Are proactive characters.

Rather than waiting for things to happen to them, they make their move.

Towards movement, they have a true understanding of who they are and what they can do – neither inflated or deflated; they know the true value of their resources; and, they daily figure out ways of expressing themselves around the purpose they’ve come to know their life must be about.

‘We have significantly more influence over the direction and outcomes of our lives than we realise.’*

Hopeful seekers are pursuing what Richard Rohr has called the second half of life.  They have come to the place of knowing the purpose or call of their lives; from a first half of life perspective, this can seem risky and scary, but from this new place of seeing risky and scary is staying where they are: ‘Seeking things was risky.  But no longer.  Now, of course, safe is risky.’**

This is not to say the hopeful seeker will not find herself in a struggle, but hope is born of adversity.

‘Adversity can harden you.  Ot it can loosen you up and make you better – if you let it.’^

I’ve seen people go through difficult things and become controlling and cautious.   I’ve also seen people see these as opportunities needed to step into what they really want to be about.

Dan Ariely writes about how people can be blind-sided by FREE!  It’s connected with loss-aversion.  We are more inclined not to lose something than to gain something, but FREE! is loss-free, is risk-free, is fear-free.  Or is it?  If we’ve been blind-sided, to jump may be the wisest option.

The hopeful seeker understands her hope ‘isn’t an emotion, it’s a way of thinking or  cognitive process.  She progresses by setting realistic goals, exercising her ability to figure out how to get to these, and believes she is able to.^^

‘Hope is learned.’^^

Here are some questions to explore:
If hope is a thinking process of setting realistic goals, figuring out how to reach them, and believing in your ability, do you believe you could learn hope?
How has a difficult experience made you stronger?  (Break it down to identify your learnings and how you changed as a result.)
Whatever is on your mind at the moment, what would it look like if you doodled it?

(*From Sunni Brown’s The Doodle Revolution.  So too, the quote in today’s cartoon.)
(**From Seth Godin’s Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck?)
(^From Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle is the Way.)
(^^From Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly.)