledge do we have of our own needs that we can use to create possibilities for later?

Many of us are hopeful that we will crawl out from hibernation into a brighter spring. We are hopeful that what we wished we would accomplish, we now will. What’s different? Light, sunshine.

Darkness isn’t just defined by daylight. Many of us are navigating a darkness in our life, grief, disillusionment, fear, time, etc. This can feel heavy and out of our control. How do we define hope so we can create new light in our preverbal darkness?

In searching for a definition of hope, I found many variations but none that I really felt truly articulated the essence of hope as a life force. Some sounded almost like daydreaming and others lean into a desire for a given outcome. But these all fall short and are seriously limiting in comparison to how I define hope.

Hope is more than a dream or a desire. It is a belief that you as an individual are empowered to effect your own opportunities to experience joy.

Notice that my definition is based on an internal locus of control. This is why the work we do in coaching always starts with who you are and your inner strength. This is the foundation for setting unshakable goals.

In case you don’t know, the locus of control is the degree to which an individual believes they have control over the outcome of events in their lives. This is an important aspect of personality psychology developed by Julian B. Rotter in 1954.

It’s important to note that I am not talking about diagnosed conditions such as depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), or any other conditions requiring medical treatment and/or the assistance of a medical doctor.

What I’m talking about today is how do you measure your own experience of hope? Your own connection to your ability to effect an outcome that brings light into your life? Sometimes, light can start dim and become brighter over time. That’s important when we’re talking about change and growth.

Hope is not a switch that we flip. It’s a connection we have to our inner strength and how we access that connection. One way I work with clients on accessing that connection is through exploring their individual strengths and visions of the future. By doing this, we shift the focus from external to internal, allowing the client to build a stronger internal locus of control.

I can talk hope as a defining life force because I have both lived this truth and witnessed it in others. I have lived and am living through suffering that would render me lifeless if I didn’t believe I have the ability to affect some future potential for joy. I have learned the only thing I control in life is my own behavior and thoughts. And this is a gift I hope to give to you.

If you want to talk more about hope, book your free Wake Up Call.