Hope has played an important role in the survival of the human species. Hope can provide the strength and the will to face your biggest challenges, and get through your darkest of days.
As with anything in life, hope is not always a good thing. For example, someone is unrealistically hopeful it can create a lot of blindspots in judgment that can be hugely detrimental to their wellbeing.
I think Millennials and Gen Z call this condition Hopium.
Hopium (noun): An addiction to false hope, irrational or unwarranted optimism.
Life will teach you all you need to know if your eyes are open. As I’ve gotten older and have become more self-aware I’ve noticed my behavior sometimes tends to swerve into that “hopium” lane. I’m, generally, an optimistic person and have been as long as I can remember so it’s not a far stretch. I tend to passionately rally behind people and causes I truly believe in. Overall, it’s served me well, but not always.
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” –Albert Einstein
Throughout the years I've found myself becoming a huge fan of products and brands with slick marketing campaigns that tell compelling stories. Sometimes this has cost me both a lot of money and time.
I’ve also had a couple of near misses in life where I’ve placed my faith and trust in the wrong people and have been led down paths that, in retrospect, could have been disastrous to my future success. Luckily, in each of those circumstances fate played out in a way to minimize collateral damage.
The great thing about life is when something like this comes to light you can alter your behavior and course-correct. I hope I’m not making the same mistake with my Tesla Model 3.
I’m already seeing a few red flags with Tesla. Since I placed my order on March 24th the estimated delivery date has already been moved four times in the app. First I was scheduled to take delivery of the new car in Aug/Sept, then July/Aug, next it changed to June/July, and now it’s saying July/Aug. I understand there are supply chain issues and huge demand but their algorithms should be dialed in a little better than this for such a large purchase.
I’m also noticing a segment of their online community tends to shrug off and make excuses for quality and reliability issues with the vehicles that they probably wouldn’t be willing to put up with if they were driving other brands. This is understandable because Tesla has become not just a company but also a movement as well. Needless to say I’m suffering from a case of last minute jitters.
Sometimes you have to just experience something for yourself and form your own conclusions. Luckily, the resale value of Teslas are very good so if it ends up not working out for me I won’t lose much. I’d rather not go through the hassle of selling it and buying another car. I hope I get lucky with mine. See, there I go hoping again.
Do you own a Tesla or know anyone who does? If so, what is your experience?
Even more importantly, have you ever suffered from Hopium and regretted it?
(Gifs compliments of Giphy.com.)
Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.
Pick up a copy of Ephemera today on Amazon.
Most of us have experienced a moment of perfect peace at least once in our lives. In these moments we lose ourselves and feel connected to everything. I call these mindful moments. Words can’t describe how complete they make us feel.
These moments are usually fragile, evaporating in seconds. What if there was a way to train your mind to experience more of them? It’s deceptively easy and requires nothing more than a subtle shift in mindset. My new book, Mindful Moments, will teach you to be much more content despite the chaos and imperfect circumstances continuing to unfold around you. Upgrade your life experience today for only $15.99 on Amazon.com.