It’s The Hope That Kills You
One of the concepts we like to shine a light on around here in The Hive is the idea of being great.
We often hold space for greatness with our clients. We ask them what it would look like to be great. And what holds them back?
I’ve learned a lot about this space. I’ve learned that striving for greatness requires dreaming big. It requires belief. It requires hope. Hope that one day, if you work hard enough, you might just be great. I’ve also learned that dreaming big, believing, and having hope is scary. There’s a whole lot of failing and vulnerability and pain and heartbreak in the journey to greatness. Oftentimes, we’d rather say it’s hopeless and stop. It’s safer there. I get that.
But I’ve learned that there’s something so sweet about the road to greatness when we believe it’s possible.
When we hope against hope, we have the power to unlock ourselves. To transform into a leveled-up version that’s truly very hard to even imagine.
It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about avoiding the fall. It’s learning how to fall well. Showing up when there seems to be no hope in sight and continuing to make that one next step, not really knowing how it’s going to go. Hmmm….that, my friends. That’s hope.
In preparation for the new season of Ted Lasso (coming up August 5th on Apple TV+), Celia & I are re-watching from the beginning. That show gets it. On every level. The realness. Vulnerability. Change. It’s magic. The other night we were watching season 1, episode 10, “The Hope That Kills You”. The one where Richmond needs to win their next match against Manchester City to avoid being relegated. The episode and the song attached in the scenes below spoke to me, and I thought I would share the goodness here in The Hive.
To set the scene, Ted is in the local pub talking to the barkeep, Mae. Mae’s standing, laughing at Ted, who had just said, “You’re acting like we lost the game already. Why don’t you have a little hope?” Mae responds through laughter, “Haven’t you lived here long enough to realize? It’s the hope that kills you.”
Fast forward to the coaches back at Ted’s place brainstorming ideas to avoid relegation. Coach Nate says to Ted, “We cannot beat Manchester City. It is hopeless.” In frustration, Ted runs off and comes back holding a small piece of yellow paper with the word “Believe” written on it in blue marker. “Does that ring a bell?” Ted asks, out of breath and all angry-like. Coach Beard chimes in, “Believe can’t score goals, Coach.”
The next day, Ted addresses the team in the locker room in a pep talk before the game. He said he’s been hearing a lot about the phrase “It’s the hope that kills you.” He said he disagrees.
“I think it’s the lack of hope that comes and gets you.
See, I believe in hope. I believe in belief. Where I’m from we got a saying too. A question actually. Do you believe in miracles?” He went on to say, “ I don’t need you to answer that for me now. But I do want you to answer that question for yourselves. Right now. Do you believe in miracles? And if you do, then I want you to all circle up with me right now.”
They go on to play the game, and in a valiant effort, Richmond ties Manchester City with seconds left to play. Everyone’s elated. And then? Manchester City scores to win the game as the final whistle blows. Richmond loses and gets relegated.
A song starts playing as the camera shows Richmond players and coaches in disbelief. A song by Marcus Mumford called “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. The lyrics go like this…
What Coach Ted says next while addressing the team is so so good: “This is a sad moment right here. For all of us. And there’s nothing I can say to take that away. But please do me this favor. Lift your heads up and look at everyone else in here. I want you to be grateful that you’re going through this sad moment with all these other folks. Because I promise you, there is something worse out there than being sad, and that is being alone and being sad. Ain’t nobody in this room alone…. Let’s be sad now. Let’s be sad together. And then we can be a gosh darn goldfish. Onward. Forward.”
In researching the road to greatness, I’ve learned that the potential to unlock is a lot closer than we may realize. It takes dreaming big. It takes hope. It takes believing that you deserve what’s on the other side. It takes showing up and trying.
What does it look like for you to be great? What’s holding you back?
With greatness in your mind and hope in your heart, you will never walk alone. Onward. Forward.
Go Be Great
