“Each one of us has the ability to manifest hope and optimism inside ourselves. We can calm our minds, motivate ourselves, and master our attitudes. But there are many things that we cannot prepare for, as we don’t completely live within ourselves. There is an external, outside world that brings to us challenges and hardships that we must confront every day. Some we expect, some we do not, but there is always something that we can do to be ready: develop a consistent attitude of hope and optimism. These twin attitudes collaborate in a wonderful synergy that prepares you for any and all circumstances. Have hope, think positively, and the world will be yours!”
Bert R. Mandelbaum, MD, via The Win Within (Page 93)
“Many people seem to think it foolish, even superstitious, to believe that the world could still change for the better. And it is true that in winter it is sometimes so bitingly cold that one is tempted to say, ‘What do I care if there is a summer; its warmth is no help to me now.’ Yes, evil often seems to surpass good. But then, in spite of us, and without our permission, there comes at last an end to the bitter frosts. One morning the wind turns, and there is a thaw. And so I must still have hope.”
Vincent van Gogh
“She realised that she hadn’t tired to end her life because she was miserable, but because she had managed to convince herself that there was no way out of her misery.”
Matt Haig, The Midnight Library (Page 215)
“The future is shaped by men and women with a steady, even zestful, confidence that on balance their efforts will not have been in vain. They take failure and defeat not as reason to doubt themselves but as reason to strengthen resolve. Some combination of hope, vitality and indomitability makes them willing to bet their lives on ventures of unknown outcome. If our forebears had all looked before they leaped, we would still be crouched in caves sketching animal pictures on the wall.”
John W. Gardner, Self-Renewal (Page xiii)
“Imagination is absolutely critical to the quality of our lives. Our imagination enables us to leave our routine everyday existence by fantasizing about travel, food, sex, falling in love, or having the last word—all the things that make life interesting. Imagination gives us the opportunity to envision new possibilities—it is an essential launchpad for making our hopes come true. It fires our creativity, relieves our boredom, alleviates our pain, enhances our pleasure, and enriches our most intimate relationships. When people are compulsively and constantly pulled back into the past, to the last time they felt intense involvement and deep emotions, they suffer from a failure of imagination, a loss of mental flexibility. Without imagination there is no hope, no chance to envision a better future, no place to go, no goal to reach.”
Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score (Page 17)
“We will all find ourselves neck deep in mud someday. That is the time to sing loudly, to smile broadly, to lift up those around you and give them hope that tomorrow will be a better day.”
William A. McRaven, Make Your Bed (Page 94) | ★ Featured on this book list.
“The attainment of my dream became an act of survival. In my darkest nights, my dream saved my life—it was my light, my food. My vision of brighter days sustained me. It was my whole purpose. I saw my hopes as the ticket to a better life—to joy, fulfillment, security, safety. I saw the realization of my dream as my only road to love and happiness. Failure equaled death.”
Will Smith, Will (Page 285)
“Hope sustains life. Hope is the elixir of survival during our darkest times. The ability to envision and imagine a brighter day gives meaning to our suffering and renders it bearable. When we lose hope, we lose our central source of strength and resilience.”
Will Smith, Will (Page 97)