Are you someone who is always hopeful? Are you hopeful that everything will work out just fine?  Are you hopeful that you’ll meet the perfect partner, or that the perfect job will come your way? How about hoping that someone else will change so that things get a bit less stressful? Or are you hopeful that things will just somehow work out and resolve themselves?

Or are you someone who trusts? Do you have a quiet belief deep down that things are working out perfectly, and so you keep moving yourself towards what you want? Do you know that everything will work out for the best no matter what the current situation?

There is a difference between hope and trust. I often discuss this with my clients, and this is how I define the difference…

Hope, for me, is when we become attached to an outcome that we believe will make us happy. We quietly hope that something somewhere will happen, but we don’t quite believe that things are fully in our control. We continue to hope that some external event(s) will occur and only then will we be able to relax and know that everything will be ok. But if it doesn’t happen we are disappointed and wonder what we did wrong or what we did to deserve disappointment.

Trust, on the other hand, is an acknowledgement that whatever the outcome, everything will work out perfectly even if we can’t see it right now. In a space of trust we are able to acknowledge our current situation without judgement or worry.  We somehow find ways to improve things and start doing something differently. We know we are fully in control and we keep moving towards our goals or ambitions. We don’t give up, no matter what. We have complete trust in ourselves and that we will get there.

I recognise that there are some things in my life I just know will happen and there are other things that I hope will happen.

Guess which things actually happen? When I know and believe something is going to happen, everything I do takes me closer to my goal. I take different actions, I start to do things differently and I become unstoppable!

After all, how can we expect different results by doing the same things over and over?

So what can we do to trust more? Recognising where we are hopeful is the first step.

Ask yourself:

• What am I hoping for right now?
• Where do I keep seeing the same results showing up time and time again?
• What am I doing right now that might be keeping me stuck?
• What one (small) thing can I change about the way I am doing things?

As you start to do things differently you will also start to see different results. As you move forward you will trust more that it will happen, and you will get excited as you quickly see things changing.

Remember:  Start small. Recognising one thing in our life where we are not achieving the things we hope for is the first step to making a change. How much do you want that outcome? What are you no longer prepared to put up with? What are you willing to change so that you begin to trust it will absolutely happen?