Never Lose Hope

Today’s Topics

• Hope, Within Reason 🤔

• The Next Time 💪

  4 Mins Read Time

Hope, Within Reason 🤔 
By Jo

Hope has never really hurt anybody. Being optimistic about things coming to fruition isn’t the problem. In fact, hope can be powerful—it keeps people moving, believing, and pushing forward.

But hope always comes with a cost. And that cost is action.

A lot of people hope for the best-case scenario, but in the same breath, they don’t want to do the work required to support it. They pray. They wish. They speak things into existence. But when it comes time to move, research, or sacrifice—they hesitate.

It’s no different than how religion teaches hope. You’re taught to pray, to believe, to trust that things will happen in your favor. But faith was never meant to replace effort. It was meant to walk alongside it. Hope without action turns into fantasy.

Nothing is ever real until it passes the ideation stage.

Too many people sit on ideas. They stay in the “thinking about it” phase. The “one day” phase. But what progress have you actually made? Have you researched? Have you positioned yourself properly? Have you developed the credentials, the skills, or the discipline needed to make it real?

You can’t just pray for an outcome and skip the preparation.

Everything is obtainable within reason. And that “within reason” part is where logic comes in.

You can’t say, “I want to be telekinetic” without any blueprint—or even proof—that it’s possible. A better example is something realistic: say you want to drive a car. That goal comes with requirements. You study the rules of the road. You learn regulations. You assess what type of vehicle fits you physically and financially. You consider insurance, licensing, maintenance, and risk.

Dreams don’t just appear. They are built.

People get stuck because they assume things will fall out of the sky and land right in front of them. More often than not, that’s not how life works. Hope without structure leads to disappointment.

So how do we approach this correctly?

You take the idea and put it into motion—logically.

A lot of people say they want to be “in charge.” But they don’t understand what being in charge actually means. Leadership isn’t just authority—it’s responsibility. You don’t just lead; you teach. You don’t just teach; you protect. You’re accountable for the people depending on you.

Look at nature. Think about a wolf pack.

The alpha doesn’t just walk in front. The alpha protects. The alpha teaches. The alpha sacrifices. There’s weight that comes with sticking your neck out—and that’s the price you pay for chasing something bigger.

Optimism is real. Hope works. But when hope exists without effort or thought, it becomes reckless.

Dream boldly—but dream responsibly. Build the foundation. Put in the work.

That’s hope—within reason.

The Next Time 💪

By Marcus

Change typically happens slowly. For most of us, it’s not an overnight miracle that’s responsible for the person you see in the mirror today.

One of the biggest challenges of setting a goal for massive change is simply having the respect for how difficult the goal itself is. For one, it’s not easy to change a lifetime or years of a “bad habit” or “tendency” in a short period of time. It’s an uphill battle that can be a lifelong battle against the odds.

That 180-degree change you are seeking is not impossible, but it does demand your attention and energy. That overall big-picture change you want to make at times can overshadow the small actions that produce the big results you’re looking for.

Focus On What’s Next

In many cases, it’s better to worry about the next time that challenge presents itself and asking yourself how you’ll either prepare or handle it. We’re not focused on the 2nd time or the 20th time; we’re talking about the very next time, the next opponent that will force its way into your life at the worst time.

Instead of thinking about accumulating wins, focus on the next win. It’s the most important one and all you should care about.

If you’re someone who is short-tempered and often loses their cool, if you want to change, just focus on the next time. You can prepare ahead by understanding your triggers, then plan how you will de-escalate yourself and create a “best/worst case scenario” action if things really get out of hand.

In the scenario for someone who is quick-tempered, their best action in the worst scenario would be to simply remove themselves from the situation. Even if it means cutting a conversation short and walking away. I’d say that’s better than a screaming match that goes nowhere or a physical altercation.

If you focused on remaining calm each and every time, the weight of how difficult that may be might wear you down over time, but if you focus on the very next, you can funnel all your energy into getting it right one time.

If You Fail

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself with the big changes you want for your life. You can make the mistake of focusing too much on perfection and lose sight of the actual real progress you’re making.

If you fail, it will be okay. Accept the loss; it’s not the end. Use what you learned, move forward, and shift the focus into winning the next one.

It’s hard to keep someone down that doesn’t know how to quit after defeat.

🏆