Hope is one of those words that brings a lot of good feelings. When people become hopeless they get depressed, “lose heart,” “give up.” Some even want to die. No case of suicide has happened because the person had too much hope. Without hope you don’t take action on anything, much less tackle change. Hope get us up in the morning. As a leader, hope makes you strategize and act upon your dreams and goals.
So hope is good. . . right? Well. . . kind of. . . You see, hope can also derail you. As my mentor Jim Connolly says:
”I know that hoping the weather will work out the way I want it to, is pointless. But it makes me feel better. It’s like hoping my football team will win, even though I have no influence over the result.”
When I talk to people, many express a “hope” that they can make changes in the upcoming year. If I ask, do you think you will be successful? They usually answer with a sigh: “I hope so!”
That is not the kind of hope that will help you change. If you just hope that you will do better, feel better, communicate better, or take control of that “nasty” habit better, but have no specific action plan, you will most likely fail at change. Hope without action is fruitless.
You deserve better! Don’t just hope you will be a better leader in the new year, take action to become one!
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