30 Days of Motivation: The Power of Hope

Quote of the Day: “I lift to be stronger. I run to be leaner. I eat to be healthier. It’s not a matter of IF, but only a matter of WHEN.”

Scripture of the Day: Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout. Psalms 27:14

Today’s motivational blog is is Part 2 of yesterday’s Motivational Post: “How to Find Strength“. Today we are going to talk about the importance of hope.

“Belief and expectation — the key elements of hope — can block pain by releasing the brain’s endorphins and enkephalins, mimicking the effects of morphine. In some cases, hope can also have important effects on fundamental physiological processes like respiration, circulation and motor function.“

We underestimate the power of hope. If today’s scripture seem familiar, it should. It is the same scripture I used yesterday. Yesterday we just looked at the first half of the version. It may look different today, but only because the above verse is the Amplified version. You see, the English language doesn’t do the original text justice. For instance, scripture may use the word “love”, but the original text would have a word that better explained the exact type of love. I love pizza, but I love Steve a lot more. Those two meanings of love are very different and the original language would actually have a different word for each of those meanings. But, all we get in English is “love”. The Amplified Bible uses more English words to explain the original text better. It will never different than the original, it will just be a little more descriptive. With that said, let’s look at the text again and see all the goody in each word.

Wait in Expectation

We are to wait in anticipation of success – or in one word, “hope”. The Amplified version says “Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout (strong, firm, determined) and enduring.” Yes, wait for and hope for and expect success with a mindset to endure, to be ready for anything, and to already have in your mind you will continue pressing on no matter what.

Endurance and perseverance requires hope. Without hope we have nothing – we have no drive, no purpose. In fitness, our hope is in results. Our hope is in the knowledge that weight loss and fitness is just science and it WILL pay off as long as you are doing everything right and you don’t give up. It’s that hope in the facts (the truth) that helps you stay strong, that helps you stand firm and endure.

My question for you right now is this. Do you have hope? Or, do you have doubts what you are doing will pay off? If you have doubt, then you either are doing something wrong and you know it, or you are not really giving it your all. You should have confidence in your program, your diet, your trainer and/or your plan.