As we wake up this morning, some of us are happy little sunshine rays while others personify, “Where the hey-hey is my coffee?” Thus proving everyone is unique. But we all have something in common. We all have some level of hope.

Do a quick search on Google, and we’ll find this definition for hope.

Hope: a feeling of expectation and desire for a sure thing to happen.

With that said, one can understand that a missed expectation can lead to the degradation of hope if our expectation is something we wanted. Repeat cutting this desire, and we soon lose our hope.

When we no longer feel that our dreams are attainable, we stop chasing them. This happens to over 90% of people around the world. We get on a schedule, and that is all we do.

We tell ourselves that we’ll chase our dreams after college, after the kids move out, or after that promotion or pay raise, or after retirement.

Today is the day for action because tomorrow will never come.

So, is it too late to start? Maybe. If we are 72, living on social security, and want to save a million dollars. That may be a far-reaching dream. Writing a memoir or touring a famous landmark is more achievable. The point is that our desire and expectations need to be reasonable. Frequently we set ourselves up for failure.

For example:
Let’s pretend we make over the poverty level, but we aren’t quite to the middle class yet. We have our associates and are a few classes short of a bachelor’s degree. Our bills have us stretched thin, and we do live paycheck to paycheck.

We want more money. We do not want to live from paycheck to paycheck. And last but not least we want to be seen enjoying the nice things in life. Hey, we aren’t vain. We don’t want to look poor. (I’ve heard that comment a lot from friends.)

The first thing we may want to invest in is a name brand coffee cup so we can drink our budget-friendly coffee with class. Secondly, we need to stop comparing ourselves to others. We will never keep up with “The Jone’s.” We should keep up with ourselves or keep ourselves up, either way.

Secondly, lose the baggage. This includes but is not limited to judgemental friends who love to express negative opinions at the most opportune times. I’m sure they ‘mean well,” but they don’t.
Drop the extra bills too. One HD tv stream uses 5Mbps. Why do we need to pay for 2000Mbps? If we want more money in the bank, then we need to opt for a lower plan. I’m typing this on a broadband plan. We had cable internet, but it always went out, not so with broadband. I like it, and it works.

Lastly, we need to be happy with what we have. So what if the roof leaks and the pipes in the wall make funny noises when we run the hot water. I’m sure someone out there is envious of our roof and our hot water. Living out of my car when I was young and on my own taught me the value of a hot shower.

These are massive changes, but if we are to preserve our hope for a better tomorrow, we need to take the necessary steps today. No one said the change is easy. And I’m sure new problems will arise. But we must always have hope. It is what keeps us going each day. Never lose hope.

Until the next blog, live life and be happy.