New Motto

Never get your hopes up.

It sounds so negative, doesn't it? Well, I don't mean it that way. I just mean don't get your hopes up. Don't get so worked up wishing for something that when it doesn't happen you get all sad and depressed. I can't count how many times I have been made sad because I got excited about something that, logically, I knew would never happen. So, because of this, I say never get your hopes up.

And here is where I run into a conundrum.

I don't mean to say never try for anything, but how do you try for anything and not get your hopes up? How do you simultaneously maintain both apathy and optimism? You can't. They are like faith and fear: they can't exist in the same place. Well...that is unfortunate. How can I keep from being made sad now?

You can't. Its part of life. We hope for things. We try for things. We fail at most, succeed at some. We hurt. We move on. And the moving on is what matters. It's what sets the happy people apart from the unhappy. Those who can't seem to find happiness have indulged in apathy and dwelling on their failures. Its a fact of life that we fail more often than not. But happiness isn't found by dwelling on the mistakes. If we can learn to look forward and keep on trying, we will find our spirits inexplicably lifted.

So, I guess my new motto will be "Keep your hopes up." Even though I know it won't always end up the way I hope, at least my journey through life will be more pleasant overall. And hope is a key factor that keeps it that way. So, keep your hopes up. Whatever your circumstances, keep your chin up and realize that one day, it will all work out like you're hoping.