Do you remember the myth of Pandora’s box?
If not, here’s a quick recap: Pandora received a beautiful box as a gift from the Greek god
Zeus. She was told by Zeus never to open the box which unfortunately she did.
The box contained diseases and evils which Pandora unwittingly released. Hope alone was left at the bottom of the box. In the common interpretation of the myth, hope was given to humans as a blessing to offset the miseries Pandora had freed.
What is hope anyway? A belief life can be different? A desire for change?
I believe hope is both belief and desire and more. Hope must also include taking action.
Sitting in a chair wishing things were different, expecting life to magically change or waiting to be rescued is not hope. If a change in your life is important to you, there must be desire and action.
As a fitness professional, I assess not only for physical movements, medical history, past and current injuries but assess also for emotional beliefs and strengths.
Clients’ sense of hope is one of the strengths I screen for.
Are you surprised?
To be clear, I am not acting as a therapist when I assess clients’ emotional strengths.
Personal training is guiding clients through a well designed exercise program AND it’s about
getting to know clients’ unique personalities and figuring out what makes them tick.
Clients’ thinking and mindset affect their readiness for change and ability to change. Limiting beliefs can derail the best intentions. Knowing clients’ emotional strengths can help them navigate difficult times whether that’s family demands, job issues, illnesses/injuries or other life challenges.
Rather than specifically discussing hope, I ask clients about previous successes. If clients share a number of previous successes, they most likely have a strong sense of hope-they are capable of future change because they’ve changed things in their past.
If clients can’t think of any successes or share a number of situations where they felt defeated, hope can be elusive.
For those clients, I search for a small action step they can accomplish now, to provide them an immediate sense of success.
If clients feel successful at something (anything), it’s easier to take the next small step.
In general success begets success.
I am always considering how much to challenge clients. Asking clients to stretch beyond what they believe is possible is a gamble on my part.
If I ask too much, and clients don’t feel successful with the exercise, they may feel frustrated. If
this scenario happens too often, their lack of success could lead to more negativity including
fear of trying more difficult exercises or worse giving up.
Without appropriate challenges, their physical abilities and their hope/belief in themselves do not grow.
Challenging them appropriately helps motivation, increases their self-confidence and creates
momentum. Clients’ continued success with challenging exercises not only builds physical
strength but also builds their belief in themselves. Over time they learn they are strong enough
and have effective skills to change. Success fuels growth and hope they can reach their goals.
What about you? How do you define hope? And where is hope at play in your life?