When Hope Is Lost, This May Help

Marianna Jaross

There is a saying in Hungarian around life and our journey throughout it “sometimes being on wheels, and sometimes on foot.’”

I like this, because it normalises the challenges we are inevitably going to experience.

This is not to say that we can’t be a victim to systems, or that we need to ignore when other people don’t treat us well.

Rather, this is about learning to move through the challenges, keeping the hope alive, and continuing to show up.

There are no guarantees, but if we keep showing up in our lives, we create the momentum for opportunities to find us; and for us to find and take action on opportunities when they arise.

Here is what may help:

1.) Acknowledge that things are hard, haven’t gone according to plan, and that you are experiencing pain.

If we deny the hardship, we stay stuck there; and the part of us that wants our pain to be heard will fester away in our psyche, and in our actions.

We have to learn to hold our pain, and not succumb to it; and this starts with acknowledging it is there in the first place.

2.) Give yourself time to look after yourself.

The way we show up in the micro can have an impact on other areas of our lives: When we meditate, eat well, move our bodies, and take action to look after ourselves; we send a message that care about ourselves, and that we are worth the effort.

These little behaviour activations can begin the upward spiral towards bigger things: Start small, and build from here.

3.) Give yourself both structure, and the freedom to explore.

Here is a framework that I can found helpful for myself to integrate daily:

- 3 things that soothe (eg. meditation, stretching, mindfully drinking a cup of coffee)

- 3 things that maintain (eg. going for a walk, cooking something healthy, communicating with someone I care about)

- 3 things that expand (eg. applying for the job that seems ambitious, putting out content that seems ‘left of centre,’ exploring a new interest area)

You may not see the results overnight: Rather, these steps can compound over time and shift our energy in a sustainable way, so that we can both face our challenges, and keep our hearts and our eyes open for what comes next.

© Marianna Jaross 2025

Please note: This article is independent of my professional associations and workplace(s).