Hope for the New Year

An annual tradition

Waltham Abbey, Essex by Peter De Wint, 1840 (public domain - Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Note: the following is an updated version of an annual New Year’s message here at Timeless & Timely — usually one of the most frequented entries of the year.

“Hope is patience with the lamp lit.”
— Tertullian

The new year has arrived, with about as much celebration and dread that various factions can muster.

We wonder: Will it be a good year? A terrible year? Will I be able to break my bad habits and forge a new beginning?

It’s a time of year when hope grabs us by the throat, suggesting that the year ahead holds many possibilities, some of which are within our power to grasp.

Such hope typically takes the form of New Year’s resolutions.

We have the best of intentions, but the reality is these are gestures aimed at pleasing our logical selves. What we do (or don’t do) with them is the result of our discipline and will power.

In 1973, E.B. White received a letter from a correspondent who was concerned about what he perceived as a bleak future for the human race. White’s reply¹ captured the notion of hope perfectly.

“As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness.

Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society—things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly. It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbor seeds of goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the conditions are right. Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out.

Hang onto your hat. Hang onto your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.”

“Hope is a waking dream.”
— Aristotle

Leading with Hope

Your job as a leader — whether you lead a company, a team, or as a member of your family — is to be a hope peddler, providing a vision, celebrating progress, and motivating people from the front. How? By giving them hope.

Hope is a motivator. Without it, we operate with a sense of dread — or worse: a sense of disconnection. Hope gives us strength, focus, courage, and peace.

First, hope gives us the strength to persevere through the various challenges that life presents. It is what keeps the lamp lit, what fuels our souls when obstacles seem overwhelming.

Hope also helps us focus on our goals and aspirations. In doing so, it becomes easier to believe in ourselves and our abilities, which sometimes even allows us to achieve things we hadn’t thought possible.

Hope gives us the courage to take risks and try new things. So emboldened, we throw aside our fears and take necessary risks and steps towards fulfilling our dreams.

Hope also brings us a sense of peace and contentment. This inner calm gives us a sense of trust that everything will work out in the end, even if we don’t understand why certain things happen.

Every leader should be interested in creating a sense of hope for their people. We want them to be strong, courageous, focused, and trusting.

Whether you’re trying to raise children or create a successful business, these steps are identical, because hope is universal.

Create and communicate a clear and compelling vision

When you help your team understand your vision and the broader goal, they’ll be in a better position to help achieve greatness. Make it something that’s worthy of pursuing and that they can get excited about.²

Keep the momentum going

When we run into obstacles, it can be demoralizing. Reducing or eliminating the obstacles your team encounters will help them become more successful. Showing a child how to solve a problem (but not solving it for them) gives them a sense of independence and a can-do attitude.

Celebrate successes

It feels good to achieve something. Whether it’s crossing off an item from a to-do list, hitting a milestone, or launching a new product, when we accomplish a goal, it sends a message to our brains. We should pause and acknowledge these victories, small and large, for they continue to give us hope to power on.

Have precursive faith

Even if we’ve never done a certain thing before — particularly if no one has done a certain thing before — there’s a kind of confidence that give us hope. Precursive faith is a belief in ourselves, combining initial confidence and resilient confidence, that we believe in ourselves enough to accomplish something. Imagine instilling that kind of belief into those you’re trying to inspire.³

Control what you can

There will always be factors that are outside of our realm of control. We can’t control what others do or think. We can’t control external forces. But we can control our reaction to them. We are in command of our own minds. And focusing our efforts on what we can control, we offer up more hope.⁴

Summed up, the steps are:

1. Create a clear and compelling vision

2. Keep the momentum going

3. Celebrate successes

4. Have precursive faith

5. Control what you can

With the new year ahead of us, suddenly, it feels like we have more reason to hope than before.

Keep hope in your heart and grow it in the hearts of others. Focus on things you can control.

And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.

There’s so much to learn,

1. “A Letter from E.B. White” Historical Snapshots

2. See also “Leaders Need to Share a Compelling Vision,” Timeless & Timely, July 27, 2022

3. More about precursive faith in “Hope For the Future,” Timeless & Timely, October 29, 2021

4. Here are Nine Powerful Things You Can Control