In the middle of a busy day in London this week, working with a brilliant team, I found a little oasis right in the heart of the city.
It made me stop and pause and take some time to smell the flowers.
In a world that can feel heavy, uncertain and overwhelming right now, there is something powerful about noticing what is good and hopeful.
Not to avoid what is difficult, but to stay resourced enough to face it.
Hope is not the opposite of fear. It is what helps us face fear without letting it stop us from doing good.
And as psychologist Rob Snyder’s work reminds us, hope is not soft optimism. It is a performance resource: the ability to set meaningful goals, find new pathways forward and keep moving when the route ahead is unclear.
When teams pause to notice what is working well, they start to see what they can build on, strengthen and adapt.
Sometimes hope begins with a pause. And sometimes, it begins by noticing the flowers.
By Cass Coulston