– How Individual Counseling in Nashville TN can Bring Hope

Last Updated on November 29, 2014 by Chris Roberts

HOW INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING IN NASHVILLE TN CAN BRING HOPE

Hope is oftentimes such a fleeting experience. Individual counseling in Nashville TN can be a place where you learn to expand, experience, and acknowledge the hope that all of us deserve to enjoy. Hope is also such a dangerous word. It’s so easy to promise, and yet so difficult to deliver. Good individual counseling in Nashville should, at least in part, help individuals pay more attention to the hope that may already be available to them, while also searching for new ways to create this experience in their lives. Unfortunately, hope is not something an individual counselor can give to a client. Hope must always be fought for and earned. Hope is so wonderful because it infuses our daily experiences with life and possibilities. When we believe we have something exciting to look forward to, we are living in hope. Even though the hopeful experience we want may be weeks or months away, we can enjoy the feeling of hope in the moment, because the anticipation of the enjoyment can be felt in the present. THIS is the beauty of hope!

INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING IN NASHVILLE CAN GIVE US A GREATER APPRECIATION FOR HOW HOPE WORKS.

Of course, the question most of us might ask is: If hope is so great, why don’t we feel it all the time? The sobering answer to this question lies in the disappointment we have felt throughout our life. The only true way we can experience disappointment is by first having hope. We are born into this life innately knowing how to hope. It’s hardwired in us. It’s a beautiful thing to watch the “innocence” of children as they play and dream and seem unaware and unaffected by life’s experiences. As we move through childhood though, silently and without warning, we start to hope less. We don’t know we are doing this yet, because we are still children and children don’t have the mental development to reflect on their life. But slowly and surely, we throttle down our revelry in hope, because the pain of the disappointment starts to hurt more and more. No one enjoys the feeling of disappointment. Then, without notice, we become teenagers and most of hope pushed aside to make room for cynicism and sarcasm. This is not a bad thing! It is completely, developmentally normal! As we reach our 20’s, we gain a little perspective and set out to have a purpose in our lives. Also, in our 20’s, we start to shut down our dreams and our hopes. We start to make fundamental choices to limit our exposure to disappointment. In short, we start to settle. This, too, is also developmentally appropriate.

HOW INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING IN NASHVILLE CAN GROUND US IN HOPE

It’s difficult for me to even discuss hope here, because hope is ALWAYS a double edged sword. This is no hope without risk. The risk (which actually brings the life and excitement we long for in hope) of hoping is that implicitly we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. So there is no clean hope. Hope always brings about the possibility of pain and heartache. Whether it’s your football team, or an upcoming vacation, or dinner with your partner, if you are excited about the event, there is an equal and balancing possibility of disappointment. If people tell you, “You should hope more,” it’s not as easy as it seems. Hope is dangerous.

The alternative, however, can lead to boredom, apathy and depression. If we don’t have any hope or excitement about upcoming events, life is not very enjoyable. Most of life is actually made up of pretty mundane moments. Waking up early, going to the bathroom, making breakfast, brushing our teeth, showering, driving our car, walking to our office….this typically the first 3 hours of our day. Not much excitement here. But also, a necessary part of functioning in society! Life is not about making more moments of excitement, but being willing to live in the hope that the future exciting moments we might have are worth celebrating.

If you are noticing there is a lack of hope and anticipation in your life, individual counseling in Nashville TN could be of help. Chris Roberts is a licensed professional counselor in Nashville with many years experience working with people who are struggling to find and appreciate the hope in their lives. Individual counseling in Nashville can be a place to explore the ways you have shut down hope and find new opportunities to risk for it again.