Hopeless

[english vs indonesian]

In Indonesian, “hopeless” can be translated as “tanpa harapan”. In daily conversations, we might often use the term for those who suffer serious illness or those with physical handicaps.

In a slightly differently way, “hopeless”, in English, is usually used to describe something or someone with bad character or attitude which is frequently disappointing. In a working environment, for example, someone with such a bad working attitude (lazy, careless, and not well-organized) is usually called “hopeless”. The same term is also applied to someone who is very slow in giving response to an emergency or someone with such a low sensitivity toward environmental changes.

Apparently, the term “hopeless” used by westerners has more appropriate meaning. The term “hopeless”, I think, is indeed appropriate to be addressed to those with bad attitudes, not to those who cannot do much in life because of natural limitations (illness, physical handicaps). Furthermore, only people who cannot recognize and appreciate their potentials will be “hopeless”. In contrast, people with physical handicaps or illness, often, still have hopes as long as they can compromise their limitations. Steven Hawking is one of the instances. With regards to his physical condition, people may say he is “hopeless” but in fact, he brings thousands of hopes for the glory of science and technology.

So, don’t ever think you are hopeless unless you are sure that you have bad attitudes 🙂