I like to dream big. Really big. This used to confuse people in my household.
For instance, I went to LA for work last February and weeks before I left, I declared I was going to win a car on The Price is Right. My family reminded me of the odds of getting on stage and then of actually winning a car. My chances were slim.
That’s why it was so fun when I got to call my husband after the show and tell him I won a Mazda CX3.
I love to be right.
Truthfully, it doesn’t always work out so smoothly. I applied for a writer’s conference a few years ago. All expenses for the 10 people who won would be paid by legendary author Debbie Macomber. She is my hero of fiction story-telling. I knew I would win. I just had to! This conference was meant for me!
I didn’t win.
My teenage son Charlie asked why I repeatedly do this to myself. “Why do you get your hopes up, Mom?”
Because with fear we are frozen, but with hope anything is possible.
I got to live in great excitement of what might happen if I got on the stage of a game show. I got to live in awesome anticipation of what it might be like to meet my favorite author.
That means my brain got to take one single short event and stretch it out over months. I got great joy every time I thought about the conference. Sure, I was let down for a day or two when I didn’t get in, but that’s nothing compared to the high I had with hope.
A friend gave me a tiny card recently that says, “Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.”
Let me encourage you to choose hope today. Live in anticipation of great things happening throughout your day. Take a risk and dream big. You never know what might happen.