By: Bryan Golden

How can hope possibly be bad?

We’ve all been taught that it’s

essential to have hope. We

hope for various things throughout our

lives. Health, wealth, good fortune,

happiness, joy, the attainment of

dreams, and solutions to problems are

commonly hoped for by many.

 

When faced with adversity, we

hope for the best. We hope for strength

to get through tough times. Even

certain behavior by others is hoped for.

Isn’t it a preposterous concept that there

is any possibility that hope could have a

negative impact?

 

After all, hope has enabled people

to endure tragedies, against all odds.

Invariably, survivors assert that they

never gave up hope, in spite of how

grim the future might have appeared.

They have no doubt that without hope,

they never would have made it through.

 

We look at these examples and

marvel at the power of hope. We are

in awe of its ability to enable people

to achieve the seemingly impossible.

Who in their right mind would ever

malign hope? After all, those with

hope always attain far more than

people without it.

 

The key to the power of hope is

action. Hope without action is like a

sailboat without sails. Neither will take

you very far. You might get lucky and

arrive at some desired destination. But

it’s far more likely you will be disappointed with where you wind up.

 

Action is the engine which takes

you in your chosen direction toward

your desired goal. Hope supercharges

your thoughts to enable you to accomplish more than you thought possible.

When hope is combined with action,

determination, and persistence it

becomes a truly awesome force. By

itself, hope is little more than wishful

thinking.

 

People with hope refuse to give up.

Hope generates laser like focus which

enables the attainment of results that

many would consider impossible. To

those with hope, failure is not an option. Hope puts the brain into a higher

level of functioning. A mind filled

with hope will not be deterred by fear.

 

That being said, hope doesn’t prevent problems. It enables you to find

solutions or get through tough times.

However, there are circumstances

that will be out of your control. Hope

enables you to survive situations that

make no sense or have no explanation.

You may not know why some events

happen, but hope provides comfort that

things can get better.

 

Hope is ineffective without action.

Don’t just hope for the best. Go and

get what you want. Take the necessary steps. Put in whatever effort is

required. Never give up. Stay positive.

Purge negative thoughts. And then

add hope. Now you have a powerful

combination whose sum is far greater

than its parts.

 

NOW AVAILABLE: Dare to

Live Without Limits, the book. Visit

www.BryanGolden.com or your

bookstore. Bryan is a management

consultant, motivational speaker,

author and adjunct professor. E-mail

Bryan at bryan@columnist.com.

© Bryan Golden.