Perceiving Hope in a Hopeless State

Hopelessness is a story we tell ourselves.

It’s a construct we created.

If the hopeless one is running the show, then the game is lost — there’s never going to be any hope.

Here’s how to shift your frame

The first step is to acknowledge the hopeless one had been running the show.

• There is nothing wrong with hopelessness.
• It likely came from a part of us who were helpless when we were young.

But who we are today is not the child we were many years ago. So we’re no longer as helpless and as hopeless.

That means we can start with a tiny piece of hope.

Just 1%

The moment you imagine there is a 1% hope, the situation is no longer hopeless to you. And you may begin to find your way out, even if you have to crawl around in the dark for a while.

And the point is: You’re no longer stationary.

Hope can increase when you meet certain conditions

You know it when you see it.

It can be tiny things, like people offering to help, someone understanding you, you clinching a deal, etc. This list is non-exhaustive, of course.

Paying attention to what lights you up. Pay attention when things work. We’ll use these experiences to construct worldviews that are more accurate (than a hopeless world).

The world might be brighter, and then it becomes darker again

A downward spiral doesn’t break with one bright spot.

But it can turn with sufficient bright spots.

With training and consistency, perhaps the world becomes brighter place more often than it becomes a darker place.

• It all begins by a 1% shift.
• (It’s never hopeless).
• Shift your world by changing the story you’re acting out
• (Find a bright spot. Then another. And then another).
• And you may be surprised by the results over time.

This links back to my first article about the cause of depression and how to resolve it.