Episode 235: How to Practice Active Hope and Build Resilience with Author and Speaker Jay Armstrong

“Maybe we don’t need the new year to make us new— maybe we just need the courage to let go.”   ~ Jay Armstrong, Award winning writer, speaker, humorist. Author of A Good Calamity, Follow Your Dreams Down and other inspirational books   What if, instead of piling things on to improve ourselves over this new year, we simply let some things go? Award winning author and speaker Jay Armstrong has had to release much in his life, primarily due to his struggle with Ataxia, a neurological disease that causes a lack of muscle control affecting balance, walking speech and fine motor skills. As a result, Jay has found ways to create resilience every day in ways big, small and unexpected. In this episode of the Brilliantly Resilient podcast, Jay invites us to rethink resilience not as grit-your-teeth endurance, but as a daily, evolving practice rooted in presence. Jay notes that resilience isn’t about fixing ourselves or racing toward some imagined future version, it’s about showing up fully in the body and life we have right now. Whether it’s turning off distractions, focusing on the next step (literally or figuratively), or simply being present for the moment in front of us, resilience begins when we focus on the now. As a practitioner of active hope—the idea that hope grows through movement, action, and personal engagement—Jay subscribes to the belief that instead of waiting for circumstances to change or for motivation to magically appear, hope is built when we physically engage in our own saving. Even small actions (in Jay’s case, writing a paragraph, walking the dog, lifting a weight, making someone laugh) become life-saving behaviors. In choosing action over passivity, we choose momentum, dignity and forward motion, even on the hardest days. Further, Jay encourages us to release the burden of “shoulds” and comparisons to others. Jay recognizes that shoulds can morph into expectations that when unmet begin to create regret and bitterness, while comparison is the “thief of joy.” A central theme of living a Brilliantly Resilient life, releasing shoulds and comparisons and instead focusing on the impact of small actions always initiates forward growth. Jay’s barometer for a good life revolves around a simple question: If I were to die tonight, what would make my last day successful? The answer isn’t perfection or productivity, but connection, creativity, humor, movement, and love. By trading comparison and pressure for intention and meaning, resilience becomes less about surviving and more about living—one honest, imperfect day at a time. Follow Jay Armstrong, The (dis)Abled Writer on Substack and find his books on Amazon. Be sure to listen to Jay on this week’s episode of The Brilliantly Resilient podcast, and tune of these bits of Brilliance. “The more you physically engage in your own saving, the stronger hope becomes.” “When you engage in life-saving behavior, you engage in hope.” “Hope alone isn’t enough. Hope needs movement.” “My body isn’t a problem to solve—it’s a story to listen to.” “Presence means saying: I’m here right now, and that’s enough.” “Passive hope is the fantasy that one day I’ll wake up upgraded.” “The ‘should-bes’ lead to maybes and might-bes—and then one day they turn into regret and bitterness.” “Comparison is the thief of joy—and it’s completely unproductive.” “Every choice leads to a result. You have to ask yourself: what good will come from this?” “Little movements create active hope because they create momentum.” “If I were to die tonight, what would make my last day successful?” “Maybe we don’t need the new year to make us new—maybe we just need the courage to let go.” Let’s be Brilliantly Resilient together! XO, Mary Fran