Choose hope

One of the reasons I choose to believe I am improving despite evidence to the contrary, is my belief that expectations influence outcomes. This is not a magical belief. I don't think "believing I'm healed" will heal me. However, I do believe God rewards those who put forth effort, accepting the risk that their efforts may be in vain, in order to pursue the best possible outcome.

Sometimes that reward comes in the direct form of improved capabilities or new ways to accommodate limitations. Sometimes that reward comes in they way others are encouraged to help us. Often the reward is hope itself: a positive outlook that inspires effort in ourselves and in others. When we inspire others, that inspiration has a way of returning to inspire us. And sometimes, here and there, I believe a few miracles actually do happen; although we wouldn't call them "miracles" if they happened very often!

I choose to believe I can improve, because I know that a life of hope is going to be more profitable for myself and for others than a life lived in despair. I have big dreams about how I can learn to live a useful life without the short-term memory most people take for granted. I use that hope to inspire myself every morning, to make reasonable plans, and to try to accomplish them. In that same spirit, I choose not to beat myself up over the days that I fail. I am not a quitter. If I fail tomorrow, I will begin the next day fresh, with hope of pressing forward, to make a profitable difference: if not for myself, then for someone else.

I encourage all of my readers to choose hope also.