Studies show the single best predictor of a life well-lived is hope. Hope gets us through the pain, helps us deal with the realities of life. It’s also what can get us out of bed in the morning, empower us to have a difficult conversation or pursue our dream when things get challenging.

We don’t always use the word hope. You may call it wellbeing, happiness, confidence, inner joy, contentment, peace of mind, serenity, faith, trust, or use other similar words.

In 2015, as I put my airplane seat in the recline position, I pulled out Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. I read about the years Viktor spent in the Nazi concentration camps where he lost a number of family members, including his pregnant wife. The deeper I dove into Viktor Frankl’s story, the clearer it became: I had completely misunderstood hope.

What if we’ve all misunderstood this thing called hope?
What if hope is available even when things are at their very worst?
What if what you truly need isn’t to find hope, but to remember it?

I’ve been through a lot of difficult circumstances in my life and, to be honest, there were times I felt like I had run out of hope. Viktor showed me a truth that changed everything for me: hope is not dependent on my circumstances. What I never realized through all of the ups and downs of my life was that hope had always been with me, I just didn’t know it. Just because you don’t feel hopeful doesn’t mean that there is no hope.