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Like so many other people, I have a list of words that I try very hard not to use. For the most part, they’re easy to avoid. One word that takes more concentration than others on my list is “hope.” *

I’ve looked for synonyms, but none really satisfy the requirements of this single, simple word. So, I fall back on the good ole’ standby, “trust.” As in, “I trust you had a good time.”

But why do I avoid “hope?”

In my thoughts on anything, I try to always think positively. I want to manifest this and that and to do so requires a constant flow of positive thoughts. And “hope,” I’ve determined, is not as positive as I’d like it to be.

Let me try these statements on you.

sneeze“I hope you get that job.”

“I hope everything turns out alright for you and the kids with your divorce.”

“I hope you have a wonderful time.”

Or in the first-person tense:

“I hope I get that job.”

“I hope the biopsy test results are negative.”

“I hope I don’t get the flu.”

Or a big one for gamblers, “I hope I win the lottery!”

Do you see a pattern in all these statements?

Underlying each occurrence of hope is “doubt.” In fact, it’s hard to use hope without doubt creeping into the statement.

To say that “I hope I get that job” really means that there’s a part of me, my thoughts, that believes that there’s a chance I won’t get the job.

To say that “I hope the biopsy test results are negative” means that there’s a possibility that they could be positive, that the results could be anything less than good.

But why do I see doubt creep into “hope?”

Because when it’s used, there’s usually some underlying fear that exists. From that fear, doubt is born.

I may fear that there are certain skills I lack for that job I just applied for; therefore, there’s a piece of me, my thoughts, that believes I either don’t deserve that job, that I’m not qualified for it, that it’s too good to be true, or a host of other negative thoughts.

I may fear that the biopsy is positive because I “believe,” to even just a little extent, that it runs in my family so there’s a chance that it could be cancerous, that I will inherit this dreaded disease.

Thinking back to the times I used “hope” when I really wanted certain things to come to fruition, they rarely did. (I still haven’t won a lottery, though I am in good health.)

The reason why my past “hopes” didn’t become my reality is due to doubting.

If there’s the least bit of doubt, of negativity in our minds, then the mind tends to focus, to obsess, about that negativity. And what the mind focuses on, that reality is soon to follow.

It is my belief (not my hope), that in order to achieve something with absolute certainty, we have to remove all doubt; not just some or most, but all. We have to remove “hope.”

But we just can’t avoid saying the word hope. We have to truly believe in what we say or think. “I trust I’ll get that job” isn’t good enough if we don’t truly believe we will. We might as well use the word hope.

We have to truly believe the biopsy test results are going to be negative, regardless of our familial history. Otherwise, it’s just an exercise in semantics.

Keeping the mind on the positive thoughts about anything, focusing on the good outcome, will rid the negative thoughts that want to creep in.

pdishIf you find a negative thought enters your mind, yell at it to get out (no, really, yell at it), then turn your focus on the good.

I was working at a client’s place of business a few weeks ago when one of the employees came in complaining about having to work with the flu.

Red flags went up immediately.

I work for myself and cannot afford to be confined to the bed nursing a cold, flu or some other illness. But instead of thinking “I hope I don’t get the flu” (which was my initial, knee-jerk reaction), I focused on being healthy. I started thinking affirmations that revolved around the positive things of being healthy. Not once did I think “I will not get the flu” in my affirmations. Doing so would acknowledge that there was a possibility of getting the flu.

I didn’t spend the next few days wondering if I was coming down with the flu, either. To me, there was no doubt that I wasn’t going to get it (and I didn’t).

Try to use the word hope in a sentence and see if there’s any underlying doubt in it. If there is, then maybe a different word would do.

Don’t let doubt come into your thoughts about anything. Know what you want with certainty and it will be so. I’ve used this quote before from Napoleon Hill, which is appropriate here: What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

Belief, unwavering belief without any doubt, gets you there.

“I trust you’ll get that job.”

“I trust your health will improve.”

“I trust you will mend things with your daughter.”

For me there is no hope, only trust. I’m absolutely certain of it.

And for you, dear reader, I trust you will have a great weekend, in peacefulness and joy.

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Check out these resources:

Prentice Mulford: Thoughts are Things (PDF, epub, kindle. Free from Feedbooks.com)

Jeannette Maw: Pick a Reality, Any Reality (article, read online)

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* There may be a case where “hope” is an appropriate word to use, and you may come up with an example or two; however, I’ve yet to find one.

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