Your Daily Dose of Hope

Latest Episodes:

3 Things That Grow Hope EP 60 Apr 10, 2025

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3 Things You Can Do to Foster Hope for Yourself

Hey there! I've been thinking about hope lately and how important it is for our wellbeing. When things get tough, having hope can be that little spark that keeps us going. We know that taking action is one of the best ways to keep hope alive so today I have three simple things you can do to foster hope for yourself when you're feeling a bit lost:

The Seasons of Hope EP 59 Apr 09, 2025

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Living where we have 4 distinct seasons has always been good for me. I like that things change. It marks the passing of time but it also brings appreciation and hope for the season passing and the new opportunities ahead.

I recently went to an event in an area of town I haven’t been to in a bit and on the way there I saw all these signals of spring. Trees are in bloom, there were daffodils and tulips blooming and all of that has happened in just the last week or so. It feels like overnight we’ve moved from winter to spring.

That got me thinking about seasons of hope and what they could look and feel like.

Let it Be Easy EP 58 Apr 08, 2025

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Let it be easy.

That's become a mantra for me lately. In my work and in my life. When I say easy, I don't mean without effort, but I do mean without struggle. I don't intend to do things the hard way but it can sometimes feel like it.

How often do we set up intentional hurdles? More than you might think.

Hurdles give us the psychological comfort of feeling like we're committed to change while actually protecting us from the discomfort of real transformation.

What if we let it be easy?

You can decide to do the one thing that moves you forward. I hope you'll give yourself permission to do the easy thing today.

Who Makes Your Heart Smile? EP 57 Apr 07, 2025

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Surround yourself with people who make your heart smile. Lewis Carroll

This was advice given to Alice in wonderland but turns out it's good advice for staying hopeful as well.

Membership matters.

We know that we're wired to be social, to live in tribes or now what we'd call families, genetic and chosen. In the US we're taught that rugged individualism is valued above collaboration and cooperation, but it real life, going it alone is not the best recipe for success or happiness.

I have a ton of evidence and I’m sure you do to. Can you look back on and see when you’ve had the support and encouragement of family and friends? I’ve also benefitted from the support from a teacher and in my sales career I had professional mentors that helped me. I've been able to accomplish more than I would have done on my own.

I’m not talking about dependency on others – I am talking about having some support. Think of it as a scaffold that helps you stay upright and capable of reaching for more.

Today we see all sorts of evidence that being lonely, not having people to turn to is not just sad, it's detrimental to our well-being.

Who makes your heart smile?

The Most Requested Leadership Trait and Daily Practice with Nancy Sheed EP 56 Apr 04, 2025

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In this special guest-hosted episode, Nancy Sheed steps in to reflect on how hope is emerging as a powerful force in leadership, media, and everyday life.

Drawing on recent conversations, events, and a Gallup poll showing hope as the most valued leadership trait, Nancy explores how hope isn’t just a feeling it’s a choice, a practice, and a form of resistance.

Along with her personal insights, Nancy invites you to consider how you’re cultivating and spreading hope in your own world.

Connect with

Nancy:

Website

How to Choose Hope Apr 03, 2025

Show notes

Choosing Hope

In the face of uncertainty, choosing hope is a powerful act of courage. It's not about blind optimism or denying life's challenges. Rather, it's a deliberate stance—a decision to believe that our actions matter and that better possibilities exist.

Hope is the quiet voice that whispers "try again" when everything seems lost. It's what pulls us forward when the path ahead is shrouded in fog. Unlike wishful thinking, true hope combines vision with action, dreams with determination.

The practice of choosing hope begins with small moments: noticing beauty amid chaos, extending kindness when it's easier to retreat, or taking one step forward when standing still feels safer. These choices compound over time, shaping not just our individual experiences but our collective future.

In a world that often emphasizes what divides us, choosing hope is a radical act of connection—to ourselves, to each other, and to a future worth creating together.

Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone EP 54 Apr 02, 2025

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We've all heard the maxim, get comfortable being uncomfortable. That bit of advice is usually given when we're facing something we don't want to do, or haven't ever done before or something we wish we could avoid completely.

It's essentially saying - get over your fear and do it anyway. Sound familiar? I get that it's meant to be encouraging but who wants to be uncomfortable? None of us do, especially if we have a choice.

I like what author Terri Trespecio says about comfort zones - The goal isn't to get OUT of your comfort zone, the goal is to expand it.

Growth is the goal, not more discomfort.

As a resource it is a game-changer in helping us expand our comfort zones. Hear how hope functions as a spark for growth.

Hope and Confidence EP 53 Apr 01, 2025

Show notes

Creating this podcast has helped me become a more confident writer and content creator. For a long time, I waited for those magical days when I felt confident and self-assured to sit down and create. That's when I'd really dive in allowing the ideas to bubble up.

I wanted to be able to sit down and write or record or create content (or create art too for that matter) no matter how confident I felt, or didn't feel. committing to publish the Daily Dose of Hope podcast every M-F meant I'd have to do this on a pretty regular basis, whether I was feeling confident and creative or not.

Now that I'm 50+ episodes in, here's what I've learned:

Committing to doing this feels good and the fact that I kept this promise to myself has made me even more confident in my ability to keep going - not less.

Confidence didn't make writing and recording possible, writing and recording made confidence possible.

Hope and Kindness: The Superpower We All Have EP 52 Mar 31, 2025

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Let's talk about something pretty amazing: how being kind can totally transform hope in our lives. I know, I know—it might sound a bit cheesy at first, but stick with me here.

Imagine kindness as this secret superpower we all carry around. It's not about grand, movie-hero moments, but those small, genuine connections that can totally change someone's day (and maybe even their entire outlook on life).

Think about the last time someone was unexpectedly kind to you. Remember that warm, fuzzy feeling? That's hope right there—pure and simple. It's like a tiny spark that says, "Hey, the world isn't such a bad place after all."

Here's the cool science-y part: when we're kind, our brains basically throw a little celebration. We release these awesome hormones that make us feel good, reduce stress, and make hope feel totally real. It's like our body's way of saying, "Yes! This human connection thing? It's pretty awesome!"

Patterns of Hope EP 51 Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

Our ability to recognize patterns is more than just a cognitive skill—it's a source of hope that helps us get through challenging moments. We are wired to seek meaning, to connect dots, and to find order within chaos, and it’s this capacity that also serves as a source of hope and optimism.

Pattern recognition is deeply embedded in our survival capacity. Our ancestors who could predict animal migrations, weather changes, and seasonal shifts were most likely to survive.

This same instinct now gives us the ability to see hope where others might see only randomness. We look for recurring themes in our experiences, searching for predictability and potential positive outcomes even in seemingly unpredictable situations.

Consider how hope itself is a form of pattern recognition. When we face difficulties, we don't just see isolated incidents but part of a bigger picture. We recognize that challenges have come before times when things go our way. That gives us a mental template and a reminder that our current struggles are temporary. This isn't mere wishful thinking—it's a cognitive process of contextualizing our experiences.

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