Along with Faith and Charity, Hope is one of the cardinal theological virtues of the Christian religion. However, hope without deeds rarely fills the tank.
Without action, hope is merely a drug that helps you avoid reality. It is a soporific that delays your ability to take concrete action. Hope is great, but it’s no substitute for hard work.
Do you hope your writing will get better or do you study and work at it? Do you hope to create a regular writing routine or do you make a commitment and stick to it? Do you hope to find an audience or put your work out into the world? Do you hope to get the plans for the Death Star or do you assemble a ragtag teams of rebel misfits to raid the Imperial databanks on Scarif?
This is another of my posts in which the “you” I address is the you in the mirror.
Do you hope to finish your novel by mid-2024 or are you going to? Do you hope to cultivate a group of writing peers or are you going to talk to people and invite them in? Do you hope to find a professional editor for your finished draft or are you going to make a plan, conduct some interviews, and actually budget for it?
Fortunately, that guy in the mirror isn’t a hopeless case. I didn’t hope to post a new blog entry every day this year. I made a plan and I did it. That’s something I’ve wanted to do for years. That’s an accomplishment.
Hope is a wonderful feeling, but be sure to put the hard work first in line.