Let me tell you something about hope - that word everybody throws around like it’s some kind of magic cure for all the bullshit we deal with every damn day. Hope? Man, f¥€£ hope.
You know what hope really is? Hope is just fear wearing a pretty dress. Hope is what you say when you don’t got the balls to claim what’s yours. “I hope I get that promotion.” “I hope things get better.” “I hope my rent check don’t bounce.” Nah, f^%> that weak stuff.
Instead of saying “I hope I get paid today,” say “I’m getting to the money today.” Instead of “I hope things work out,” say “Why am I even thinking about that when I’m already making things work out.” See the difference? One’s got power, the other’s got hope and doubt running all through it like when you go over to someone house and they have a bunch of those little roaches that’s hope running around. Kill that hope.
People walk around talking about “the city is filled with hope and happiness.” What city they living in? ‘Cause the city I know is filled with people grinding just to survive another day. Ain’t nobody jumping for joy when they choosing between paying bills and buying high priced groceries. Hell we have to buy water. Ain’t nobody happy when they working two or three jobs and still can’t live the American dream.
But then I see something that makes me think. The “happiness” is staying true to yourself and taking that messed up situation and making it better one day at a time.
That ain’t hope - that’s power. That’s taking whatever hand life dealt you and playing it like you meant to get those cards. That’s not waiting for something better to happen, that’s you making it do what it do. Setting yourself up for a royal flush right when they hope you couldn’t.
See, hope keeps you waiting. Hope keeps you looking up at the sky like some miracle gonna fall down and fix everything. But let’s be real? Being real is looking at your situation - no matter how messed up it is - and saying “Alright, this is what I got to work with. I’m bout to work it like nobody ever did?”
You working a job that doesn’t pay enough? Use that as motivation to get a better job. You stuck in a neighborhood that’s rough? Be the person who makes it a little less rough. Better yet, mind your business and keep doing what you do to survive.
That’s not hope - that’s certainty. That’s knowing you got power even when everything around you saying you don’t. That’s understanding that happiness ain’t about having the perfect life, it’s about refusing to let an imperfect life break you.
So keep your hope. I’ll take action. I’ll take certainty. I’ll take the power to look at today and say “this is mine, and I’m gonna make it count.”
Because at the end of the day, hope is just doubt with better marketing. And I ain’t got time for doubt when there’s work to be done.
If you hear: “Hope the best for you”
Tell em’: “Don’t be doubting me cause you know I’m the best at whatever I do”.