Fear can hold us prisoner. Hope can set us free.  –The Shawshank Redemption

When my son was eight years old, we buried a time capsule in the backyard.  It was full of items that were interesting and important to him at the time.  We found a sturdy, wooden box, plastic bags, and lots of “waterproof” tape to ensure the contents would be protected from the elements.  We dug a hole and vowed to leave the items in the ground until the day he went off to college.

A couple weeks ago, almost ten years to the day from our original ceremony, we unearthed the buried treasure.  Both of us had forgotten what was inside and I secretly hoped it wouldn’t be akin to Geraldo opening Al Capone’s vault.  It was, in fact, much more interesting.

The box was full of items you might imagine an eight-year old boy would cherish.  Foreign coins.  American Half Dollars.  Old credit cards and a football identification card.  And beneath all the other items was a large horseshoe my son had found in my parent’s barn up in New Hampshire.

We set the items aside, shared  a moment, and off to college he went!

A few days later, I received a couple of pieces of good news out of the blue.  I didn’t think anything of it.  Then I came across that old rusty horseshoe in the backyard.  Could it be?  Perhaps we had unleashed 10 years of good luck which had been laying dormant in the ground!  I suddenly believed more good fortune was coming my way.

It was superstitious and somewhat nonsensical.  But it gave me hope for the future.  And couldn’t we all use a little hope, in any form,  in our work and personal lives.

Little Rituals Give Us Strength

In our work lives, things do not always go as planned.  Our sales can take a nosedive.  Our company can lose market share.  Our clients can flock to a competitor.  We might go on an expected losing streak.  What can turn it all around?

There are certain principles we need to embrace.  A strong work ethic and dedication to excellence.  Unbridled faith and a belief  in the goodness of the future.  The ability to shift gears and try  a new approach.  But sometimes that is not enough. Despite our best efforts, sometimes things break against us.  Sometimes we need a little extra boost of encouragement to set us free.

Perhaps we have a favorite tie or outfit that gives us renewed confidence to sell.  Perhaps we have a “lucky” pen that helps us sign new clients.  Perhaps we recite a favorite poem or prayer before heading into battle.  Whatever the superstition or routine,  sometimes these little rituals give us strength.  Even if it doesn’t make logical sense, sometimes they give us that extra boost we need to survive and thrive.

Embrace Hope, In Any Form

And the same is true in our personal lives.  Our relationships can stagnate.  Our finances can dwindle.  Our family can drift apart. Our skills may deteriorate.    We may be battling a baffling illness.  We can’t ignore our problems and hope they go away.  We need to work though these issues and address them in measured steps.  But sometimes, we can’t shake out of it or explain it.  Sometimes, we need to mix up the routine in the hopes of breaking out of a slump.

We may try a new perfume or cologne (“Sixty percent of the time, it works EVERY time!”).  We may keep a $2 bill in our wallet to attract future prosperity.  We may make family movie night a mandatory event.   We may switch up the order on the tee box in our golf game.  We may embrace an exotic or alternative approach to medicine.  These may seem like arbitrary solutions to larger problems.  But it can’t hurt to embrace anything that gives us hope.   And hope is a good thing.

Horseshoes Up!

We can’t ignore the steps we need to take to get back on the right track.  We can’t passively sit back and wait for a solution to fall from the sky.  The answer is often found in the seeds of our hard work and dedication.  Most of the time, we hold the keys to turning our lives around.  But not always.

Sometimes, it is okay to embrace a superstition.  Sometimes, it is okay to seek a sign from the universe.  Sometimes, it is okay to search for hope in the unlikeliest of places.  When things are going in the wrong direction, we can’t ignore anything that will restore our hope.  It may not make sense.  It may be the placebo effect.  But if it works, who are we to question it?

Sometimes an old horseshoe is all we need to get back to our winning ways.