Never Lose Hope

There are no guarantees or promises in life. We never know what is next; it is all a guessing game. One minute you are on top of the world, rising above all else. The next, you are at the bottom, struggling to pick yourself up. Life is tough. It is no secret that you will stumble and fall down. Everything changes. Life is full of change and to exist, it is inevitable. If there is one thing I want you to remember it is this: Never lose hope. Life is going to try and push you into many directions and it is normal to want to go down in the hole if you feel defeated. But your strength is not going to be measured by the impact of all your hardships in life, but the refusal to allow these hardships to dictate who you become. You and you alone are responsible for your own life; nothing else is or ever can be.

In the dictionary, hope is defined as, “the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.” If you want something in your life, I think you have to believe in yourself, even when nobody else does. What I have learned through business school and in life, is that sometimes it is failure that will push you harder and farther than success ever can. Sometimes, it is not the happy moments and accomplishments that explain how a person got to be where and who they are. Sometimes, I think it’s the things they tried to do and couldn’t do. The things they’re still struggling to do. If you read biographies of some of the most accomplished individuals, you will find that they had a desire for change, for something to happen. They faced obstacles and challenges and instead of staying where they were and being frustrated with the circumstances, they took a risk and believed in themselves. These are the ones that have known defeat, known struggle, known loss, but somehow found their way. This does not just happen. You have to be willing to fight against the odds and not be shackled by fear or insecurity or doubt.

Never losing hope can be applied to almost any aspect of your life. Whether it’s getting accepted into University, finding a job, finding yourself, or waiting for a better day to come. This is when you find out exactly what you are made of, what you’re capable of. If life did not test us, how would we ever be able to define our character? You may fail more often than you win and it’s up to you to overcome the difficult, the mean, the unfair. Do not let difficulties cripple your life. Whatever you want to accomplish, no matter how many doubts you hear, do it. A diagnosis cannot stop you. It may slow you down, but you can do this, do it for yourself. Prove it to yourself. See where it takes you. What’s inside of you cannot be stopped. Don’t lose hope in yourself.

Ivana was born in Sanski Most, Bosnia & Herzegovina but moved to Canada at the age of 3. She was diagnosed with LGMD a few years ago and it has forever changed her life.  She is a regular contributor and her blogs will be everything she has learned along the way and what she continues to learn today.