It’s three o’clock in the morning and you have work or class at eight. All the while you’re up asking yourself, asking the world, and asking God what the point of going to that class or showing up to work is. All of the sudden things appear to be so distant, so out of touch, and so much more unrealistic then they were just earlier that day. We can ask why this happens, but the most important question to ask is where to go from here? Should we give up, start over, or keep going?
The interesting thing about when people are in the above described situation is that they will almost always continue on the charted course. They’ll end up going to work tomorrow, they’ll go to class, and they’ll keep up with their usual routine. Do they keep going because they’re simply too lazy or believe it is too hard to change their lifestyle? Or is it because deep inside every human being there is almost always piece of hope?
Hope is personal. For some, they may not realize or think that hope has played a big role in their lives, while for others it is all they have. When I was applying to colleges, one of the essays I had to write asked the cliche question, “What is your favorite word and why?” My answer was hope. I said that my favorite word was hope not just because I had a lot of hope at that time, but also because I wouldn’t have gotten to that point in my life without it. Here I am over two years later holding on to that same piece of hope. It’s that piece of hope that screams in your ear every morning tell you to get up. That voice in your head that makes you stay up an extra few hours to finish the work you need to finish. Hope along with faith is what keeps you going when there’s no earthly reason for you to carry on with your mission.
So why do we keep going? It’s simply a natural human response. We, as humans, are wired to never surrender our goals. We keep going because of that unyielding hope deep in our hearts. It is fair to say that some have more hope than others, but that doesn’t mean that each and every one of us doesn’t have something to fight for. Something to keep pushing forward for. Take a look at what Steve Jobs said in Apple’s Think Different campaign:
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
Maybe we shouldn’t just view hope as a virtue, but also as a challenge. Challenge yourself to take whatever hope you have, and turn it into a physical manifestation through your daily routine and thoughts. Be one of the crazy ones. Because after all, by doing nothing you have everything to lose and nothing to gain. However, by holding on to that hope and just trying to push the human race forward, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” -Jim Elliot
Thomas Francis Fusillo
Tom Fusillo, DO, MS, MHA 