Strategic Hope: Building Strength to Hold On
“Hope is not a strategy.”
It’s an old saying often echoed in leadership. And it’s true—hope alone won’t get you where you want to go. Plans, actions, and execution are essential.
But here’s the thing: while hope may not be a strategy, you can be strategic about hope.
Two Kinds of Hope
I’ve learned that hope has two dimensions: what we hope for and what we hope in.
What we hope for is the dream, the goal, or the outcome we long for.
What we hope in is the foundation that sustains us as we pursue it.
Whenever we hope for something meaningful—whether it’s the success of a start-up, the healing of a loved one, or the arrival of a long-awaited child—there’s always a cost.
Real hope, the kind tied to our deepest desires, requires inner resources to sustain it. Especially when those hopes remain unrealized for days, months, or even years.
And this is where it gets critical: how well we bear the cost of what we hope for depends entirely on what we hope in.
The Sentence That Reveals Your Foundation
We all have a foundation of hope, even if we don’t consciously recognize it. It’s revealed by how we complete this sentence:
"Even if everything else falls apart, I will be all right so long as..."
What you put at the end of that sentence shows where your ultimate hope lies.
The problem? Many of the things we instinctively place our hope in—financial security, career success, relationships—are fragile. History, personal experience, and even the news remind us how easily these things can be shaken.
If our hope is tied to something temporary, then when it wavers, so do we.
The Temptation to Misplace Hope
One of the most common mistakes we make is placing our hope in what we hope for.
It’s easy to fall into this trap:
“Everything will be okay as soon as I get that promotion.”
“I’ll finally be happy when I find the right partner.”
“Once I (insert life milestone), things will feel complete.”
But when we place our hope in what we hope for, we make that thing the horizon of our vision, and it’s impossible to see beyond it.
The danger? If that hope is deferred—or worse, unfulfilled—our sense of strength, purpose, and identity can collapse.
A Better Way to Hope
Here’s the good news: we can place our hope in something more enduring.
Strategic hope is about anchoring your heart in a foundation that doesn’t shift. It’s about choosing a source of strength so unshakeable that it enables you to meet the cost of your deepest hopes, no matter what.
As author Viktor Frankl wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning:
"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how."
When our hope is rooted in something greater than the circumstances we’re chasing—whether that’s faith, purpose, or an eternal perspective—we gain the resilience to keep going.
How to Be Strategic About Hope
Define Your ‘For’ and ‘In’
Take time to reflect:What are you hoping for?
What are you hoping in?
Does the foundation of your hope have the strength to sustain you when the road gets tough?
Expand Your Vision Beyond the Goal
Instead of making your goal the only thing that matters, anchor your identity and strength in something that will remain steady regardless of the outcome.Fortify Your Source of Strength
Cultivate practices and relationships that deepen your connection to what matters most—whether that’s your faith, your community, or your core values.
Strategic Hope in Action
When we place our hope in something unshakable, we’re no longer at the mercy of circumstances.
That’s not to say there won’t be moments - even intense seasons - of doubt, frustration, or grief. Hope requires patience and perseverance. But when our foundation is secure, we can weather those storms and continue pursuing what matters most.
So, what’s your strategy for hope?
Where are you anchoring your heart? What are you building your life on that can sustain you through the cost of waiting for your greatest dreams to come true?
When we choose hope deliberately, we give ourselves the strength to hold on—and the perspective to keep moving forward.