Hope is a driving force for me. No matter what is going on in the world around us, I believe that we can still have hope–hope that things will get better, hope that wonderful things have yet to happen, and hope in a higher power.

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Lately, with all of the negative things going on in our world, I have clung to this idea of having “hope.”
Earlier in this week I posted about this as my Facebook status, stating: “The one thing I rely on is my belief that although there are many bad things that happen in today’s society, there are SO many more wonderful things that also happen. The possibility of wonderful can keep us all going…” Like usual numerous of my friends and family members “liked” my status in agreement, but one individual whom I know surprised me. He stated that “it’s kind of hard to have hope with all of the negative occurrences currently unfolding.” He went on to state that he must be missing that “hope.”
This one individual’s comment led me to think about what causes a person to be optimistic and have hope.
Does it just come naturally? Is hope something we have to work for? How do we maintain hope despite terrible things going on in the world?
I think the answer to this question is a complex one. Some people are naturally optimistic–it’s just in their personality. At the same time, however, we often have to work for hope. I work for hope by focusing on the little things in my life that are positive. I think about the possibility for wonderful things to happen in the future. It’s not that I ignore the negative things. I don’t stop watching the news or reading the headlines, but I also don’t solely focus on these things. If I did I may lose my sense of hope.
In the end I think you either have it or you don’t.If you have hope it makes life just a little easier. You are able to tough it out through the bad times. You are able to pick yourself up and keep going even after you fall down. You are able to be optimistic about the future.







Hello all! My name is Amanda. I blog about living a happy, healthy life while maintaining a busy schedule.