“Peace is the soil in which hope grows” -- Rotary International President 2023-24 Gordon McInallyHappy Rotary New Year! Together in 2023-2024 we will collectively strive to create hope in the world.
Hope is an energy that illuminates. According to positive psychologist Charles Snyder’s theory hopeful thinkers achieve more and are healthier. Hopeful thinking (and in my experience hope based action) is made up of 3 things: goals, pathways, and agency.
Thinking in a goal orientated way, finding different ways to achieve those goals, and believing that you can instigate change all create hope. Hope is not simply a happy feeling – hope is the energy of humanity that enables us to not just survive but thrive. Hope is our belief that we can change the future for the better and it one of the biggest determinants of success.
Let’s continue to set be visionaries, find multiple pathways to our goals, and persevere together to “provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders”.
Hopeful thinking and action also enable Rotary members to live our collective vision, to be “problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”
I am so humbled and honoured to walk this journey with my Brostar Ron Malmas and all of you – the first 10 days of service as District Governor kicked of with a Canada Day Rotary Pancake Breakfast in Whistler, installations across the Sea to Sky corridor, then on to Richmond, Tsawwassen and the Sunshine coast. It was 10 days of meaningful and poignant dialogue, Rotary conversations, learning and development, and a ferry and too many kilometers to think about.
These lovely experiences warmed my heart and inspired me. They also reinforced the need for to promote hopeful thinking and action in our clubs – to continue to collectively set our goals, find potential pathways and persevere together. A lovely bonus to this type of hopeful thinking and action are that they also increase our success with two of the most important factors of happiness – social connections and helping others. So, let’s work together and create hope and happiness in our clubs, communities and ourselves.
All of us can find inspiration from our Rotary International President R. Gordon R. McInally, who is passionate about mental health and helping remove the stigma that sometimes prevents people from getting quality care. During this year, Gordon's Presidential Initiatives will focus on three initiatives that Create Hope in the World: prioritizing mental health, building peace through virtual exchanges, and empowering girls.