It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
With all the doom and gloom in daily newspapers about faltering home prices and the pressures on Joe and Susie consumer to meet rising expenses of food, energy, and health care costs, what is needed is a breath of fresh air.
People need a sense of hope for tomorrow. Hope is not a static concept but can actually be practiced. It can be put into action to make things different.
I've come up with a handful of steps which I call
THE DYNAMICS OF HOPE.
1. Believe there is a solution. Most situations do have answers even if it is not obvious how to solve the puzzle or work your way through the maze. If expenses are too high what can you cut? If income has dropped, what techniques can you change to increase it? Should you change your investments or work a second job? One Realtor I know also works as an Appraiser.
2. Surround yourself with great people. No one needs negative Annies in their life. Who wants to look at frowny faces all day? Soar with the eagles and don't flop with the turkeys. Some of those winning ways may rub off on you. Network amonst co-workers, other business people, friends and family to gather their thoughts for making life better.
3. Don't forget to have fun each day. Turn off some of your mobile devices and decrease the noise level from the audio and video toys and just enjoy life despite your circumstances. Some days naturally will be better than others. But having fun is a great way to decrease stress.
4. Make things simple. Life does not have to be so darn complicated. Focus on the basics and don't take on more than you can handle. Use that powerful word "No" a lot more in times when you need to be more effective. Did you know in the Depression era a common toy for infants was a baby food jar with a penny in it? Families could not even afford rattles then. Very simple times.
5. Have perspective. Are your problems and your situation really far worse than any one else's in the world? Look around. Would you trade your lot in life for some others' problems? Probably not. What DO you have going for you? COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS. Know what is important to you. In most cases that part of your life is doing just fine.
With hope it is something that is available to all of us if we just work on it a little.
Now take that lighted candle and bring it's brightness over to someone else's life today!
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