Advertise on podcast: Your Daily Dose of Hope

Peter Shankman said, “Everyone in the world knows something you don’t.” I love that reminder. Especially when I’m comfortable in my routine, talking to the same people, going to the same places, and hearing ideas that sound a lot like my own. There’s nothing wrong with familiar. But there’s something hopeful about remembering how much we haven’t experienced yet. Someone you haven’t met could introduce you to a book you’ll love. Someone whose life looks very different from yours could help you understand something you’ve never had to consider. A conversation you almost skipped could leave you thinking about an old problem in a new way. We don’t have to enter every room with a goal. We can show up because we’re curious. Because other people have stories, interests, and experiences that deserve our attention. Maybe that looks like attending an event where you won’t know anyone. Taking a class simply because the subject interests you. Asking someone a question and giving them enough time to answer beyond the polite, expected response. Tell me more about that. How did you get interested in it? What has that been like for you? And then listening. Letting their answer take the conversation somewhere you couldn’t have planned. I think hope grows in those moments. Our world gets a little bigger. We discover an idea, a possibility, or a connection we didn’t know was available. It’s encouraging to remember that our own experience, as real and valuable as it is, isn’t the full picture. There’s more to learn. There are people we’ll be glad we met. There are things we may come to love that we haven’t even heard of yet. Today, give yourself a small opening for something unfamiliar. Say hello. Ask the next question. Try the thing you’ve been curious about. Everyone knows something you don’t. There’s a whole world of discovery in that. Peter's Substack Post https://petershankmanofficial.substack.com/p/stop-staring-at-my-badge-it-cant

Welcome to your Daily Dose of Hope. Looking forward to something is one of life’s pleasures. A visit. A vacation. A celebration. Even a quiet weekend with very little on the calendar. I love having something to look forward to. But today, I want to give a little attention to the day we already have. This one. The one with the appointments, the unanswered messages, the laundry, and whatever you were thinking about when you pressed play. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow isn’t here yet. Today is where we get to make a choice. And when I say, “What if we made today our best day?” I don’t mean we need to fit everything into it. That sounds exhausting. Maybe the best version of today includes a nap. Maybe it includes an honest conversation you’ve been avoiding. Maybe it means doing one important thing and letting a few less important things wait. What would help you feel good about how you lived this particular day? You could give someone your full attention. You could take care of something that’s been quietly bothering you. You could step outside, eat something you enjoy, or call the person you keep meaning to call. You could let a good moment last a little longer before reaching for your phone. None of those choices guarantee tomorrow will be easy. But they can give tomorrow a different starting point. A little less unfinished business. A little more connection. A body that’s had some rest. A small reminder that you can follow through on something that matters to you. And even if tomorrow arrives with challenges of its own, today will still have been worth your care. So take a moment and ask yourself: “What would make this a day I’m glad I paid attention to?” Choose something small enough to do. Then give it a place in the day you actually have. There is still life to enjoy here.

Welcome to your Daily Dose of Hope. Sometimes the thing keeping us stuck is an idea we’ve stopped questioning. “This is how it has to work.” “This is what success is supposed to look like.” “If I can’t do it this way, I guess I can’t do it.” We can become so focused on making one version happen that we forget to consider whether another version might work too. Maybe even work better for the life we have now. You wanted to host a big gathering, but you don’t have the energy. Could you invite two people for coffee? You want to stay connected with a friend, but finding an evening together feels impossible. Could you talk while you each take a walk? You have an idea for your business, but the full version feels overwhelming. Could you offer one useful piece of it and learn from there? Reimagining gives us something to work with. It lets us hold on to what matters while getting curious about the form it might take. That distinction is helpful. If what you want is connection, there are many ways to create it. If what you want is to contribute, there may be more than one place your contribution belongs. We do have real limits. Time, money, health, responsibilities. A different perspective doesn’t make those disappear. But sometimes we add an extra limit of our own: the belief that only one outcome will count. Today, think about something that feels stalled. Ask yourself, “What am I really hoping this will give me?” Then ask, “What else could give me some of that?” You don’t have to commit to a new plan immediately. Just let yourself imagine a few possibilities without dismissing them before they’ve had a chance. A smaller version. A slower version. A version with help. A version you haven’t considered yet. There may be more room to move than you thought. And discovering that room can be the beginning of hope.

Welcome to your Daily Dose of Hope. Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “Once I get through this, things will settle down”? Once this project is finished. Once the house is organized. Once the schedule changes. Once I finally get into a good routine. I’ve certainly done it. And sometimes, finishing something really does bring relief. There are demanding seasons we’re glad to see end. But I wonder how much of our lives we spend mentally reaching past the day we’re actually living. We’re getting somewhere. Fixing something. Working toward a goal. And we start treating all the days along the way as though they’re waiting-room time. The trouble is, those days make up a pretty large part of our lives. The process of making changes, caring for people, building a business, tending a home, or learning something new is where we spend our Tuesdays. If we keep saving our attention and enjoyment for the finish line, we miss a lot of Tuesdays. This makes me think about the routines we barely notice. The cup of coffee before the workday begins. The conversation while making dinner. The familiar route we walk. The little moment of satisfaction when we figure something out. They can seem insignificant next to the big thing we’re trying to accomplish. But they’re part of what makes a life feel like ours. So perhaps there’s room for a different question today. Along with “How do I get this finished?” we could ask, “How do I want to experience the time I’m spending on it?” Could you make the workspace more comfortable? Take a real break? Notice what you’re learning? Stop rushing through a conversation just because there’s another task waiting? You may still want to reach the goal. Keep going. Just give yourself permission to be here while you do. Your life deserves your attention along the way.

Welcome to your Daily Dose of Hope. We hear a lot about the pursuit of happiness. But today, I want to turn that around and think about the happiness of pursuit. The enjoyment that comes from having something you’re interested in. Something you’re learning. Something you want to try, even if you’re not especially good at it yet. Maybe you’re growing tomatoes. Learning to paint. Training for a walk. Starting a business. Figuring out how to make really good bread. There’s an outcome you’d like, certainly. You’d enjoy the tomatoes. You’d like the bread to rise. You hope the business succeeds. But there’s also something happening while you’re doing it. You’re paying attention. You’re asking questions. You’re noticing that something which confused you last week makes a little more sense today. You have a reason to be curious about what comes next. That can bring a lot of happiness into an ordinary day. Sometimes we talk ourselves out of pursuing something because we can’t justify where it will lead. “What am I going to do with this?” “Will I ever be good enough?” “Is this really worth my time?” Those can be useful questions. But they aren’t the only questions. You could also ask, “Do I enjoy this? Does it give me something to look forward to? Do I like who I am when I’m doing it?” The outcome matters, especially when other people are counting on us or there are bills to pay. Still, the outcome doesn’t have to hold all the value. You can have an unsuccessful garden and a summer full of pleasure tending it. You can make something imperfect and feel proud that you made it. You can follow an interest without turning it into a business, a credential, or a major accomplishment. So what would you enjoy pursuing? Something that gives your curiosity a place to go. Something you’d be happy to spend a little time doing today. You don’t have to know exactly where it will lead before you begin. There may be happiness available in the doing.

Welcome to your Daily Dose of Hope. Here’s a thought I want to offer you today: You don’t have to care less. You get to carry less. There may be something weighing on you right now that matters deeply to you. Someone you love is struggling. A decision is being made that affects your future. Something is happening in your community or in the world that you wish you could change. You care. Of course you care. And for now, there may be very little you can do. That’s an uncomfortable place to be. Sometimes we respond by thinking about it constantly, checking for updates, imagining conversations, or trying to prepare for every possible outcome. It feels like we’re doing something. But after a while, we’re exhausted, and the situation hasn’t changed. I think we sometimes confuse how much we carry with how much we care. As though setting something down for the afternoon means it no longer matters to us. You can love someone and get a good night’s sleep. You can be concerned about a situation and enjoy your lunch. You can wait for an answer without spending every available minute rehearsing what that answer might be. Your concern doesn’t need constant attention to remain real. A helpful question might be: “Is there something useful for me to do about this today?”

Welcome to your Daily Dose of Hope. There’s something lovely about doing something kind and letting that be the whole story. No announcement. No explanation. No waiting to hear how much it meant. Just making someone’s day a little easier because you can. Maybe it’s returning the shopping cart someone left near a parking space. Maybe it’s picking up the trash you notice on your walk. Maybe it’s leaving a generous tip without hanging around to see the reaction. Or maybe someone will know it was you, but they’ll never know all the thought behind it. You drop off dinner for a friend who’s been sick. You choose something their kids will eat, include paper plates, and send a message that says, “Dinner is on your porch. No need to answer the door or text me back.” You’ve taken care of dinner and given them permission to receive it without having to host, explain, or reassure you. I love that kind of kindness. The kind that pays attention to what would actually help. And sometimes, we never find out whether our small gesture mattered. We don’t see the person’s shoulders relax. We don’t hear them say, “I needed one thing to be easy today.” We don’t know that our kindness interrupted a very difficult afternoon. But we can let it count anyway. We’re used to getting feedback. We send a message and look for a reply. We share something and notice who responds. It can take a little practice to do something good and release the need to know what happened next. So here’s an invitation for today: do one kind thing that doesn’t require anything in return. If you know the person, think about what would lighten their load. If you don’t, simply leave a little more care in a place you’ve passed through. Somebody may benefit from it and never know your name. And you’ll get to move through the rest of your day knowing you made room for a little more goodness. That’s a hopeful way to live.

October is an interesting time to look at the goals we set in January. Some might be coming along nicely. Some might be sitting on a list we haven’t looked at in months. And some might make us think, “Do I even want that anymore?” I think all of those answers give us useful information. One of the ideas I appreciate from James Clear’s Atomic Habits is paying attention to the systems and habits that support what we want to accomplish. A goal gives us a direction. But we also need a way to move toward it that works in our actual lives. So it helps to ask, “Is what I’m doing moving me in the direction I want to go?”“You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.” James Clear That’s a little different from expecting a visible improvement every single day. Sometimes progress is practicing. Sometimes it’s learning what doesn’t work. Sometimes it’s resting enough that you can keep going tomorrow. If your process is helping, give it time. You may need more repetition before the results are easy to see. But if you keep feeling stuck, get curious. Is the next step clear? Have you made room for it? Does it depend on a level of time or energy you rarely have? Maybe the plan needs to be simpler. Maybe you need help. Or maybe the goal that fit your life in January doesn’t fit quite as well in October. You’re allowed to take that information seriously. Today, choose one goal and look at the process behind it. What’s working? What keeps getting in the way? What’s one adjustment that would make it easier to continue? You don’t have to spend the rest of the year trying to catch up with a plan that needs updating. You can make a better plan from where you are. Progress is inevitable when we intentionally put focused action in place.  That’s a hopeful thing to remember: we can pay attention, make adjustments and keep moving toward what matters to us now. What direction are you headed?

Autumn is here in all its multicolor glory, and I have to talk about it because it’s my favorite. I love watching the trees change. I love those days when the air feels cool and the sunshine is still warm. And I like that we call this a season of harvest. It’s such a useful reminder that what we do today has something to do with what becomes possible tomorrow. When you plant something, you don’t expect a harvest the next morning. You water it. You pay attention. You give it time. Some days there’s visible growth. Other days, you’re mostly trusting that something is happening. A lot of life feels like that. You reach out to a friend. You practice a skill. You take care of your health. You spend a little time on something that matters to you. One action might seem small. But repeated attention can give those things a chance to grow. Of course, gardens also remind us that effort doesn’t control everything. Weather happens. Plants struggle. Sometimes the rabbits get there before you do. We can make good choices and still have outcomes we didn’t expect. So I don’t think of harvest as a guarantee. I think of it as an invitation to notice what we’re tending. What are you giving your time and attention to right now? Is it something you want more of in the months ahead? And while you’re thinking about that, take a moment to notice what has already grown. Maybe a relationship feels stronger. Maybe something is easier because you’ve practiced. Maybe you’re enjoying a change you made months ago and have almost forgotten to appreciate. Let yourself enjoy that harvest. Then choose one thing you’d like to keep tending. A little attention today can be a hopeful investment into what your tomorrow will be.

When you were eight, what did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut? A ballerina? A veterinarian? And how closely does your life today resemble that plan? Probably not very closely. We don’t usually question that. Of course our ideas changed. We learned more about the world and about ourselves. But somewhere along the way, we can start expecting our choices to become permanent. We chose this work, so we should keep doing it. We’ve always been the person who organizes everything, so we should continue. We wanted something five years ago, so we should still want it now. Even when our lives have changed. I like to think about this as changing seats on the ride we’re taking. From one seat, you have a particular view. You see certain possibilities. You notice certain things. Then you move, and the view changes. Something that seemed essential may matter less. Something you barely noticed before may become a priority. Sometimes even the destination changes. That can feel unsettling, especially when other people are used to the choices you’ve made. You might need time to explain it. You might need time to understand it yourself. You can appreciate what a season gave you and still recognize that you’re ready for something different. Maybe you want a different kind of work. Maybe you want more time at home. Maybe you’re ready to learn something, meet new people or stop doing something you’ve outgrown. You don’t have to decide all of that today. But you can notice where you’re trying to make an old choice fit a life that has changed. Give yourself permission to be curious about another view. A hopeful life has room for growth, surprises and new decisions. You’re still on the ride. And it’s okay to change seats and choose a new view.

Isn’t it interesting how quickly we can remember something that went wrong? An awkward conversation from years ago can show up with remarkable detail. Meanwhile, something we handled well last week barely gets a mention. When we’re facing something unfamiliar, those memories can make us question ourselves. What if I mess this up? What if I can’t do it? What if it’s harder than I think? Our minds are pretty good at calling our attention to potential problems. That can be helpful. But a possible problem doesn’t tell the whole story of what we’re capable of. That’s why I like the idea of keeping a book of evidence. It doesn’t have to be an actual book. It could be a note on your phone, a folder of kind emails or a page in your journal. Somewhere you keep reminders of things you’ve done, learned and worked through. You handled a difficult conversation. You asked for help. You figured out a piece of technology that frustrated you. You kept a promise to yourself. You started again after a disappointing day. Put those things on the list. Include the ordinary ones too. We tend to dismiss something once we know how to do it, forgetting there was a time when it felt unfamiliar. This is especially helpful when you’re putting in the reps and progress feels slow. You have evidence that you’re showing up. Evidence that you know more than you did. Evidence that an uncomfortable first attempt doesn’t have to be the final result. The list won’t guarantee that everything ahead will be easy. But it can help you remember that you have experience to draw from. So today, write down three things you’ve handled that once felt difficult. The next time you catch yourself thinking, “I don’t know if I can do this,” take a look. You may still need practice or support. And you may also have more to work with than you’re giving yourself credit for. Let that be a little evidence for hope.

I recently saw someone use the acronym WIN to mean “What’s important now?” I liked that immediately. It reminded me of a friend who used to say, “Keep the main thing the main thing.” Simple advice. Also surprisingly easy to forget when you’ve got a full calendar, a long list and several people who need something from you. There are days when I can stay busy from morning until evening and still feel like I never got to the thing that mattered most. I answered questions. Took care of little details. Handled whatever showed up. All of those things might have needed doing. But my attention went to what was in front of me, without much thought about what was most important. “What’s important now?” gives me a way to pause. And the word now matters. What’s important this morning might be different from what’s important this afternoon. A deadline might need your attention first. Later, the main thing might be listening to someone you love or giving yourself time to rest. This doesn’t have to be another way to squeeze more work into the day. Sometimes the answer is lunch. Sometimes it’s the appointment you’ve been putting off. Sometimes it’s finishing one task so you can stop carrying it around in your head. We can do lots of things. We just can’t give all of them our full attention at the same time. So today, try asking yourself, “What’s important now?” Choose one answer. Then give that thing a little room. You might need to put your phone down, close a few tabs or let something else wait. And when you finish, you can ask again. There’s something hopeful about remembering that you don’t have to solve the whole day at once. You can take care of what matters in this part of it.

Have you ever told yourself, “I’ll do it when I feel ready”? I certainly have. And sometimes there are good reasons to wait. We need information, resources or a little room in the schedule. But sometimes “I’m not ready” means something more like, “I’d really like to know this is going to work before I try it.” Wouldn’t that be nice? To feel confident before the first attempt. To know exactly what to say before the conversation. To have the whole plan figured out before taking the first step. Except so often, ready comes after we start. Think about learning something new. You can watch the videos, read the instructions and ask someone to explain it. Those things help. But there’s a different kind of understanding that only shows up when you actually try. You discover which questions you need to ask. You figure out what’s easier than you expected and what needs a little more practice. Clarity works that way too. Sometimes I can think about a project for days and still feel unsure. Then I start writing or talking it through, and suddenly there’s something to work with. The first attempt gives me information that thinking alone couldn’t provide. And inspiration? Sometimes it shows up once we’re already doing the work. So today, if you’ve been waiting to feel ready, consider making the first step smaller. You don’t have to launch the whole thing. Open the document. Make the call. Try it for ten minutes. Give yourself something to respond to. You’re allowed to begin with questions. You’re allowed to learn as you go. Maybe you won’t feel completely ready afterward either. But you’ll know a little more, and the next step may feel a little less intimidating. That’s enough to begin building hope. One small, imperfect start at a time.

Welcome to your Daily Dose of Hope. I’m Phyllis Nichols. Recently, I was working at a coffee shop, and there were people on either side of me who were clearly on first dates. Apparently, Sunday morning coffee is a popular way to meet someone. Both couples were talking loudly enough that I could hear them. Sometimes they got pretty animated. I eventually put my earbuds in so I could concentrate, but before I did, I noticed something. They were sharing little pieces of their lives, hoping to find common ground. Where they grew up. What they liked to do. Places they’d been. Things they enjoyed. They were listening for that moment when they could say, “Oh, me too!” And I thought, that’s a pretty good idea for the rest of us. We live in a world where our differences can feel very loud. And some of those differences are significant. We don’t all see things the same way, and we’re not going to agree on everything. But I wonder how often we approach someone already thinking about where we’ll disagree. What might we learn if we got curious first? What do they enjoy? Who matters to them? What are they looking forward to? What’s something they’ve been working on? Those questions give us a chance to meet the person in front of us. Finding common ground doesn’t require us to set aside what we believe. We can care deeply about something and still be interested in another person’s life. And we don’t have to force a connection. Sometimes a conversation stays brief. Sometimes we discover that we share a love of gardening, or that we both have an aunt who sends handwritten cards. It’s a small place to begin. I think those small places matter. They make it a little easier to keep listening. To be thoughtful. To remember that there’s more to someone than the one thing we know we disagree about. Today, try asking a question you’d actually like to hear the answer to. Give someone a little room to tell you who they are. You might find an “Oh, me too” of your own. And that’s a hopeful place to start.

Welcome to your Daily Dose of Hope. I’m Phyllis Nichols. A former business coach of mine used to say he could look at someone’s calendar and tell exactly what was important to them. They might say their family or their health mattered most. But he said their calendar often told a different story. I understand the point he was making, although I don’t think our calendars tell the whole story. Your daily walk might not be on there. Dinner with your family might not be either. And sometimes our schedules are full of responsibilities we didn’t choose and can’t simply set aside. So this isn’t an invitation to judge yourself by your calendar. But it did get me thinking about something useful. When I say I want more of something in my life, am I giving it any room? More time with friends. More rest. More creativity. More time outside. Those are lovely things to want. But if I keep waiting until everything else is finished, I might be waiting a very long time. There will always be another email. Another household task. Another thing that would be good to get done. Meanwhile, the things I say matter to me can keep getting pushed to next week. I think it helps to get specific. If I want more time with friends, who do I want to see? When could I invite them? If I want more rest, what could I stop doing a little earlier tonight? If I want time to read, could I sit down with my book for ten minutes instead of picking up my phone? We don’t always need a big change. Sometimes we need to give one important thing an actual place in our day. And yes, sometimes that means putting it on the calendar. Other times, it means making a small decision and following through. What have you been asking for more of lately? Choose one thing. Then think about what making room for it would look like this week, with the life and responsibilities you actually have. You don’t have to overhaul everything to begin. A little time spent on something that matters to you can remind you that your life has room for you, too.