Mental Health: The Important Connection Between Hope and Thriving!

I believe we'd all like to truly thrive in our lives!

When I say "thrive," I mean a lot more than simply existing and being alive, which seems to be where most people in our world end up.

But what do we need in our lives, in order to thrive? Is there some "magic formula?"

Probably not. After all, if there were such a thing, chances are everybody would be doing it, right?

I deal a lot with the idea of thriving in my counseling practice, but it mostly is a topic I end up addressing because an alarming number of people are actually depressed.

Not interested in talking about depression in this post, except in the context of saying that depression quite often is connected to a loss of HOPE.

When we don't have hope, most of us tend to sink into a routine that amounts to little more than "going through the motions" of living life. We might insist that we're "not depressed," but we are most definitely also not thriving!

Hopelessness — and it's close "cousin" helplessness — often set in when a person faces day after day with energy and enthusiasm, only to end up at bedtime, feeling like they worked themselves to the bone and have pretty much nothing to show for it except a subsistence life, an empty bank account and no sense of accomplishment.

Maybe that sounds dramatic, but it's alarmingly common, particularly here in the USA.

Sometimes, I can't help but think that part of our problem is that seeing better alternatives has grown more and more difficult over the years. It is difficult to maintain hope if a potential "way out" of a difficult situation seems little better than what we already have.

There's an old Nordic truism that goes something like "I escaped from the wolf by running into the cave of the bear."

When faced with such situations, it is small wonder that people fall into depression!

To actually create a better situation, we have to start by finding something we can feel hopeful about.

Often, the key is to start small. Find some small thing in your life that makes you feel hopeful. It's not that this thing will shift your life, but it will be a first step towards the practice of holding a hopeful thought.

Often we — sadly — forget what hope even feels like. So we must start with small things, and build from there... slowly, patiently.

You can find better things on the other side!

Thanks for coming to visit, and Bright Blessings to all!

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The White Light Express Mission Statement:

Since October 2001, the mission of the White Light Express has been to offer healing and transformation through focused positive intention, meditation and prayer. Right Thought is the first step toward Right Action and consciousness. We believe that “holding the vibration” is a profound task and our divine destiny.

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