What Happens When Your “Delusional” Hopes Come True?
How choosing hope can open doors, fuel growth and create new opportunities.
“What if the things you hope for never come to pass?” she asked.
It was an unexpected question, one that quickly made me question myself. It made me wonder if what I’m hoping for is too far out of reach. What if I’m delusional?
I’ve never hoped with the expectation that everything would happen exactly as I imagine. Hope, for me, has always carried the awareness that things may not unfold the way I plan. But with experience, I’ve learned this: life tends to move better when I hope.
The seasons when I lowered my expectations were the seasons when I felt stuck. The times I leaned into hope were the times I could embrace life, even when it wasn’t going according to plan. Hope doesn’t just set you up for what might happen, it gives you strength to keep going when things fall apart.
I’ve made a decision to align with hope, even if it makes me look naïve. Because time and again I’ve seen: hope does not disappoint.
A few years ago, I attended a leadership conference where a speaker explained how hope helps leaders perform better, live fuller lives, and sustain resilience. There’s a wealth of research showing how hope supports recovery, fuels meaning, strengthens resilience, improves academic outcomes, drives goal pursuit, boosts workplace performance, and sparks both personal and collective action.
So the next time someone questions your hopes, don’t shrink back. Don’t let your mind spiral into believing your hopes are worthless. You’re right to hope and the more hopeful you become, the more magnetic you are.
Instead of feeding my mind doubts about whether my hopes are valid, I’m learning to fill it with what could happen. Hope is not delusional, it’s what sets you apart. It’s the thing that keeps your heart alive. And when your heart is alive, opportunities follow.
I’ve even seen hope open doors in my own life. Years ago, I went all in for a job I technically wasn’t qualified for. I didn’t have the “right” experience, but I knew I could learn. My attitude was an attitude of hope. I still prepared, I still did the work but it was hope that carried me to the interview, and hope that got me through the door. And yes, I got the job.
Lately, I’ve been asking myself: how can I increase my hope? Here are three things I’m practising:
Surrounding myself with the right people. People walking the same path don’t belittle your dreams or question your choices. They know the sacrifices because they’re making them too.
Movement. Walking, going to the gym, travelling, exploring new places. Changing your environment shifts your energy and hope follows.
Doubling down on what looks “delusional.” Whatever dream you have, feed it. Not to prove yourself, but to build it. Because when you hope, people might call you unrealistic. But when you live out what you once hoped for, they call you lucky. Only you will know it was the hope, the work and God.
And so I choose this:
I’d rather carry what looks like delusions of hope than settle into the reality of despair.
Your turn
If you’re still reading, I’d love to know:
Have you ever been called “delusional” for what you hoped for? How did you respond? What is one thing you’re hoping for today, even if it feels impossible?
Drop a comment. I read each one, and I reply with care.
Just yesterday I was discussing about hope with Imi(Alice Tesi phd).
I am a great believer in seeing for a ray of hope in darkness.
This attitude has always helped me in my struggles to find a solution for my problems.
I pray open the crack to let the ray of hope in..
Nice write-up.
😊
~ Life is mostly illusory, few people truly see reality untill they are spiritually enlightened for darkness in the darkness is the gateway to all understanding.