Tag Archives: hope

Giving up Too Soon

I might have to reexamine my rule about knowing when to quit an undertaking and move on to something more productive. In the past, I would give it my all and keep trying but, when I saw that I was banging my head against a stone wall, even after giving it my all, repeatedly, I thought that maybe I was supposed to be going in a different direction and I would stop what I was doing and regroup. My modus …

Nothing is Hopeless

Nothing is hopeless. No matter how often people or circumstances try to crush the human spirit, with the least little bit of hope it springs back to life. We see this trait in revolutionaries. No matter how tired they are and how hopeless their cause seems to be, when they see the smallest glimmer of hope, they reach inside of themselves for that extra burst of energy and that extra ounce of determination and continue fighting. We have seen people …

Do You Believe in Miracles?

I don’t think I have ever heard so many stories about miracles as I’ve heard in the last ten years. In fact, I could probably count them on one hand until recently. About forty years ago, a woman who had been diagnosed as completely paralyzed by every specialist in the county, and gone through every test available at the time, was the first time I witnessed a miracle. For all the years I knew her, she was dependent on her …

In My Opinion . . .

I have long held the belief that all clergymen, of all religions, male or female, should hold outside jobs and not be supported by their congregation. People are always saying that clergymen spend a lot of time going to hospitals and praying over, or with, the sick and the dying. They spend a lot of time writing their weekly sermons, counseling their congregants, and studying. All of which may or may not be true but it still isn’t reason enough …

Dealing With Disappointment

Disappointment depends on your expectations. I try to match my expectations of a client with his or her potential, but sometimes, when I see a great deal of potential, and the client doesn’t try to do anything with it, it’s disappointing. I’ve always maintained that if someone has the potential to do anything, I can bring it out of them. I can’t put the aptitude into them, but I can bring it out of them so, it’s disappointing when the …

Is Your Glass Half-Empty or Half-Full?

In a world of pessimists and optimists, we are always looking for explanations as to why some people walk around with a dark cloud over their head, expecting the worst, and why some people see the good in everything. Now, researchers claim they have the answer. In a very limited study, they found that there is a connection between pessimistic behavior and a particular gene called ADA2b. They say that people without a particular variant of it are unfailingly more …

Ask for What You Want

One of the most difficult things for someone to do is to ask for what he wants. Sometimes it’s for a pay raise or for a personal favor, or if you’re being bothered by what someone is doing, asking them to stop doing what they’re doing. One of my clients has a very hard time being direct so she thinks if she asks an indirect question that the other person will get the hint and do what she wants. One …

Unrealistic Expectations

Whether it’s in the business arena, or in your relationships, or of yourself, unrealistic expectations are the biggest causes of anxiety and unhappiness. Just think about all the times you have counted on doing something or having something and it has fallen through. It could be a date with someone you’ve set your sights on, or an employee you just hired to take the pressure off you. It could be someone you hired to remodel your house or it could …

Do You Believe in Affirmations?

When I first started studying the principles of metaphysics, I kept hearing about the power of affirmations. I looked around at the people who believed in them so strongly and I couldn’t see where the use of their affirmations had helped them. If my back hurt, it hurt, and no amount of affirmations that my back was healed, or that I was completely healthy, or that I lived in perfect health and wellbeing, made the pain go away. This was …

The Wonder of Anticipation

I wonder if a large part of the Christmas spirit isn’t the anticipation of the gifts they will be buying and receiving. For some, it’s the anticipation of giving gifts to loved ones and to people they will never meet, the recipients of charity. For others, it’s the anticipation of receiving something they have been wanting. If this feeling of anticipation is responsible for lifting the mood of people at Christmas, why couldn’t we use that same strategy for the …

Connie H. Deutsch