In times of great sadness and struggle, it can be challenging to remain hopeful. Finding peace within yourself or between people fighting each other may feel impossible. However, if we lose hope, the possibilities path closes.

Even in the darkest times, hope exists. It’s up to you to nurture hope and the belief that things can improve. This is especially needed now for our world.

You can also channel messages of hope and encouragement to inspire what’s possible for you. If you feel stuck, sad, and are struggling to move forward, soak in these words of wisdom from three incredible people. What will be possible for you?

3 Inspiring Messages of Hope that Encourage Possibilities

1. “Choose a better thought. Choose a better action.”

Marcy Stoudt, Revel Coach founder, encourages us to see the connection between our thoughts and actions. Are your thoughts leading you in a positive direction or paralyzing you before you begin? What you think affects what you do or don’t do.

It’s time to reframe if negative thoughts don't support positive actions. Positive thoughts will pave the way for actions with better outcomes.

What thought can you rework? How will that influence what is possible?

2. “Find the fascinating in every day.”

Christine Gray Johnson, Nest by Revel Advisor and HR expert, motivates us to find joy and hope daily. She understands that what you focus on greatly influences your day. A curiosity-based lens can help you see opportunities and possibilities. Christine advocates paying attention to what is “fascinating.” What do you find captivating, interesting, attractive, alluring, or engaging?

Develop an awareness of things big and small to stimulate curiosity. Reading a new word or phrase or seeing the beautiful changing colors of the fall landscape can be catalysts. The search for the fascinating can become a positive disruptor in your life. Discovery encourages openness, new ways of thinking, opportunities, and possibilities and fosters hope.

“If we lose hope, the possibilities path closes.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

3. “We miss out on opportunities when we only ask what could go wrong. It’s also worth asking what could go right. Change carries risk: we might fail. But sticking to the status quo also brings risk: we might fail to grow. It’s better to test and learn than to never test at all.”

Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and best-selling author, highlights the connection between opportunity, risk, change, and growth. When a possibility appears, do you focus on adverse outcomes? Does that make it difficult for you to lean in? Or do you also weigh the potential positive outcomes? Adam isn’t advocating that you ignore the risks. He is aware that any change has risks and can result in failure. But the more significant risk is never stepping out or growing.

What becomes possible when you consider the what-could-go-right-and-wrong-factors with the growth mindset lens? Does risk-taking feel different?

When negativity fills your mind, everything feels dark and impossible. The light will turn on by changing your thoughts, focus, and attitude toward risk. Opportunities, possibilities, and hope will flourish. What is possible for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

The idea of ‘out with the old, in with the new’ is a phrase I remember hearing from when I was very young. I heard it most frequently around New Year’s. At first glance, it makes sense until we look a bit more closely. The New Year allows us to pause, reflect, and decide how we’ll make the next year ‘better’ than the one that just ended. We lean into the fresh start and the hope a clean slate brings.

Recently, a few things happened that made me question the ‘old/new’ saying. As we plan and decide how we want 2022 to be, I propose we don’t completely abandon the old in favor of the new. Instead, gather from the past and the present as you move towards the future. Consider the positive energy from revisiting ‘something old’ and embracing ‘something new.’ Not an either-or situation, but a richness that comes from including both. This can apply to all aspects of your life, be it getting organized, nurturing relationships, decluttering belongings, changing habits, and so much more.

A Case for ‘Something Old’

One of the things I love doing but haven’t done for a long time is baking. Why is that? Well, the positive thing about baking is how yummy it tastes. The challenging part is controlling my portions of freshly baked, hot-out-of-the-oven treats. In the past, the goods were baked and gone within hours and sometimes minutes. Since one of the things I’ve been working on as of late 2021 is eating more healthfully, along with losing weight (thank you, Noom), baking took a back seat.

But then something happened. Last week, we expected a big snowstorm. I don’t know about you, but baking and snowstorms are a perfect pair for me. I felt inspired and decided to bake banana bread with walnuts and dried cranberries and make chicken vegetable soup. It felt wonderful to create deliciousness in the kitchen and bake again. And while I ate a bit more banana bread than I planned, I managed to only eat one (generous) piece and freeze the rest.

The point is that even when you choose to change your habits and not engage in activities you used to enjoy, it’s possible to revisit those older joys and incorporate them in an energizing and healthy way.  Reframing and setting boundaries are your friends! I encourage you not to give up on all the old with the New Year.

A Case for ‘Something New’

We all know the exciting feeling of doing or learning something new. I might fail or do it poorly, but the thrill of ‘new’ gets my adrenaline flowing. Aliveness pulsates throughout my mind and body when I experiment, remain curious, and push myself beyond what I know. Something about the New Year encourages us to think out of the box or comfort zone. 

This month, some things happened or will happen that fit the ‘new’ category. The first one was a cooking experiment I did last week. Yes, it’s another food story. I don’t know about you, but my husband and I love Dave’s Organic Killer Bread Thin Sliced with 21 Whole Grains and Seeds. It’s so good for sandwiches! However, we don’t like the ends. They are small and a bit tough. We also don’t like wasting food. When each loaf was almost finished, I’d buy a new one. I saved the ends hoping that someone (my husband) would eat them. That strategy wasn’t working, as evident by the growing bag of ends collecting in the refrigerator. Then, one day I had an idea. What if I made croutons from the unwanted pieces? How hard could that be?

It turns out it’s easy. I had fun finding a recipe and modifying it. I cut the bread into cubes, tossed it with olive oil and some seasonings like salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, laid them out on a parchment-covered baking sheet at 400 degrees for 10-17 minutes, and flipped them when halfway baked. Now I have a new recipe, a way to handle those ‘ends,’ and something crunchy to add to our salads and soups.

“Gather from the past and present as you move toward the future.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVPO™

The other ‘new’ things coming up are two speaking engagements this week. Speaking isn’t new. I’ve been doing that for decades. But the two situations are unique for me, and I’m excited about both. 

I’ll be giving my virtual workshop, How to Conquer Clutter, for a corporation as part of their Lunch & Learn series. Not the workshop, but the setting is a first for me. I’m grateful to Marcy Stoudt, founder of the Executive Mom Nest, for making this incredible connection.

The other new gig, a virtual Zoom event on January 15th, is open to the public. I’ll be on a panel with eight industry experts who will share tips and strategies for From Staged to Sold in 90 Days! Get Your Home (and Yourself!) Ready for the Spring Market.

I’ve been on many panels before, but never one focused exclusively on preparing your home for sale. I am grateful to realtor Jenifer Ross for putting this event together and inviting me to participate. If you are interested in attending or know someone who will benefit, click here to register for free.

As you lean into your fresh start, what will you carry forward or introduce to 2022? Energy comes from revisiting things we enjoyed in the past and pursuing new paths. You have so many resources to draw from as you plan and create your best year ever. What are you excited about? How will you make the most of your fresh start? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Have you noticed that sometimes motivation feels effortless, and in other instances, it seems impossible to get going? Often our motivation, or lack thereof, depends on the circumstance, the day, timing, or what you’re pursuing.  You might find it easy to edit and organize a drawer full of t-shirts, yet challenging to go through the piles of paper on your desk. As an organizer, while I often cheer on my clients to assist them when they get stuck, motivation is very much an inside job. By accident, I discovered a helpful strategy that is especially useful when you’re having trouble with self-motivation.

At the start of every morning, I practice mindfulness meditation. I use the Insight Timer app, where I experiment with different teachers and types of guided meditation. Often the practices I work with are breath-focused, but they can also include a focus that shifts from the breath to the body, to sounds, sensations, or thoughts. During meditation, it’s common for the mind to wander. If I’m focusing on a particular awareness, my mind can drift elsewhere. The practice is to gently bring my attention back to the focus of awareness without judgment. Return to the breath or the sounds, or the sensations in the body.

my big ah-ha

We notice what we focus on at the exclusion of all else. So when your attention is on your breath, you are only aware of the breath. When your attention is on the sounds around you, the breath focus disappears. How does this relate to motivation?

“We notice what we focus on at the exclusion of all else.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®

Consider this. When you’re struggling to get motivated, what are you paying attention to? Are you thinking about how hard it’s going to be to get “x” done? Are you thinking that you don’t feel like doing “x?” Are you concerned that you don’t want to fail, or don’t have the information you need to move ahead? The negative and unhelpful messages you’re focusing on are sabotaging your motivation. 

What if instead of when you lacked motivation, you shifted your attention? What would serve you better? Instead of focusing on how hard something is going to be to get done, what if you thought about the smallest next step? If instead of dwelling on your don’t-feel-like-doing-it ideas, you pondered how great it will feel when you begin?

The next time you are struggling with getting motivated, listen to what your mind is saying. How can you shift your awareness to focus on productive, supportive thoughts? Do you think this strategy will work for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation!