Kay:

Hey-yo Questers, it’s Thursday, August 26th, and this is episode 429. We have a quote for you today from one of our favorite poets and personal growth leaders who was really ahead of her time in the time that she came out with many of her philosophies. Today we get to feature a quote from the one and only Maya Angelou.

Shi:

“Hope for the best, be prepared for the worst. Life is shocking, but you must never appear to be shocked. For no matter how bad it is it could be worse and no matter how good it is it could be better.”

Kay:

Well, if you guys are anything like us, this quote likely hit you a little deep.

Shi:

But I’m not acting shocked.

Kay:

No, definitely not shocked about how deeply it hit me. But it is such a deep and beautiful quote.

Shi:

So, let’s just take it piece by piece here. She starts off with telling us a well-known adage, “Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.” “Hope for the best, be prepared for the worst.” So, what this is really telling us is that optimism matters, hope for the best. Be optimistic, know what the positive possible outcomes are. Let your mind acknowledge that there is a possibility that things could go right, that there could be a home run situation, that things like that have happened before. Almost everything starts with belief. So, hope for the best is telling us to believe that it’s possible and know that it could be an outcome. Now, then she brings us that evening of the scales here, “Be prepared for the worst.” This is really good life advice that optimism matters and so does preparation. So does being realistic. So does knowing that with the possibility of a home run also comes the possibility of a strikeout. Now you can see your odds either way with different things and that’s where being prepared helps you out.

Kay:

Let’s take a look at this second sentence up next, where she says, “Life is shocking.” Okay. First three words, pretty dang accurate. Anybody here ever been shocked by life? Raise your hand.

Shi:

Oh yeah.

Kay:

Oh my gosh. She says, “…but you must never appear to be shocked.” I guess life would be less shocking if you’re always preparing for the worst. I think the only one who wasn’t shocked about the pandemic was Bill Gates and he’s been preparing for five years for this. So, life is shocking, but you must never appear to be shocked because when it comes at you in its shocking way, if you’re a deer in the headlights, you might get run over by the car of life. So, sometimes you’ve got to accept the fact that life is shocking. Have your preparation done for the worst so if it does come to you, you don’t appear to be shocked. You might feel it on the inside, but you face the challenge head-on, and you get it done.

Shi:

So much more we could say there but let’s move on to the last part of this quote, “…for no matter how bad it is it could be worse,” Reminding yourself that when you’re wallowing, there is still more that you can be grateful for. There’s still more out there that could have gone wrong. All of the amazing things that had to go right in order to get at this wrong are still more wins than some others may have. “It could always be worse.” And then she helps us balance that scale, “how good it is it could be better”. So, knowing you could always improve, there’s always room for growth. There’s wonderful and then there’s how can I make it more wonderful? How can I make it exceptional? So, knowing that there are these two flows can help, I think put a little bit of bumpers around your own expectations and around your own reactions and responses to circumstances and experiences that help you navigate life a little less shockingly.

Kay:

Absolutely and that rounds us out here with Maya Angelou’s three sentences of incredible life advice for us, where she says, “Hope for the best, be prepared for the worst. Life is shocking, but you must never appear to be shocked. For no matter how bad it is it could be worse and no matter how good it is it could be better.”

Shi:

Alright, that brings us to your quest today and it is as always Thoughtful Thursday. Today, follow the path of the best- and worst-case scenario for something that you have coming up in your life and allow yourself to balance those scales and hope for the best but also prepare for the worst, and no matter what don’t appear to be shocked. Are you ready? Say it with us now.

Kay & Shi:

Let’s quest!