Moving and Sweating

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" says Esperanza, embarrassed by her tardiness. She rushes into the dance studio, where a dozen Zumba students are waiting for her. When she reaches the platform at the front of the room, she pulls her phone from her backpack, opens the Spotify app, and searches for her Reggaeton playlist. A few seconds later, Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina" arrives via Bluetooth at the room's surround sound system, and everyone surrenders to the Latin rhythms.

Esperanza is about to turn 33. She's petite, lean, and fit. A purple velvet scrunchie holds her long golden blond hair back in a ponytail. And now that she's not wearing glasses, her bright green eyes can be seen from a mile away. She's dressed in black leggings that keep her muscles warm while allowing her to move freely. On top of her black sports bra is a loose-fitting pink tank top. And she has a pair of lightweight sneakers on her feet, which allow her to jump, pivot, and slide with ease. Her look is completed with a black and white plaid flannel shirt wrapped around her waist.

Dancing is Esperanza’s passion, but unfortunately, it doesn’t pay the bills. This is especially stressful for a single mother of three who has to provide food for her children. Although she works a few part-time jobs here and there to make ends meet, she frequently struggles to cover the family's most basic expenses. "Remain positive, and things will improve," her mother frequently tells her. "You need to visualize yourself with a lot of money," her sister advises. "What you have to do is keep telling yourself that you're wealthy, and you'll be wealthy soon enough," her best friend argues. But something deep inside Esperanza tells her that wishing will not suffice. "I know they're all well-meaning, but what I need isn't blind faith, wishful thinking, or hollow optimism," Esperanza thinks to herself as she shakes her hips to the music. "What I need is hope, real hope that I can carve out a better future for myself. And to do that, I’ll need to get moving," she concludes.

Hope is frequently misunderstood. We usually think of it as a synonym for wanting, wishing, or desiring. But we're mistaken. Wanting is simply the yearning to possess a thing or perform an activity. To wish is to fantasize about something, even if it has little or no chance of coming true. And desire is similar in that it’s simply a mental construct of an ideal situation, often stretching into the past or focusing on the present. Above all, they’re all passive ways of thinking. Hope, on the other hand, requires action and engagement in order to achieve something in the future. It entails not only a desire but also our determination to make things happen. This belief is what drives us to fight and change our circumstances. To hope means to be able to devise specific strategies for achieving our goals, act on them, and maintain motivation over time.

Hope provides us with benefits that wanting, wishing, and desiring cannot. According to Positive Psychology, it’s significantly correlated with improved physical and psychological well-being, self-esteem, and enhanced interpersonal relationships. Individuals who have a high level of hope are more likely to see stressful situations as challenges rather than threats; this then protects them from developing chronic anxiety and depression. Moreover, hopeful people have more control over how they pursue goals and are intrinsically determined to find multiple paths to success. Finally, hope is a motivator that aids in initiating and maintaining action toward long-term targets, including the management of obstacles that obstruct goal attainment.

In Making Hope Happen, Shane Lopez observes that hopeful people share four core beliefs that guide their approach to any challenge: first, that their future will be better than their present; second, that they have the power to make it so; third, that there are many paths to their goals; and fourth; that none of them are without obstacles. They also understand that these beliefs are meaningless unless they are translated into action. This means that hope is born moment by moment as a result of their deliberate choices. It occurs when they use their thoughts and feelings to temper their fear and actively pursue what’s possible.

Lopez suggests a three-step process for cultivating hope through action. First, by making our goals come alive. To maintain our excitement and momentum, we should take mental trips into the future, imagining ourselves in our desired scenario. Setting SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) is an effective way to translate these journeys into actionable steps. Second, by putting agency on autopilot. We’re primed to adopt other people's goals when we are exposed to them. We should associate with people who share our goals in order to increase our focus and motivation. And third, by discovering new pathways. Creating alternatives to do more of what we do best can reveal many paths to our goals, not just the ones we originally envisioned.

It's equally important to discuss the development of hope as it is to identify potential hope killers. According to C.R. Snyder in The Psychology of Hope, the death of hope occurs when our goal-oriented thinking deteriorates to the level of vegetable indifference. When this happens, we’re left with a relatively long-term mental lack of interest in life goals. When we face significant obstacles to our goals, we experience rage. However, we cannot sustain the heightened cognitive and emotional experience of rage indefinitely. If the impediments persist despite our best efforts, rage may give way to despair. In contrast to rage, which implies that we are still fighting the perceived obstacles to our goals, despair reflects a surrender to them. Eventually, an extinction process may occur, and we may no longer regard the previously desired goals as tenable. When this happens, despair gives way to apathy. Willpower dwindles and thoughts about the goal itself fade.

Before we conclude, it’s worth noting that the manner in which we embrace hope will undoubtedly inspire others to persevere in the face of adversity and strive for a better future. According to Forbes, by leading with hope, we can inspire creativity, innovation, and resilience, as well as help people believe in themselves and their mission even when the odds are stacked against them. It suggests eight ways to do this, three of which I will highlight. To begin, show integrity, authenticity, and honesty. Consistently adhering to a good moral and ethical code and living our values contribute to what makes good leaders memorable. Second, cultivate humility. We must take a genuine interest in people’s lives and learn what matters to them, what motivates them during difficult times, and what assistance they require from us. Owning our mistakes and being vulnerable will also go a long way toward making others want to follow us. Third, develop a growth mindset. This is about viewing every situation as a chance to learn and grow. Part of this entails ensuring that others see how we learn from the past.

It's been two years since Esperanza had her epiphany. She's now standing on a platform in front of a room, but this one is very different from the dance studio. She's dressed in black again, but instead of tight-fitting sportswear, she's wearing a gown. And her hair is once again pulled back, but this time by a pristine cap rather than a worn-out scrunchie. Esperanza is about to graduate from university with a bachelor's degree in business administration, and she couldn't be more excited about it. Her destiny changed the day she understood that hope needs to come along with action for goals to materialize. She not only believed in a brighter future, but she also recognized that she possesses the ability to make it a reality. She established clear goals for herself, acted quickly to find alternate paths when obstacles arose and surrounded herself with supportive people who kept her motivated. Most importantly, she never let exhaustion, frustration, or anger deter her from her objectives.

"Welcome to the 2023 graduation ceremony," the university dean says. "Before we proceed with the awards, I would like to invite to the stage the class president who will deliver an inspirational keynote address. She's not only one of our most outstanding students but also a pillar of her family and the successful owner of the city’s hottest fitness chain," he adds. Among the many cheering guests, three pairs of little green eyes look expectantly at whom they recognize as Mom. They don't realize it yet, but the way she embraced hope will inspire them for the rest of their lives.

"Esperanza, the floor is yours," the dean adds, and she steps onto the stage. She adjusts the microphone, clears her throat, and smiles at her kids. She then proceeds with the following opening lines: "Hope is a friend, a friend who keeps us company in our darkest hours. It gives us a sense of calm and assurance that everything will be fine. A true friend, however, is one who not only makes us feel good but also keeps us going in the face of adversity. Real hope accomplishes this. Real hope pushes us to act, commit, and engage. Real hope gives us the courage to fight, to change things, and to achieve our goals. Real hope keeps us going, motivated, and ambitious. But make no mistake...real hope needs to find us moving and sweating."

Author: Esteban Polidura, CFA. June 3, 2023.

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If you enjoyed this article, please check out 5 Minute Inspiration. This book contains over 50 short essays to help you transform your life. A must-have for the entire family to enjoy at any time. Versión en español también disponible.       

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