Sometimes, nothing goes right in your life and you lose all faith in anything. So how can you stop losing hope, even when things aren’t going well, especially when things aren’t going well? Here are 5 attitudes to cultivate day after day to keep hope alive in spite of everything.

1 – Keep smiling to keep hoping

So it’s normal to cry sometimes, to feel sorrow and to express it. But after the tears, a smile is never far away.

The problem is that when we feel sadness, we tend to cling to it.

In fact, when we feel sad, we are too quick to pigeonhole ourselves: I’m sad, I’m depressed.

And that’s a mistake.

Sadness is an emotion, so it’s just a passing thing.

What’s more, after we’ve let our tears flow, we often feel a great sense of relief. And that’s normal. Tears relieve us, soothe our grief. That’s what they’re there for.

That’s why, after grief, we can allow ourselves to smile, because it’s over.

Maybe we’ll feel sad a little later. That’s okay, we’ll still cry a little.

But in the meantime, we’ll smile.

In other words, to never lose hope again, remember to allow yourself to smile, even through sadness, especially through sadness.

2 – Believe in the future and never give up hope

Because today and yesterday hurt, tomorrow is bound to hurt even more.

That’s what we tell ourselves when we’re in pain.

In fact, we repeat to ourselves: “What’s the point in believing, what’s the point in going on?”

It’s normal, for a few moments, to doubt the future, to doubt we’ll be able to get back on our feet.

In other words, it’s normal to lose hope for a moment.

But just for a moment.

The problem is that when we lose hope, we cling to it with all our might.

And, we start to create new beliefs that we cling to even more with all our might.

They tell us that we’re not made for happiness, that we don’t deserve it, that if we suffer today, tomorrow will be the same. Nothing will ever change, we’re doomed to unhappiness anyway.

This is pretty much what we tell ourselves every day, and every day we believe it a little more.

So it’s time to understand that it’s normal to lose hope, to doubt ourselves and happiness, but only for a few moments.

In fact, allow yourself to lament and despair for a day, or even several days, but always keep in the back of your mind that it’s all temporary.

Yes, grief and lack of hope are temporary.

When they’re not, it’s because you’re clinging to them, because they’ve become your story: I’m an unhappy person.

And you can change your story at any time by deciding to believe in the future, to believe in happiness, to believe in tomorrow.

In other words, to never lose hope again, don’t cling to thoughts of despair. Take a deep breath and decide to believe in the future. Even if you don’t know what to do, what’s going to happen, how to go about it. It doesn’t matter.

3 – Don’t give up

Who said that everything in life had to be exactly the way you wanted it? Who said it would be quick and easy?

The problem is, when we have plans and dreams and things don’t go according to plan, we lose hope and give up.

We say to ourselves: “It’s not working. I knew it wouldn’t. I have no right to happiness. So I give up.”

With all my heart, stop! Don’t give up. Never give up.

Yes, it hurts. Yes, you suffer in the moment. You can cry, be angry. That’s okay.

But get up. Quickly. Go on your way.

Because never giving up hope means letting disappointment, frustration, fear, anger, even despair get the better of you, and then getting back up again. Even if you have a limp, even if you doubt a little. It means getting back on track, whatever the cost.

4 – Advocate tenderness to never lose hope again

We lose hope when we let grief and anger harden our hearts.

In fact, life’s trials don’t come to harden us, but on the contrary, to make us more compassionate.

Yes, all too often we make the mistake of wanting to harden our hearts at all costs so as not to suffer any more.

But suffering is not serious; on the contrary, it’s beautiful. In fact, vulnerability is wonderful, because it means letting yourself be touched by life.

Because do you think you’re here to feel nothing, not to suffer?

That’s what you’re here for. The problem is that we’re so afraid of suffering, that when it touches us, we let ourselves sink completely.

But suffering doesn’t bring you down, it makes you better. Stronger, stronger, but above all more compassionate.

You become a better human being.

That’s why, if you never want to lose hope again, don’t try to harden yourself; on the contrary, embrace tenderness and vulnerability.

Dare to reach out to others, to ask for comfort and to offer comfort.

After all, you’re not here to protect yourself from others and from life. You’re here to be one with everything around you.

Love everything. Love the joys as well as the trials. That’s what hope is all about.

5 – Never stop dreaming, never lose hope

The moment you stop dreaming, you lose hope, you die.

The problem is that today, we don’t know how to dream anymore.

In fact, screens and advertising are dictating our dreams. We should all be dreaming of a career, a big house, a nice car…

But none of this is you. It doesn’t have to be.

In fact, maybe you’re losing hope precisely because, deep down, all these societal dreams mean nothing to you, and you think that’s not right.

But it is.

So learn to dream in your own way. Dream dreams that are uniquely yours.

And you’ll see that hope will return. The flame in you – in other words, your joie de vivre – will blaze again.

Yes, the secret to keeping hope alive, to feeling fully alive, is to dream in your own way.

So never stop dreaming.

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover How can you find meaning in your life? 5 tips to help you make sense of it all
Discover 100 quotes to let go of your worries

I recommend this inspiring book:

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The author explores the concept of optimal experience, known as “flow”, where individuals are totally absorbed and engaged in an activity. Focusing on the psychological aspects of finding meaning in life’s immersive and rewarding experiences, the book offers insight into the pursuit of fulfillment and purpose.

Very intellectually stimulating, very true. Makes you understand how the brain works, and how we adopt behaviors that bring us closer to what we want and what makes us happy. Very well written, highly recommended.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself