# Excitement and Hope By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2022-08-29 Fall is right around the corner. For those lucky enough to be around a college campus during this time of the year, there is something special about the atmosphere. One can feel an electric vibe that is unmistakable. It’s a vibe of excitement and hope. While those [[emotions]] are potentially shared among young people, it is especially palpable on college campuses as these youth are congregated en masse, with 25% of the student body being new. Their time of excitement and hope is contagious, and those around them are fortunate. So, what happens to these emotions as we age? The short answer is they diminish. If [[life]] has been lived well, excitement and hope can slowly be replaced with [[contentment]] and nostalgia. If one’s life didn’t unfold favorably, perhaps excitement and hope become regret and bitterness. Excitement and hope are not often sustained into later stages of life. There are likely biological as well as existential components to this eventuality. But it doesn’t have to be this way. When I meet an older person and walk away refreshed, it is often because after [[talking]] with that person I am impressed by how the individual “still” is excited and hopeful. It seems that excitement and hope are fueled by the dual perspective of joy in the present and [[work]] toward a compelling future. When one has both joys in the present and activity directed toward the fulfillment of a worthy future goal one becomes positive and engaged. For those in college, the joy is often solidarity with each other, and the compelling future is their envisioned career. For those at a different stage in life, the joy might be from seeing life more clearly and the project might be learning something new or doing something for others. Approaching any work is fatiguing. Analytic work can be mentally exhausting and isolating. No matter how banal a given position turns out to be, at one point one strived with excitement and hope to get there. As we think about ways to improve our work, our life, or our world, an important component is our mindset. Approach each of these things with excitement and hope makes things better for ourselves and those around us. #### Related Items [[Excitement]] [[Hope]] [[Solidarity]] [[College]] [[Stages of Life]] [[Mindset]]