Get To the Root with Rachel Logan

Hello, Cadre. Hello. Hello. Welcome. Welcome to a new day and a new hour. I am Rachel Logan. We are here. Getting to the root. Getting to the root. I'm so excited to be with you today. Happy October 2. Welcome to a new season, a new day, a new hour. Come on in. And when you come in, let me know how you feeling today. Using an emoji. Is it a heart? Hello, stigma. Our stigma. Hello, welcome, welcome. Let me know how you feeling today. Happy Wednesday. Happy Wednesday. It's a new day. I'm feeling really great about it.

I hope you are, too. It is a great day. I'm excited. So, my name is Rachel, and I'm here to get to the root with you every Wednesday at eleven, where we break down feelings, thoughts, ideas, emotions. I'm a licensed clinical social worker and I serve individuals in Illinois and Missouri. And so it's a pleasure to be here with you and to walk through getting to the roots. So when we get to the root of it helps us to understand who we are, how we're feeling, and why we're feeling, what we're feeling.

Right. And when we have clarity, we can make sound decisions. And so I've been thinking about this, this word today. I've been thinking about getting to the root of hope. Getting to the root of hope. I know that the seasons are changing. I'm aware of the seasonal affective disorder. I'm aware of that. Grief starts to show up around this time because we're heading into the holiday seasons. And I was just working with a client who was telling me that she already can feel it. And we begin to talk about hope.

We begin to talk about how can hope play a factor in this new season. And I want us to get to the root of that today. So I have a question. As you're coming in or watching the replay, please like and share this with someone. I want to know, can hope exist while you're struggling? Can hope exist while you are feeling overwhelmed or struggling with mental illness or struggling with grief? Can hope exist at the same time? And I want to know your answer. Can hope exist at the same time of you in the midst of a trial or struggle?

And I'm going to say yes. Yes. And so let's define what hope is. So I have my notes with me. Okay. Hope. Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire. I'm going to say that again. Hope is a feeling of an expectation and a desire for a certain thing to happen. So hope is the thing that you desire. It's the thing that you are expecting or wishing or aiming for. It's an optimistic state of view about a situation. And I want us to think about how can we begin to incorporate hope even while we're struggling, even while we're in the midst of maybe be a trial or a heartache or a death of a loved one.

How can hope fuel us to make it through another day? How can hope fuel us through another month? Right? There's so many things happening in the world, and sometimes we can feel hopeless, right? Sometimes we can wake up feeling like there is no way things are going to change for me or no way that the world is going to change. But I beg the difference that there is hope. And do you know how much hope you really need to have? Listen, you only need a size of a mustard seed for hope to be activated in your life.

That feeling or expectation that something good will happen, that being optimistic about life and life challenges, you only need a really small amount. And so how do we begin to look at hope and look at our situations from an optimistic point of view? Listen, let's take a deep breath here, because I first want you to know that you can, even in the midst of things and trials and tribulations, maybe you're experiencing a depressive episode or you're facing challenges or stress at work. I want you to first know that hope can be activated in your life in the way we begin to activate hope.

Listen, it is through faith. It is faith. It's the belief that things can get better. So how do I activate this belief when my thoughts are negative, when I can only see the problem? We have to first identify how we're seeing the issue. What are we telling ourselves? We have to first pause and identify and identify the thoughts that we are having about a situation. I'll be real, honest and transparent because that's how we heal, when we heal, when we share our stories with someone, right? That's why counseling and coaching is so powerful and this platform, because we get to share how we're feeling and what we're going through.

In the past, I just had this really belief that I could not get organized, that it seemed like such a huge task for me, that it was difficult and it was like, I need someone to come in here to help me get organized. I just felt like it was a huge mountain that I could never cross over. And I know that may sound so minute, but when you have two kids who are in sports and you are running a business, or you go into work and you are involved in all these other things, you may feel like I can't accomplish this.

And that was me. I just felt like I cannot get organized. This is not in my cars. That's for people with type A personalities, and that's not me. Well, that was a negative thought that was circling and on repeat in my head. So guess what I wasn't able to do. Get organized. And I constantly felt defeated because in my mind, I feel like, man, I am failing here I am trying to help other people, but I can't master this one task. But I had to dig deep and find hope. I know this may sound real minute, but I need you to hear me.

You have to find hope within. You have to find that belief that, you know what? I've done hard things before. I've broken down tasks and been able to accomplish them before I can do this. So it was me recognizing that part of my problem of not being able to get organized or thinking like, hey, you know, I might have this or that. Orlando, something is wrong with me. Maybe I need help. Maybe. Da da da da da. That may be all true, but what I had to first pause and acknowledge was what I was repeating to myself.

So I want you to put your thoughts on trial here and ask yourself, what words am I repeating to myself? Am I living in a doubtful state? Do I have doubts in my capabilities? And if that's you, fine. Let's be honest with ourselves. Am I the reason why I'm remaining stuck? I'm pausing here so you can answer this for yourself. I was the reason why I was stuck. Are you the reason why you are stuck? Or is it something else? Or is it coming from another source? Identify the thought you're having. Identify the doubts you are experiencing.

And as you begin to process your thoughts and identify your thought patterns or the belief about a situation, I want you to begin to reframe it. Instead of looking at the problem of my disorganized papers, I had to look at the possibility of I can use things to help me get there. This may be a big task. This may seem overwhelming, like, I have so many papers, I don't know what to do with them, but I have to reframe myself and say, you know what? I can make piles. And then I can go through my piles and discard what I don't want.

So, looking at the situation, but also looking at the solution, hope begins to manifest and be activated when you can see a solution. So I want you to pause and think about what problem am I currently facing and list two to three possible solutions that will help you. That will activate the hope. You know what? That this is tangible, that I can reach this goal, that it's not too far out of my reach. So think about it. What are my thoughts? What's the problem? And what are two to three possible solutions?

The way we activate hope is through solutions. It's through movement. It's through engaging, engaging activities. We ruminate over issues, and that leaves us stuck. But to activate hope is to do something about it, is to be active. So look at that. Either I can stay in a stuck place, or I can activate hope. So what are the two to three things you're willing to do that can possibly solve the problem you're facing, or the mental health issues you're dealing with, or the stress, or the grief, or the problems at work?

What are the two to three solutions that you're willing to activate? Hope is available. Hope is a state of being. It is looking at things from an optimistic point of view. You need the size of a mustard seed to activate hope. Hope that your life can change. Hope and faith that things can get better. Because it can. If you don't even believe it just yet, begin to speak it out loud. Because as you speak, your mind hears and it believes. It believes what you say. Your mind and your body believes exactly what you say.

I'm going to say that one more time. Your mind and your body believes what you say. So what are you telling yourself? Begin to say, I can. One of my favorite scriptures is Philippians, and it says, I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. You've heard me say this before because that's my go to. That's my anchor. My faith is the thing that gives me hope, that I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Sometimes we need to tap into that extra source of strength, because sometimes we are weak and we need faith, we need guidance.

We need God to help us through some really hard times. So I'm going to share scripture with you, and I want to charge you with looking at the thoughts, identifying the problem, and reframing how you are seeing it. Reframe it by finding solutions that will work for you. Okay? All right, so the scripture here today is coming from Romans 1513. And it says, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope. By the power of the Holy Spirit. Hope can be overflowing.

Hope, your hope levels can overflow. As you trust in goddesse, as you rely on his strength. And you read and meditate on his word. I promise you, he will give you strategies. I promise you, he will open the door, send help to help you through it, to help you find and activate those solutions. So let me tell you what helped me. I told you how I broke it down. I had to reframe my thinking. And I got tools. I got bins, I got a filing cabinet, and I got a trash can to throw away things I didn't need.

That was my solution. So when you get a chance in the chat, identify your solutions and come back and let me know if it worked for you or not. All right, Cadre. It's been a delight. Think about the root of your hope. Where is it coming from? How can you activate it? It is yours today. All right. I'll see you next week. Take care.