Does that sound like bad advice? If you saw the title of this blog, you may have thought I had a bad week or was feeling down. It's actually the opposite. I'm really happy with the rate of progress I'm experiencing in all areas of my life right now. I'm feeling a lot of joy. And I attribute that in part to what I'll share with you today. I want to encourage you to give up hope and take up responsibility. I'm not talking about "hope" the feeling, which can be a natural side effect of productive thoughts. I'm talking about saying the words "I hope." "I hope my children will learn how to be kind to others." "I hope somebody will fund my movie." "I hope the person I love knows how much I care." I suggest this because saying, "I hope" and crossing our fingers, is passive. Hope without action leaves us waiting and wanting. It leaves us believing that the world happens to us, or that we are victims of circumstance. It's moving "like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind" (The Bible, James 1:6) "When you hope for peace, you prevent yourself from feeling peace now. When you hope for freedom from the tyranny of overeating and the desire for food, you prevent yourself from having it now. Why are you hoping for peace if you can already be peaceful? When you're a peaceful person, you bring the peace. You don't need to wait for it." - Brooke Castillo I don't want anything you hope for to just come true. When it doesn't, you get to learn how to make it happen. This is so much better because it builds your capacity, and it means you can make it happen again and again. Let's try on some responsibility. It may not feel as nice at first, but it works: "I will teach my children to be kind until they get it." "I won't stop pitching until I get this movie funded." "I will tell the person I love how much I care so clearly that I can't be misunderstood."
