Often is said, “Hope is not a strategy.”
And for many in healthcare — a world driven by science, evidence, and action — this is logical, makes sense.
That said, my philosophy had always been, “Hope may not be a strategy — it is far more important. Hope is the foundation for All.”
Hope is what gets us up in the morning — especially in healthcare and especially during times of crisis.
We are moved to act by the Hope that we will make a difference.
We act decisively with the firm Hope that we will make things better.
We push ourselves beyond our limits enlivened by the Hope that we will save a life, a soul, a community.
Without Hope it doesn’t matter if we have the soundest strategy, the soundest system.
Without Hope people won’t be present, people won’t be inspired, people will not take loving right-action when times are tough, and we will not achieve betterment for others.
Now let’s expand further:
When we bring Hope together with Faith — we instill Courage (the root word for courage is couer (heart)) — and we move into right-action.
And here is why…
At the heart of Faith is conviction. It is an inherent truth we feel in our hearts and in our souls. It is an innate belief that even if something seems to make no sense cognitively, with Faith and Hope and Courage we will proceed to transcend the hopeless, we impact, and make a difference for others.
Hopelessness leads to the inaction of despondency and doubt. When we think things are truly hopeless, we do not act – because no specific action makes any sense. Hope and Faith leads to acts of inner strength against the hopelessness of stagnation and with Courage in the mix overcomes paralyzing fear.
Sometimes Faith and Hope are all we have, and as leaders and as people on the front lines of healthcare, we must leverage each to inspire our teams, our patients and their families, and our communities who are often scared, who are hurting, who truly need us.
Now add to this, dating back to the years I was blessed to work in military healthcare, insights from The United States Army War College:
🎖 “…we would do well to remember that when it comes down to it, hope is not just a strategy; it is the only strategy … it should spur us to action …”
And
🎖 “Hope as a strategy builds trust, inspires solutions to wicked problems, and helps us learn from our failures.”
And thus my thinking has evolved — Hope is our Foundation AND Hope is in fact a Strategy.
So, let’s Hope (and have Faith and share Love), and as my friends Tom and Kat Hansen brilliantly role-model, add Courage, and build a strategic foundation for the betterment of All.
Together
“…we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame…”
– Romans 5:3-5
🙏🏼 ❤️ 🙏🏼
And be sure to check out Tom and Kat’s terrific book:
“Hope and Courage: Six Life Lessons from the Parents of a Child with Congenital Heart Disease”
https://lnkd.in/eu6MpuVS
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
– Jeremiah 29:11
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