Goal

Today, we discuss hope and why collectivists hate it. Then, we will delve into why they will attack you for daring to hope.

Table of Contents

What Is Hope?

hope | Woman cheering

Hope comes from being your best self by building a future worth admiring.

“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” – Anne Frank

Hope is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”

For example, if you save money today, you can hope to buy a house in the future. By saving money now, you are creating the rational expectation of having enough money for homeownership.

Hope is earned. It is rooted in rational expectations built on the virtuous actions of today. The more virtuous and sustainable your actions are, the more hope you can have in a better future.

Weak Individuals Will Hate The Hope You’ve Earned

weak individuals | sad man in room

Weak individuals cannot improve themselves. They do not have the strength needed to build a better future. Thus, they have nothing to hope for.

Hope is dependant on virtue. Virtue is moral excellence achieved through challenging and sustainable actions.

Remember, virtue is earned. For example, if you want to save up money for a home, then you have to make a budget, spend less money on immediate comforts, and smartly invest what you have towards your long-term goals. None of these activities are automatic, simple, or easy. These activities require mental and physical effort, an effort which weak individuals do not wish to give.

However, weak individuals prefer a comfortable life of cheap thrills, meaningless relationships, and constant consumption. Such a comfortable lifestyle is incompatible with virtue.

Thus, they cannot earn hope. Their pursuit of fleeting comforts does not build a worthwhile future one can anticipate. Why? Because they waste their resources in service of today instead of investing in a future worth wanting.

Lastly, weak individuals will see you enjoying the sustainable comforts you’ve worked for. Or, they will see you hoping for the future you are building. Will these weak individuals change what they are doing? No, they will attack you because attacking externally is easier than improving internally.

Weak Individuals Will Always Seek To Destroy Hope

always attacked | fencing match

You will always be attacked. Thus, mentally prepare yourself for the inevitable.

“Strange as it may seem, I still hope for the best, even though the best, like an interesting piece of mail, so rarely arrives, and even when it does it can be lost so easily.” – Lemony Snicket

Remember, weak individuals have to rationalize their vices. Lacking self-control is a shameful thing. To avoid feeling shame, weak individuals justify their addiction to comfort by declaring, “it is foolish to hope because no one can or should pursue virtuous actions today in service of a greater tomorrow.”

But it isn’t. You and other individuals have hope in tomorrow because you are pursuing virtue today. Weak individuals see your pursuit. Instead of finding inspiration in what you are doing, they will remove the “outlier.” Thus, they will attack you, the concept of hope, and individualism to “prove” there is no reason to focus on a brighter tomorrow.

These attacks take many forms, from creating jaded losers out of your childhood heroes to mocking deeply held beliefs and making responsible actions such as saving more difficult. In the end, if weak individuals can destroy the remnants of hope, they can declare victory.

How To Respond To Attacks From Weak Individuals

remain capable | smiling woman

Remain virtuous. Pursue what is meaningful. Push past your vices. Embrace your best self. These are the ways to maintain your hope.

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” – G.K. Chesterton

How should we respond to the attacks of weak individuals?

  • Recognize these attacks will always happen and never end – When the choice is between hurting others or pursuing self-improvement, weak individuals will always select the former.
  • Create counter-works – If you have the skill and ability, create new works featuring heroes who inspire individuals to personal greatness. Whether real or fictional, heroes give us hope for a better tomorrow and our ability to reach it.
  • Pursue self-improvement – The more you improve yourself, the more optimistic you will become of your tomorrow. Learn new skills, earn more money, and take care of your health.
  • Strengthen your community – Help those within your community. Assist virtuous family members and friends. Additionally, set aside money to support organizations helping others with food, shelter, and other basic needs.
  • Participate in politics – Voting is an excellent way to slow down the implosion of society. Find the candidates less likely to expand the government and give them support. Additionally, you can support organizations educating others on the virtues of individualism, freedom, and personal responsibility.

Hope Is Earned, And Will Make You Your Best Self

distracted by the dark | dying lightbulb

Do not become distracted by the dark. Life can improve if you build your future today.

“Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die, Life is a broken-winged bird, That cannot fly.” – Langston Hughes

Weak individuals will negatively respond when you hold your head high and think deeply about your future. There is nothing more rebellious and radical than believing in yourself and having the character to justify your belief.

I am optimistic about my health because I maintain it. I am hopeful of my abilities and intellect because I strengthen them. I am hopeful of the future because I am raising peaceful and virtuous human beings.

So have hope. We must. Let weak individuals give up in the not quite, the not yet, and the unfulfilled. We march on, heads raised and eyes focused, to a future we are building.

Become an individual, and you will earn your hope.

Actionables

  1. What are your hopes?
  2. What is something you can change today that will ensure you have a better tomorrow? Why haven’t you made the change?
  3. Who are optimistic, successful people you know? How can you copy their behavior?

Please remember that it’s important to do the actionables. You’re not on this earth to simply read but to do. To become an individual, you must act more than you consume.

*Image credit to Unsplash.