What Hope Is

Hope. What is hope? Some people would say that it is equivalent to faith, while others say it leads us to success. Well, I say that hope is both of that.

Many people wake up hoping the best for each day, giving faith to themselves. But there are those who wake up feeling hopeless and lost.

These are the people who have tried many times and failed. After many times of trying, their hope vanishes and turns into self-pity and self-doubt.

These people are often criticised and laughed at by those who have reached the top and have experienced fewer failures.

There are people who are very talented and hardworking, but they lack hope and kindness towards others.

On the other hand, there are people who are very kind and hopeful, but lack talents and hard work.

We don’t need to choose between being one or the other, we can actually be both. So when you see an opportunity, grab it, hold on to it, and never let it go.

Pain and suffering will come your way but those are just minor challenges in your life. Learn to overcome them and success will be your friend.

So instead of laughing and criticising the hopeless and the lost, why not try helping them?

We can start by using this method. Picture yourself in the shoes of someone who has lost hope. Feel the anger and sadness they feel.

Think of how painful they feel when someone criticises and laughs at them. Only then would you think of what you can do to help them.

There are many things to hope for in this world. But hope alone can’t bring you far. We need to work hard for the things we hope for.

We have learnt about hope since young, because every child watches Disney, and Disney cartoons are all about hope.
Cinderella hopes to find her prince. Pocahontas hopes for peace.

Like the quote from the movie The Princess and the Frog,

“That old star can only take you part of the way. You got to help him with some hard work of your own.”

I searched the dictionary for the definition of hope, and here is what I got: Hope is “to want something to happen and think that it is possible”.

I hope you remember that from now onwards, one small word such as hope can bring us wonderful things. So spread it to everyone, and be hopeful.

Inspirational quotes from our readers

“Positivity brings all possibilities and greatness to life.”
– Joyce Atolagbe Siaw

“To achieve the greatest things in your life, you have to experience failures beforehand.”
– Oo Cheng Keat

(Photo source: Susanne Nilsson)

Feeling inspired by an article from our pullout? We want to hear it! Write to us at editor@leaderonomics.com with your inspired thoughts. This week, we have Cheah Hwei Yan, 14, in response to our “Youth Power” issue which was published on Aug 16, 2014.