No matter what dream we’re following, there’s one absolutely essential ingredient.
It’s good to follow with Grace and Faith and Humility. They’ll help us be calmer, have better connections, stay on track. But one ingredient makes the difference between success and failure.
Hope
Viktor Frankel was an Austrian psychiatrist who survived the horrors of Auschwitz and wrote an incredible book called Man’s Search For Meaning about his experience. Frankel observed that many strong, healthy people withered quickly and died while comparatively weaker folks survived and even thrived.
He attributed this disparity to hope. Stated simply, those who believed their lives had some larger meaning had a reason to endure the pain and struggle and were more likely to survive.
Following dreams isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There will be seasons of hardship, stretches when it feels like things (and people) are working against us. How we deal with adversity determines whether we continue to follow the dream when it’s not fun and games.
And that’s where hope differs from optimism. Optimistic folks just choose to “look on the bright side,” which is okay but doesn’t offer much of a foundation in times of difficulty. Hope – biblical hope – is different.
Hope is confidence based on faith that God keeps His promises. When we follow the dream with this sort of confidence, we’re in it long-term. It stops being about immediate results, so we can keep our focus on the big picture. We’re free to do our best…and trust Him for the outcome.
As Frankel observed, hope is more than a good attitude. Hope actually gives us a better chance of surviving and thriving in the face of adversity. As we follow the dream, hope has a very real impact on how we move through and past difficulties. Hope increases the likelihood of outcomes that move us toward the kingdom.
HOPE CHANGES WHAT’S POSSIBLE.