What to Do When You’re Looking for Hope EP 301

0:00Welcome to your daily dose of hope, I'm Phyllis Nichols and I'm glad you're here. Today I want to just talk about things we can do when we're looking for some hope or when we feel like we just need a little, little more hope, you know, sometimes we go searching because maybe we're having a bad day or things feel uncertain, maybe things feel a little overwhelming or could just be, you know, you really just want to have a more positive or optimistic outlook and, you know, we know hope isn't about just putting a positive spin on things, but it doesn't hurt sometimes to have a few strategies that you can kind of lean on or lean into when you have those kinds of days. So you know, hope we know can show up as something small, it can just be a little thing that kind of just helps us turn the corner and feel better about everything. You know, it can just be a reminder that we're safe and that we're loved and that we're cared for could be a story that we remember of a time when somebody did something kind for us or maybe when we just had a really good experience.

1:04So if you're looking for a little of hope today, here's a couple of things that you can try and these are things that I go to often. One is to just borrow somebody else's hope, you know, read a story if someone who overcame hope or even better talk to a friend or there's a couple of Instagram accounts I like to follow or they talk about hope and hopeful things a lot. So I have like a little list and you can make your own list of hopeful resources. I hope this podcast is one of those for you. So if you ever need a little, a little boost or a little, just shift in mindset, hopefully this can be that for you too. Another thing that I go to often is limiting the noise. Look, there are serious things that happen in the world and, you know, as a citizen I want to be informed and understand what's going on, but I also know for my own just well-being and mental health, there are days when we just need to take a break, maybe staying off social media for an afternoon or an evening, you know, just stepping away from those things

2:07occasionally to just get a mental reset and to also just be in the here and now, in the present moment. When serious things are happening, we want to know about those, but often it leads us to sort of catastrophizing, you know, worst possible scenarios and look, some bad things may happen or some really unfortunate things may take place, but they may not and they're probably not happening right now. So limiting the noise, taking a step back has always, always been helpful for me. Couple more things. Number one, also you can just look for helpers. That's a Mr. Rogers thing, but I think it's worth remembering, right? We probably have a couple people in your life that can help you just reframe things. I know I certainly do that are willing to just listen to me when I'm having one of those days, and I hope you have somebody like that in your life. And another thing that you can just do on your own is to just write down, you know, you can write a note to yourself on your phone or if you're anolog type person, write down

3:10three or four things that went right today and yesterday, even small things count. This hope isn't always found in big answers. Sometimes it's just found in the small evidence that good things do exist. You're cared for, people love you. And when you notice it, hope has a way of growing. So if you're searching for hope, I'll encourage you to start small. Find one small step that you can take and let hope meet you there. This podcast is part of the Sound Advice FM Network. Sound Advice FM, Women's Voices Amplified.