How to stay hopeful
Oh, hi friends!
Sometimes it feels dangerous to be optimistic.
You get suspicious, like you’re going to jinx the outcome. If you raise your expectations too high, you’ll surely be disappointed.
But I’m always reminded of advice my friend Elena Grothe Santos gave me seven years ago:
If you envision your worst-case scenario, and then it actually happens, you will have lived it twice.
I’ve thought about this in the moments before I’ve presented new theater work, or when I turn in an article to an editor. I’ve thought about this when work opportunities seem to be drying up or when the Mets are down in the seventh inning or any time there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
If you envision your worst-case scenario, and then it actually happens, you will have lived it twice.
What if you let yourself imagine a best-case scenario?
The consequences come no matter what. You can’t jinx an outcome. Your expectations have no bearing on reality.
So as you sit in the gray space, waiting and watching, imagine giving a corner of your mind to the most elusive of all feelings...
Hope.
And if you’re not able to feel hopeful today, I’ll feel it extra…just for you.
Hi from my friend Brea’s dog, Bun, who had a very happy Halloween and is a fluffy cloud, vibrant rainbow, and ray of sunshine all at once!!
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Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara