Choose hope...

The past few weeks, as we return to the new year, the days have been relentlessly cold and filled with winter storms. I hear so many people telling me all about what they can't, won't, and refuse to do. There is an air of shutting down, closing oneself off from the world, and turning inwards. The choice to shut down, isolate, or turn inwards is a stress response to the world creating something uncomfortable and perhaps even something we have decided we don't like. You can choose to do something different, and likely it will be uncomfortable.
​FACT: In discomfort, you will find change. And hope is our ability to navigate desire in the face of certainty.
As I stepped into 2026, I made an intentional decision to choose hope. I think of hope as my guiding light as I navigate this new year. According to Merriam-Webster (2026), Hope is to cherish or desire with anticipation, or to want something to be true. This does not affirm that it is true or will be true. It generates a feeling of desire, want, and trust, which is why when trust is fractured, a natural response is to feel hopeless. It is a strong emotional response and sounds devastating. The good news is we can flip the lid on hopelessness by continuing to choose hope. But why should you? Let's take a look at research supporting hope and its positive impacts. According to Pleeging (2022), hope has a large positive impact on our daily lives. This happens in a variety of ways, including: (1) recovery after illness, (2) creating a proactive mindset around the economy, (3) improving mental health and longevity, (4) increasing agency and resourcefulness, and (5) alleviating uncertainty. These are a few of the benefits. Do you have others that you are aware of in your own experiences?
I know in my own experience that hope has been by side through even some of the darkest moments and it has become something I trust and rely on. When my mom died in 2018, life was challenging. Through her last weeks with us as we navigated her passing and the months after she was gone, as we all discovered grief, I found a new relationship with hope. I began to see it in the corners of my life and the people I love most. It is what kept all of us going in our most difficult moments, and I am so grateful for it. My mother and father are Jewish, and as part of the faith, we practice a religious service called Shiva. This process occurs after someone has passed away and is the mourning period. While the traditional period of mourning is 7 days, reformed Jews typically opt for less time. My parents raised us as reformed Jews, and my father decided an appropriate Shiva would be 4 days. During Shiva, the immediate family stays home together, and other family members, friends, and community members visit. At the end of Shiva, we marked the end with the end-of-Shiva walk. I had forgotten about this part of the tradition, and yet it has now had a lasting impact on me. It has sat with me as the gateway of hope. On the last day, all the family members rise from their seats and, together with the Rabbi, walk around the block as a way of exiting the Shiva and mourning, and re-entering the world, letting go of what was (Reformjudaism.org, n.d.). I have a vivid memory of walking with my father and the Rabbi. I recall feeling sorrow and sadness at first, and as we rounded the corner and I saw my childhood home again, I felt light and love in my heart. I felt hopeful; I knew we would be okay. Hope feels really good and warms my heart.
While hope has been there for me in the more challenging times and big events, I have come to realize that it is always with me if I allow it to be. It is in the small moments: my work, my personal life, my spirituality, my finances, and more. This allowance and connection to small moments have allowed me to create a world of possibility. Living in possibility creates joy. Where does hope fit in your world right now? Today, can you choose hope?
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For tips on how to discover and build hope in your life, reach out to me at jen@admitone.ca
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Monthly Sharing Section...

SOMETHING EDUCATIONAL & MEANINGFUL: For those of you interested in research, education, awareness, advocacy, and innovation, I follow two organizations actively that are informing my education and practice: MAPS and PAC. They are global leaders in psychedelics in medicine. Psychedelics and their administration remain illegal in Canada; however, there is significant research and forward momentum towards legalization within medical environments. To learn more, click below:
​https://maps.org/​
​https://www.psychedelicassociation.net/​

SOMETHING I would recommend for you to watch:
I have just launched my YouTube video library for Double J Therapy and would be happy to have you watch my latest video:

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SOMETHING I've read and learned about I thought I would share: I recently have done some reading about disordered eating and eating disorders. I continue to learn more and get clarity in this space. If you are unaware of the difference between the two, if you know someone impacted by disordered eating or an eating disorder, or perhaps you wonder if you are here, is some wonderful information that is easy to navigate: https://nedic.ca/​

Thank you to the National Eating Disorder Information Center (NEIDC) for making this so accessible and easy to understand.

Monthly Mindful Meditation

Stay tuned for new and updated meditations coming soon.
In the meantime, enjoy a calming meditation about hope.

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With gratitude,
Jen James
jen@admitone.ca
​https://www.doublejstrategic.com/​

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References

Merriam-Webster Dictionary.(2026). Hope in Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hope

Pleeging, E. (2022). Measuring hope: validity of short versions of four popular hope scales. Quality & Quantity, 56(6), 4437–4464. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-022-01316-w