Ep25 - HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY, BUT HOPE IS ESSENTIAL ON YOUR JOURNEY!

Author: Steve Worthy
Published: Mon 08 Feb 2021
Episode Link: None

NARRATIVE
Every year, season, we create declarations on either self improvement, varying goals we want to accomplish or visions we desire to occur in our lives. We place our HOPE a desired outcome. Now HOPE by itself can be misleading, because it's not a strategy. However, it's a vital part of your leadership journey.

We discuss the four areas below:

Define Hope
What do people hope for?
Downfalls of Hope
What Can Hope do for you as a leader

DEFINE HOPE

Hope is an optimistic expectation of a favorable outcome regarding a given circumstance.
Denial is closing your eyes to the truth because you don't like it or can't deal with it. Hope only becomes denial when you give up fighting and start hiding.

Hope is not a strategy

The core of the “hope is not a strategy” mindset (or, sometimes, “hope is not a plan” or “hope is not a course of action”) carries some validity.

Top thing people hope for :

No. 1: Happiness - Biggest challenge: “Not knowing what I want to do.”
No. 2: Money - Biggest challenge: “Not having enough money or time to accomplish the things I want to do.”
No. 3: Freedom - Biggest challenge: “Having the freedom to find my ‘true purpose’ or being lit up by the day-to-day at work.”
No. 4: Peace - Biggest challenge: “Lack of clarity about who I am and my purpose.”
No. 5: Confidence - Biggest challenge: “Feeling like I have something to offer now, rather than feeling constantly as if I’m not ready and need more training.”

PERCEIVED DOWNFALLS OF HOPE

False hope is a hope that has no meaningful basis in reality. ... Such excessively aspirational hope isn't only irrational, it's also imprudent and can at times be dangerous.
For it can increase the risk that you'll get into more trouble than you might already be in
Hope can be an inherently biased ideal. hope is a highly personal thing
Hope can hamper us from adequately preparing for negative outcomes.
Hope can be like prayer: wishing for something rather than more forcefully working toward it

III. What can hope do for you as a leader