“Those who are animated by hope can perform what would seem impossibilities to those who are under the depressing influence of fear.”
—Rachel Robards Jackson
So many people these days have the feeling that an apocalypse of one sort or another is marching up their front steps, about to knock on—or in—their door. It’s tempting to belabor the difficulties in our world, personal and collective, and to berate those we think are responsible, including ourselves. However, I am convinced that both of these actions are detrimental to our sense of well-being and inevitably lead to a more profound loss of hope. In my heart of hearts, I know that, in lieu of dwelling on the negative, it’s advantageous to accentuate the positive.
That doesn’t mean we can totally eliminate what we experience as negative. Of course we can’t. But before we can begin to emphasize the positive, we have to better understand what’s driving the erosion of hope and the growth of despair. I see four factors that we will explore.
Excerpted from How to Stay Upbeat in a Beat Down World by Sue Patton Thoele. Available on Amazon.
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