Week 3: The Voice of Inner Hope
Start at the Beginning! Catch up here on Week 1! or Week 2 here!
This Week’s Big Idea
Identify the difference between the voice of fear and the voice of hope, and start cultivating an inner narrative that’s more compassionate, courageous, and future-facing.
Included in today’s newsletter:
• Video: “The Voice of Inner Hope”
• Guided Audio Meditation
• Essay for reflection: “What Does Hope Sound Like Inside of You?”
• Journal Prompts and Worksheet
• Theme Song
• Please begin by watching this short video
• Then take a few minutes to pause and reflect with this audio
Guided Audio Meditation
“Listening for the Voice of Inner Hope”
• Here are a few thoughts for deeper reflection: “What Does Hope Sound Like Inside of You?”
Some Voices Keep Us Small
You know the voice I’m talking about—the one that shows up in the quiet moments, the middle of the night, the just-before-you-hit-send moment.
“This isn’t going to work.”
“You’re not cut out for this.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
It’s the voice that tells us to play it safe. To stay quiet. To settle.
We all have that voice. It’s not a flaw. It’s often our brain trying to keep us safe, to protect us from disappointment, rejection, or change.
But the problem is, if that voice runs the show for too long, it becomes the only voice we hear. And over time, it drowns out something more important:
The voice of hope.
Hope Doesn’t Yell
The voice of hope is different. It doesn’t bark orders or spiral in shame.
It whispers.
“Try one more time.”
“This could be different.”
“You are allowed to dream.”
Sometimes, the voice of hope sounds like your best friend. Sometimes it sounds like your 10-year-old self. Sometimes it sounds like silence—a moment of peace that tells you: you’re still here.
The challenge is: the voice of fear is LOUD. And urgent. And familiar.
The voice of hope is quiet, soft, and often new.
It takes practice to hear it — and even more practice to trust it.
Hope asks you to be brave.
The Inner Chorus
Let’s be honest: most of us are walking around with a whole chorus of voices inside.
Some of them we inherited. Some were built from past pain. Others are trying to protect us from being disappointed again.
But here’s what I believe:
We can’t silence fear forever.
But we can learn to turn the volume up on hope.
And that starts by noticing how each voice makes you feel.
The voice of fear shrinks you.
The voice of shame accuses you.
But the voice of hope?
The voice of hope expands you.
It reminds you that you’re more than what happened to you.
It gently calls you forward.
What Hope Has Said to Me
Hope has spoken to me in the weirdest ways:
in songs, in stillness, in a stranger’s words I wasn’t expecting.
It once said: “You don’t have to stay here.”
Another time, it said: “This pain is part of your becoming.”
And more recently, it whispered: “You’re not too late.”
Hope isn’t always sunshine and perfect clarity.
Sometimes, it’s simply the next step.
A flicker. A feeling. A breath.
But even the smallest whisper of hope can change everything.
This Week’s Invitation
This week, I want you to listen.
Start to notice the voices in your head—not to judge them, but to get curious.
Ask yourself:
Is this voice speaking from fear or from love?
Does this voice make me feel small…or strong?
If hope had something to say to me today, what would it say?
You don’t need to have perfect clarity. You don’t need to know your next five steps.
You just need to find the voice inside that believes something beautiful is still possible—and follow it.
Even a little.
Because every brave thing you’ve ever done…
started with a voice that said: “Maybe.”
• Here’s your opportunity to dive a bit deeper into this week’s theme
Journal Prompts:
During a time when you feel discouraged, or not good enough—what were you saying to yourself?
How has the voice of hope shown up for you?
If hope was a person, what is a question you’d like to ask? And what would you imagine the response to be?
Get the FREE four-page expanded journal worksheet for week 3 here!
Have you heard THE HOPE PROJECT theme song yet? You can stream or download this (or the other versions!) anywhere you listen to music. Listen for free on YouTube right now! I look forward to seeing you again for week four.
“Hope is a Form of Resistance”: Read this beautiful poem about hope here.
Please consider connecting with me & others in the Substack app - it’s FREE!
Fear is like a strong wind, earthquake, or fire - always urgent, demanding, and nearly impossible to ignore. But hope is that still, small voice within that can easily get drowned out by all the other noises and go undetected if we're not intentional about tuning into it. I believe fear is of the enemy, but hope is of the Spirit. And hope can be so much more powerful than fear if we'll only listen and trust it - which is often easier said than done. Thank you for giving us these tools and teaching us how to choose hope over fear.
Thanks for this! I am working to acknowledge the "mean" voices in my head as a character that I can interact with and tell to be quiet. "Thanks for your concern, but I don't think that's true." or whatever is most helpful. Mixed results so far, but practice is good. :)