Steps to Avoid Hope

Begin by assuming nothing improves.

Treat progress as coincidence.

Any forward motion should be regarded with suspicion.

Do not imagine futures.

If one appears uninvited, dismiss it as a habit.

Habits can be broken.

Avoid language that suggests continuation.

Replace soon with eventually.

Replace eventually with probably not.

Keep your sleep irregular.

Rest invites clarity.

Clarity invites wanting.

Limit exposure to people who speak in timelines.

Be wary of those who say next year

or after this.

If someone asks what you want,

answer with what you already have.

This should end the conversation.

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Warning: prolonged stillness may be misinterpreted as peace.

This is a common error.

If calm occurs, remain alert.

Calm often precedes belief.

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In rare cases, avoidance may fail.

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This is not a personal flaw.

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Lower your expectations daily.

This is a maintenance task.

Celebrate small disappointments.

They confirm the system is working.

Do not confuse endurance with faith.

Endurance is merely what happens

when leaving feels inefficient.

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Hope has been known to emerge

during quiet moments,

or while watching someone else persist.

Store unfinished plans where you won’t trip over them.

Label them later and never open the box.

If motivation appears,

treat it as a symptom.

Symptoms pass.

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Despite precautions,

hope may survive.

It adapts.

It waits.

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If you find it still breathing

after all instructions are followed,

understand this:

you were never doing it wrong.

Hope is simply inefficient to kill.