Hope doesn't come from calculating whether the good news is winning out over the bad. It's simply a choice to take action.

Anna Lappe

ou know the song, "You've Got to Have Heart"? Well, there's something else you've got to have: hope.

We've all heard miraculous stories of individuals overcoming seemingly impossible circumstances.

For example, those stranded during Hurricane Katrina, who survived for days without food or water, or people who've lived long past a doctor's prognosis of "six months to a year."

What makes these individuals different? Why do they survive and not others? Each situation, and each person, is different. But, many times it comes down to a small word with big power: hope. These people chose to have hope.

What exactly is hope? It is the desire and the expectation of fulfillment or achievement. With hope there is no giving up. The journey is only complete when success is achieved. When we have hope we know we will succeed because we know we will never give up.

Living Without Hope

Hope colors our perceptions. It affects how we view ourselves, how we view others and how we view our circumstances. It also affects how we react to people and situations.

Without hope, a situation seems dire, sometimes worse than it really is. Small setbacks are exaggerated. Unplanned delays feel like ambushes.

When we feel hopeless, we may start to feel like victims and assume an "everyone is out to get me" attitude. We may feel defeated before we even try.

Unfortunately, a defeatist attitude is apparent to others and may make us seem unattractive. This means that when we lack hope others might not want to be in our company, leading to feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Living With Hope

But, with hope, the possibilities are endless. With hope, there is an expectation of success, so the best is always yet to come! When we are hopeful we are on a journey; each day and event is a step forward.

Even if we haven't had monumental success, when we are hopeful, we notice and appreciate each positive development, which helps keep our hope and our motivation alive. We are grateful for small things that otherwise we would not even notice.

Those small things encourage us to hold on for the next small thing. Hope keeps our goals in line and helps us resist giving up.

Another great advantage is that when we have hope, we are in control. At the risk of sounding "new age" when we are hopeful we emit a positive energy that attracts optimistic individuals toward us.

People want to be near others who are hopeful and who have positive expectations for the future.

One of the best benefits of hope is that with it, we are open to the possibility of success appearing different from what we may expect. Without hope, there is only one definition of success, and anything else is a failure.

The next time that you don't get the job you wanted, your sales dip or a client says No ... again, have hope. Don't give up. It's not a lost cause. It's never a lost cause unless you give up hope.