What 10 Activities Bring Hope to Your Life

Discover 10 simple strategies to bring hope and restoration to your life and the lives of others, from engaging your mind to spreading kindness.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, tired, or in need of hope, take a moment to discover 10 simple things you can try today to restore your life and renew your heart. Give yourself permission to pause, take one small step, and rediscover hope—you might even find that you have more hope to share with others, too!

This Labor Day, take a break, gather the family, put down the phone, and restore peace and hope through expected pathways. Read on for this Catholic Dad's inspiring and easy-to-follow advice.

Seeking to Restore Hope

1. Spend the day NOT watching the news.

   I don't care who you are voting for or why, but we need to unplug from the news. Try it for just today and see how you feel tomorrow: doctor's orders!   

2. Engage your brain.

   Do something that you love that involves using your brain. Read a book or create some art. Work in your garden or write in your journal or blog.    

3. Don't be a troll.

   Yes, we are all nosy Americans, and social media has only made this worse. We tend to enjoy living under the bridge and merely being a bystander instead of being engaged. Today, get on Facebook and actually COMMENT on other folks' posts.    

4. Take a nap.

   A short nap will rejuvenate your soul and your body.    

5. Spread the love.

   Write some thank-you cards or emails to people who are awesome in your personal or professional life. They probably need it.    
   
   
   
   
   

Making Valuable Time

6. Plan your week.

   Spend 10 minutes with your calendar (home/work) and map out how your week will unfold. This will ease your anxiety if you wake up with a "case of the Mondays."  

7. Hug or kiss someone.

   Please do not do this to a random stranger at Target and then blame it on me. Hug your children or friends. Kiss your spouse or significant other. Don't forget to hug your pets -- unless you own a turtle.   

8. Sit in silence.

   The death penalty sounds better to some of you than sitting in silence. Monks master this technique, and while we do not wear awesome robes and sandals, we need to shut it and be silent sometimes. Spend a minute in silence today. Check your heartbeat before and after this exercise. Slow down!   

9. Listen to music.

   Jam out to some music that you need. Maybe you need a lot of beats, or maybe you need to chill out in the jazz café.    

10. Pray a Family Rosary.

    Hope is easy to lose track of when you live in isolation. The fullest house can feel empty when family members don't interact. Even one decade together as a family can have a tremendous impact on your sense of connection and renewed hope!
    
    

Copyright 2020 Jason Weirich; edited by Family Rosary