Some people say that one of the most valuable strengths in life is being hopeful. But some may also think that hopeful and optimistic people are naive, or sometimes even foolish.
However, experts say that hope greatly benefits our health and happiness. Which leaves us the question, why is hope so important in our life?
Let’s find out what experts have to say:
It was a simple sign: when a fellow prisoner started smoking their cigarettes, they would be dead within a few weeks. As the now-famous author, psychiatrist, and holocaust survivor, Victor Frankel, noted during World War 2, it wasn’t that the German concentration camp guards treated these fellow prisoners any different to other wretched souls, they didn’t. But when the glimmer of a better life left them, they would puff away on the camp’s currency of exchange, a smoke. Once hope had faded, so did their life.
Hope is a curious fellow. At its peak, it offers joy and ecstasy. However, when deficient, hope can be the bringer of sadness, despair, and even – as I regularly see in clients – depression. If hope is extinguished enough, then, its deficit can kill.
How important is hope in our lives? Critical. But why? How can just one creation of our mind have such profound effects? It makes sense once we understand some fundamentals of how our brain works, and our basic human desires – a reflection of our instincts.
We are human and made to survive in the natural world. For our survival, nature kindly gave us basic, essential, desires to ensure we do the minimum necessary to live and thrive.
Such desires include hunger, thirst, a need for shelter, to have families, and be among others like us, a community – we were made to be social. Nature also gave a brain that loves to predict the future.
Every day, whether we are aware of it or not, our brain is continually predicting our future to help us survive. To know not to step in front of a fast-moving car can save our life. To see what we need to do to be able to provide for our family means we don’t become extinct.
Now, suppose in its future imaginings our brain sees we won’t be able to have one of our essential basic human needs met. How might that feel? Not good. Now imagine that within the stories we can’t see how we can have any of our basic human needs met. How might that feel? Hopeless.
Hope is nature talking to us. If it seems we can fulfill what it needs of us, it gives us a great big carrot – a huge incentive – and the energy to do what it wants us to do – motivation. But why give us the energy to do what it knows won’t benefit us? It doesn’t.
To be hopeless is to lose all motivation to do what we need to live
It is to be in a deep, dark, well without a rope. And even if it were there, we wouldn’t have the energy to climb it. Many of us know this level of hopelessness as life-threatening depression – an experience I have personally experienced and learned to overcome.
How do we create hope?
We can start by meeting our basic human needs. These are needs such as making friends, being social, spending time with people who care and love us. Much of the hopelessness I see is a result of our disconnect.
We can also work to change our narrative. Hopelessness is based on an assumption; it is the brain saying what has happened before will happen again. But it doesn’t have to. We can rewrite the story and make a realistic set of plans and goals that ensure we meet our basics as a person. We can turn despair into joy.
Make heartfelt goals – things you can look forward to with joy. It could be a holiday or a career with a greater sense of meaning or purpose. It could be to save up for something you like.
If we struggle changing how we see ourselves and the future, perhaps we need the help of a qualified therapist.
We can all create hope. We can all live lives full of purpose and meaning. When finally freed from the horror of human despair of the concentration camp, Victor Frankel decided to write a book, ‘Man’s Search for Meaning.’ He went on to create a therapy known as Logotherapy. It aimed to help people find meaning in their lives – give them hope.
Perhaps if more of us return to ensuring we meet our basic human needs we will all experience more hope and see less depression and despair. I believe we can.
Inside everyone, I see the promise of enormous hope.
Hope is a human emotion that is quantified and made tangible by the belief that we can overcome a specific challenge, and by taking an active role to persevere and see things through against all odds.
Hope is an investment of self
Hope involves the active participation of body and mind to achieve the challenge before us. All facets of being human play a key role where hope is involved; cognitive, behavioral, emotional, physical, physiological, psychological, and spiritual.
Hope is a cognitive-emotional belief
Thoughts that we have and emotions that we feel which ultimately change the architecture of the way our brain and body communicate with each other. Hope is a significant element of belief. Beliefs are expectations. When we believe in something, our expectations guide us toward those beliefs. Our thoughts and feelings activate certain neurochemicals in our brain which in turn affect our bodies in positive ways.
The healing power of hope is well-known around the world
Hope is a human phenomenon; an elixir that is self-generated from within. Regardless of our differences as human beings, hope remains perhaps our most powerful tool for coping with the many challenges that life presents.
It significantly influences the healing process both psychologically, emotionally, and physically. It decreases depression, anxiety, and stress. Having hope increases our overall well-being.
We often think of hope as naive or unrealistic, imagining it as throwing things against the wall and hoping something will stick. It can also be conflated with blind optimism, or ignoring red flags and hoping things will just work out. Many will even suppress hope because they are terrified of disappointment.
Hope is a crucial part of life, it’s what gives us the will and drive to succeed
According to Hope Theory (Snyder, 1991), hope is defined as the perceived capability to derive pathways to desired goals, and motivate one’s self via agency thinking to use those pathways. Hope means believing in yourself and your ability to overcome obstacles.
Hope can lay the groundwork for what you want your life to look like
When something seems possible, we motivate ourselves and believe we can get there. When we’re hopeful, we think and act strategically, rather than becoming complacent or paralyzed by fear.
When we feel hopeful, we change the way we think about a situation or challenge. We envision things getting better and how we’d like to get there. We can gain a broader perspective by understanding we don’t have control over what happens, only our reaction to it.
The absence of hope can lead to a defeatist attitude
If there’s no hope, then what’s the point in trying? In the book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl described his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp and observed that the prisoners who survived the longest were those holding on to hope.
Hope allowed prisoners to believe that one day, their circumstances would change and things would get better. This gave them the will to carry on, and to find meaning in their suffering. The last human freedom is to choose one’s attitude.
The messages I receive from people who are feeling discouraged and hopeless can be some of the most heart-wrenching to read and answer. But I can’t think of anything more important than reaching out to someone who is hurting with caring and hope.
People who see no hope can feel frustrated, heartsick, anxious, stressed and angry. As a person is beaten down further and hope ebbs away, this may turn into giving up, listlessness, lifelessness—just going through the motions, more like an automaton than a human being with free will, self-determination and great potential.
These characteristics that reflect our humanity can be buried under the avalanche of hopelessness. Hopelessness sucks the life and resilience out of us.
But with an infusion of hope, things can begin to change. The light at the end of the tunnel can motivate us to move forward.
The lifeline of hope can help us climb from the pit of despair
The bridge of hope can span the gap from meaninglessness to real purpose and passion. As H. Jackson Brown, Jr., said, “Hope is the magic carpet that transports us from the present moment into the realm of infinite possibilities.”
Hope is what makes life worth living! Sharing Hope is an essential part of a virtuous cycle that can overcome any obstacle and renew a spark of joy.
Mandy Oaklander wrote about an encouraging example of the power of hope in preventing suicide inTime magazine. She told of a psychiatrist who started a test program of sending short letters to severely depressed or suicidal patients who had been released but had refused further treatment.
Some of the replies highlighted the effectiveness of the program in generating hope:
“You will never know what your little notes mean to me.”
My favorite (excuse the language) was, “You are the most persistent son of a bitch I’ve ever encountered, so you much really be sincere in your interest in me.”
Hope is essential to preserving life! Hope gives meaning and purpose to life.
As Michelle Obama said, “You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.”
Related: How to Find Meaning and Purpose in Your Life
Hope is a combination of expectation and happiness on credit. We know that life sometimes turns out in unexpected ways and thus we hope for some improvement or other to happen.
Hope lets us survive hard times
It teaches us to accept an improvement even if it’s not the exact thing that we wished or prayed for. Mankind yearns for the miraculous. You realize this when you pray spontaneously for something to happen.
You adjust your behavior and remarks when you want to to help the miraculous thing to happen. In order to change the nature of our lives on that level, we must release ourselves from the gravity of our personal and collective past.
We intuitively know what to do even if we can’t explain the phenomenon: Freeing ourselves of our own limiting beliefs and even someone else’s so that something wonderful can happen, stepping away from our traumas and nurturing a sense of cleanliness and optimism, a potential, that we hadn’t sensed before.
That thinking and behavior are based on hope. We invest ourselves in it so that we can imagine a better future and help it to happen.
Without hope, we become stuck in despair, anger, and misery
We’re aware of some of our emotions and possibly aware that we have unconscious emotions that prevent life, the universe, GOD, whatever you wish to call it, from gifting us with a happier life and/or different circumstances.
Hope frees us from the emotional chains of our past and our expectations
Hope lets us choose to remain alive, responsive, and interactive with everything around us. Hopeless people don’t choose liveliness, being responsive or interactive. Hopeless people have dulled senses and expectations, a deadened mind and spirit. Hopeless people tend to prevent positive improvements from happening.
Hope lets us feel and be enthusiastic, spiritual, energetic and filled with potential
Hope lets a person reframe the experiences of life so that they can interpret events as resembling stepping stones, a path, to positive developments, potentials, unfolding. Hope lets that potential be fulfilled so that we can exceed previous achievements.
Hope lets us grow beyond our limitations
It keeps our hearts and minds open to change, to leave behind unproductive or counterproductive habits. Hope lets a better future into our lives whereas. Habitual negative thoughts and behaviors prevent a better future from happening.
Hopeful people sing, dance, and celebrate inside their minds and with their bodies. Hope is our connection to an ever-better future. Life can hardly continue without a sense of hope.
Do what you can to nurture a sense of hope. Do things that leave you smiling, soothed, and happy. Your sense of optimism will rise, and a sense of hope will fill your mind. You will be free to let the universe, life, GOD, whatever you wish to call it, to help you.
Related: When Life Gives You Lemons.. Should You Make Lemonade?
Rob Magill, MA, ICAADC, CCPG, DOT-SAP, LPCTBHI
Certified Telebehavioral Health Practitioner | Founder, Magill Counseling
People need hope more than almost anything else. There is a saying: “The future determines the present”. This seems backward. The choices I make today determine the outcomes I enjoy tomorrow.
But how do we know what choices are the best choices today, to get us there tomorrow? When we know where we want to go, the right choices for today become much more obvious. So, what does this have to do with hope? The future we picture is the future we work towards.
Hope lets us create an amazing, unrealistically big, and good picture of the future
As we take steps towards this future, our hopes become reality. That is something amazing to work towards and very life-giving, energizing, and motivating! That is why hope is so important!
So, hope is the fuel that lets us get up in the morning and take action to live the life we want.
Even when we otherwise don’t feel like it. Especially when life gets really difficult. Hope can help us take action to get through our circumstances!
Christine Scott-Hudson
Licensed Psychotherapist | Marriage and Family Therapist | Owner,Create Your Life Studio
We need to have hope during hard times where struggle, grief, and depression have taken hold. Otherwise, we feel stuck and powerless, swallowed whole by the present ache.
When we get very low, when times get rough, we can be tricked into thinking that life will always be this way. If the grief, sadness, or depression are severe then it can feel unbearable to imagine living this way forever.
If we can find a tiny glimmer of hope to hold on to, it can remind us that bad experiences are not going to last forever
It can pull us out of the hole of our sad past and the abyss of our unbearable present towards the future; where these feelings will be lessened, less intense, less acute.
Perhaps we will feel less horrible, or neutral, or even feel some respite and ease! Hope reminds us that, in time, maybe we will even feel good again.
Poetry is absolutely medicinal if you have lost hope. I recommend reading Charles Bukowski’s poem, “The Laughing Heart.”
The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski
your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.
“Hope is a thing with feathers,” wrote the poet, Emily Dickinson, about a bird who perseveres, even in harsh conditions, who continues to share its song.
When we have hope, we can continue to share our gifts with the world. Hope helps us rise above the apparent standstill into a brighter future, where things are likely to be lighter.
I believe hope is one of the most important things in life and I have many reasons why I feel that way. I had a pretty traumatic childhood; however, I always had the hope that when I was old enough my entire life would change for the better. I grew up as the ultimate optimist because I had to believe that just to get through my childhood years.
When you have hope, it creates ambition to make those changes in your life to better yourself and your situation
I ended up creating my own litigation support business (with nothing more than a high school diploma and hope). This business was very successful and my legal career lasted around 25 years.
However, the more important reason I think hope is so important is after my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She witnessed her Grandmother have treatment for breast and bone cancer in the ‘70s. She went through so much pain and suffering and still lost her life to this horrible disease.
My mother swore she would never be treated for cancer and that she was leaving ‘with all her body parts’. After gentle persuasion, we convinced her that treatment had changed to much since then and she decided to go through with the treatment.
After many forms of treatment (e.g., port implant twice, double mastectomies, chemotherapy, hormone replacements, radiation, blood transfusion, etc.), she received the call that she was finally cancer free. Her and I both collapsed in the hallway in tears of joy that we had hope and she beat it!
About a year later, after several regular scans that were required to keep the cancer in check, she had been diagnosed with a second primary cancer (very rare according the doctors). This was pancreatic cancer which had already metastasized to her liver. Where her cancer was in her pancreas, she was not eligible for surgery. The doctor gave her 3 – 5 months to live and they called upon Hospice.
She had been a fighter all her life as mentioned above (she dealt with many emotionally & physically abusive situations). Again, we both held onto hope. She was not only my mother, personal/executive assistant, roommate & my very best friend, but neither could imagine the thought of living without the other.
Obviously, she would not be able to fight this forever. Let’s face it, we all die of something. However, I honestly believe that it was purely our hope & desire to stay together for as long as we possibly could.
She actually beat all the odds given to her and survived another 15 months after her pancreatic diagnosis. Nobody could believe it. The doctors’ would tell her, “If I didn’t know you were sick, I would not think that at all!”
Hospice was called in full time about three times and she would completely rally and they would be pulled out. They all (from the nurses, the social worker, the spiritual adviser) said they have never seen anything like this. They said they have seen people rally for a day or two, but not weeks or months.
Again, I believe it was hope that got us through this very trying time in our lives. And I appreciate every extra moment I was able to spend with her! Therefore, having hope is one of the most important things in life!
Related: What Are the Most Important Things in Life?
Hope is so important in our lives because it reflects a belief that change is possible
As long as you have hope, you are in the fight to better yourself and your life. This means you are likely to take action in order to make an improvement. Without hope, you can develop learned helplessness or the belief that you are powerless to enact any sort of positive change. This is widely believed to be an underlying cause of depression.
At its core, hope leads to action, and action is a prerequisite for success.
In mental health, there is a strong correlation between hope and depression. Understanding the foundations of hope is instrumental to understand why it’s so important in life.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists utilize the Becks Depression Inventory in which depression is assessed by evaluating how Hopeless, Worthless, and Helpless someone feels about their self, their world, and their future. Of these three areas, Hopelessness is known to have the strongest correlation to suicidality.
Hope is a necessity to life as humans often loose their will to live when they have no hope
In clinical practice, professionals often ask questions gauging whether or not someone sees ‘light at the end of the tunnel’. Often when life starts bombarding us with one challenge after another humans start wondering will there ever be light at the end of the tunnel.
If that light becomes faint, it becomes hard to see and almost disappears, and thus humans struggle with feeling hope. They struggle with believing things will eventually be okay.
Consequentially, this negative lens on life begins to jade ones perspective, even when things improve. This consuming negative lens of their self, world, future can drive a person to want to escape and they often do so with use/abuse of mood-altering substances among other self-destructive behaviors. This vicious cycle stems from hope.
Adina Mahalli
Certified Mental Health Consultant,Enlightened Reality| Relationship Expert, Maple Holistics
Generally, hope means that there is a desire for things to change for the better
Hopeful people are able to face even the most negative and desperate times with a better attitude. Life is challenging and goals are not enough to achieve success. Hope allows people to approach situations and obstacles with a mindset conducive to looking toward the future with motivation and positive emotions.
Without hope, we are more susceptible to poor health, mental, and physical. When we see life with no hope we become depressed and helpless.
Lynell Ross
Certified Health and Wellness Coach | Behavior Change Specialist | Founder and Managing Editor,Zivadream
First, I help people understand that those who don’t have hope don’t believe they can change. They don’t even have a reason to change. Many people have what is called, “Learned helplessness.”
They believe that control lies outside themselves. They are trapped in a situation and don’t believe there is a way out. When people don’t have hope, they either don’t want to live or stay trapped in a meaningless life.
Hope makes people live their best life, thus, they are able to be of service to others, to make a contribution to the world
One way I shed a new light for others is to share the story of Viktor Frankl, who wrote Man’s Search for Meaning, after being in Auschwitz Nazi Concentration Camp during WWII. They killed his family, and he was the only one left, being tortured and starved.
He survived because he helped others stay hopeful during their time at Auschwitz and promised that he would chronicle his experiences to tell the world what had happened. This hope kept him alive.
One of his most famous quotes is the definition of hope:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing – the last of human freedoms, to choose an attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” -Viktor Frankl
When we help another human being to see things in a new way, we offer them hope so they want to live their best life.
Human beings are powerfully sapient. In other words, we are wise and seem to be the only things on the planet capable of time traveling with our minds. This is so important regarding the concept of hope in life.
Hope means having an expectation or desire for something specific to occur in the near or distant future
I’d encourage you to think how do we get that idea in the very first place? The power of sapience, perhaps. I think it’s common to jump into the future and imagine our ideal self or ideal future scenario in order to build optimistic feelings in the present to press on toward that time ahead.
It’s also possible that hope could be the outcome of something good that had happened before, and thus is something we are hoping for once again in the coming times. For those who keep on hoping are making a distinct choice for an ideal future. That’s such a powerful technique to use for mental health wellness, and generally a good concept to live by in life.
Hope is eternal
Without hope nothing makes sense. We can’t do anything, we can’t go anywhere. We can’t build ourselves up. We can’t pull ourselves out of bad situations that we find ourselves in. Without hope, our whole life seems meaningless.Without hope there is no light; only darkness.
Hope creates the light.
It creates the ability to find better things in everything around us. Hope is the spice of life!
I experienced times in my life that I felt essentially hopeless. Different things happen that created different circumstances that put me into a place where I found it difficult to see the hope in the situation that I was in. Everything was lackluster.
In these moments everything was dark. There was no light and there was no way to look at things and say, ‘Here is my next step. My way to get past what is currently going on.’ I could only see emptiness and sadness.
Until you find the hope in the moment, and then everything brightens up. This is why hope is important because it changes a dark moment with seemingly no way out into a light moment.
Anything is possible by simply adding a bit of hope into your life
The whole world becomes available to you when you see a way out of what was a hopeless situation.
When we don’t have hope in our life, we feel depressed.It is a lack of hope that causes mental anguish in people. With no hope, there is no tomorrow. No matter how many tomorrows they should have, or how many days they can see in the future, there is no tomorrow that they can visualize because without hope they can’t get there. They can’t get there mentally and physically. There is no reason to go on!
Hope is important in life because it gives us a reason to move forward.
Hope is important in life because it helps us gain the clarity that we need to get to the next step.
Hope is important because our entire life changes when we have it.
Hope is eternal!
Hope is what gives us the strength and faith that we can get through a tough period or rough patch to a better place
It can be anything from a simple wish to a spiritual or religious experience depending on the person who is hoping.
Hope provides a vision of a better future which can bring happiness and connect your current and past setbacks to a better world ahead. Hope is what gives us a positive frame of mind to begin taking steps forward in life. Being hopeful has been shown to improve your health and reduce stress too so it really is critical in life to be your best self.
I am grateful to be surrounded by hope every day and to witness the importance of it in the parent’s lives. Sometimes I’m helping to give hope, sometimes redirecting it and other times just witness it. I am a physical therapist for children who work on developmental disabilities and own a private practice where we work closely with parents and their children.
Hope shifts focus to the future, to possibilities, and to action
Many times parents come to me after hearing a worst-case scenario diagnosis from a doctor. Other parents come to me having their worries and concerns blown off and told their child is fine while their gut is screaming that something isn’t right. Other parents are told nothing else can be done to help their child.
This is where I get to come in and bring a spotlight of hope — hope that we can always make positive change, even if it is small meaningful steps along the way. The hope that “Mom gut” is always right and that we can identify and address the concerns. The hope that there are different ways to help every child meet their own personal potential.
Hope is the piece that is often the turning point in the parents experience. Hope can be in a solution to their child’s challenges, it can be a refocusing on new goals, or it can be opening new opportunities.
I have the honor of watching hope transform hearts and minds of parents that want the best for the children and that every day I get to help bring that hope into their lives.
Hope is a tricky and sensitive topic. Hope can cause you to be optimistic, secure and happy but, at the same time, hope can be broken by the environment around us. So, there should be a delicate balance between the two.
We all know that life has its ups and downs, but we hope that time can help begin the process of healing – at the same time, encourage our ‘hope’ in life.
Having hope gives us the power to be happy and believe in the world around us
It releases endorphins in our body to create happiness and determination to go on. Hope is what we make out of it. It is something that is not materialist, but something we can take ownership to on our terms.
Hope is important because you want to influence those around us in a positive light, and spread your positive hope in an effort to make the world a better place.
I gave a TEDx talk about hope and what happened one evening that saved my life. That hope came for me as a moment of laughter on a suicidal night four years ago. That hope sparked a purpose for my life.
It began an incredible (now) 1,454 day cross country journey of recovery to reach a symbolic goal that has also been giving hope to tens of thousands of people I have been meeting one by one.
Hope is the most powerful moment a person can experience. With hope anything is possible
We tend to make our lives so complex. But hope is something that reminds us of the eight year old inside us all. Hope is the simplicity of that kid. And anything was possible when we were that kid. Hope lets us know it is still possible today at any age we are.
We love to watch Disney movies and read all the Harry Potter books. That is all about hope.
I have also spoken at 27 colleges across the U.S. and shared what hope did for me on November 2, 2015. Students have shared back with me about their own stories of traumas and triumphs. We remind each other there is always hope.
On this odyssey to reach the goal, I have personally walked up to and met one by one 30,851 strangers who have shared the most incredible stories in 92 languages with me on 476 giant foam poster boards. It has created a massive story of hope. I will present this someday and help others see what is possible with hope.
The best example I can give you about what hope means in our lives can be explained by a presentation I gave in Scottsdale, Arizona. Almost 200 people applied to speak at this popular annual event and the committee only chose 18 of us to present for just five minutes each. I was one of those chosen.
That evening I was the only speaker to receive a standing ovation. It wasn’t because I was amazing. It wasn’t because I am Tony Robbins. It was because of something so simple. The individuals in that crowd connected to the power of hope. And so many of them told me that after the event.
When all is seemingly lost…we want to know there is something that can help. And that is indeed…hope. I am alive today because of that moment of hope on that dark night four years ago.
Hope is a key piece in our lives because of the way our brains work.
Neurolinguistic Programming teaches us about the way we receive information. As information from the outside world comes to us through our senses, our brain must organize it. It does this through deletion, distortion, or generalization.
After the information has already gone through this process, it is further filtered through internal resources such as identity, mood, values, and beliefs. This is the difference between someone seeing a cup as half-empty or half-full.
When we have hope, we are able to see resources available to us that may not have been visible to us before
For instance, if we continuously say “There’s no way I can take a vacation.” Our brains will look for evidence to prove that statement correct. So we will only perceive things that support that concept.
However, if we choose hope, and say to ourselves, “I’m going to take a vacation.” Our brains will find the resources we need to do so.
Hope affects our internal filters, and with positive filters, we achieve so much more.
Hope is necessary to discover solutions and find the success that might not have been apparent in a challenging situation
Think, “how can I?” instead of “I can’t!” Doing so turns on the problem-solving process in our brains, allowing us to come up with different solutions and find a way to overcome challenges.
In life, and in business, hope can be considered motivational. Hope pulls us forward and contributes to our desire to keep working until we find a solution.
Without hope, small and large hurdles alike, feel almost impossible to overcome. When facing a difficult situation, remember to think, “How can I?” instead of “I can’t.”
Hope is the gift of life. Without hope, living is existing.
Hope gives us the essence to rise from the ashes of despair
It elevates our spirit to receive that what we do not ‘yet’ see; this gives life meaning and purpose to help us walk through life together as a conglomerate infusing one another and being raised up to live as God’s continued light through the rocks of darkness, growing and emerging stronger, wiser, through the shifting shadows of our path.
Hope will always be the constant beacon of God’s grace and light in us.
I’ve been thinking about the significance of hope for the past few weeks. I had the pleasure of speaking with scholar and astrologer Carol Ferris about grief. She referenced theologian, palliative care specialist and subject of the film, Griefwalker, Stephen Jenkinson.
He shares that “Hope is the enemy of the present.” In explaining, when we use words like hopeful and hopeless, we are looking into the future, when we should be focusing on the present. Still, I believe that Hope is essential.
When we can hope, we can dream and this is how we set goals and achieve them
I share the idea that hope is the enemy of the present, only because it provides an interesting perspective, particularly on how, in our culture, we spend an inordinate amount of time focusing forward at the risk of missing being present.
Melanie Musson
Youth Mentor | Ladies’ Ministry Leader | Writer, AutoInsuranceCompanies
Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes the events around you swallow you up and leave you feeling like you’re drowning in darkness.
Hope brings a glimmer of light to those darkest moments
Hope can make you keep breathing. Hope can give you the motivation to get up and move forward ever so slowly.
Without hope, there’s only darkness in bad times.
Hope brings life and growth and the will to continue. There is good ahead on life’s road, and you will get there. It is hope that sustains you when you’re suffocating in trials and it is hope that carries through the grayness of uncertainty, and it is hope that, though starting as just a small glimmer of light, will grow and bring you to the part of your journey where there are radiant light and happiness.
Hope is what carries you through.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Does Hope Impact Our Mental and Emotional Well-Being?
Hope has a profound impact on our mental and emotional well-being, playing a crucial role in shaping our perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors.
Impact on Mental Health:
• Helps reduce stress and anxiety: Hope gives people a sense of control and the belief that their future is in their hands, reducing feelings of helplessness, stress, and anxiety.
• Improves mood and resilience: Hope is associated with positive moods and helps people bounce back from adverse events and difficult life situations.
• Increases positive thinking: People who hold hope are more likely to think positively about the future and their own abilities, thereby promoting mental well-being.
Impact on Emotional Well-Being:
• Encourages positive coping strategies: Hope helps people adopt positive coping strategies, promoting better emotional regulation.
• Enhances satisfaction with life: People who hold hope tend to be more satisfied with their lives, as they have a positive outlook on the future and their own abilities to control it.
• Reduces symptoms of depression: Research shows that people with high levels of hope are less likely to experience symptoms of depression and are better able to manage symptoms when they occur.
Can You Live Life Without Hope?
Hope is essential to our lives as it gives us the drive and determination to overcome obstacles and reach our goals. Hope keeps us going when things seem impossible and provide us with the belief that things will get better. Without hope, life becomes monotonous, and we lose the drive to move forward.
How Can Hope Be Maintained in Our Daily Lives?
Maintaining hope in daily life is crucial for overall well-being and a positive outlook on life. Here are some strategies that can help:
• Practice gratitude: Take time each day to reflect on what you’re thankful for, no matter how small. This can help shift your focus from what’s lacking to what’s present in your life.
• Connect with others: Building strong relationships and spending time with loved ones can provide a sense of purpose and support. Volunteer work or participating in community events can also help connect you with others.
• Stay active: Exercise and other physical activities can help release endorphins, boosting your mood and providing a sense of accomplishment.
• Set achievable goals: Having something to work towards can provide a sense of purpose and motivate you. Make sure to set realistic and attainable goals to maintain hope and momentum.
• Practice mindfulness: Take time each day to quiet your mind and focus on the present moment. This can help reduce stress and anxiety, leading to greater hope and optimism.
• Seek help if needed: If feelings of hopelessness persist or interfere with daily life, it may be helpful to seek the support of a mental health professional.
Is Hope Always Realistic, or Can It Be Misguided?
Hope can be both realistic and misguided. It is most beneficial when it is based on realistic expectations and a balanced understanding of the situation. It is important to be mindful of the source of one’s hope and ensure that it aligns with reality.
Hope can provide motivation and positivity under challenging situations and help individuals achieve their goals. When hope is grounded in evidence and reason, it can be a valuable tool for navigating challenges and making positive changes.
On the other hand, hope can also be misguided when it is based on unrealistic expectations or false beliefs. For example, hoping for a cure for a terminal illness without considering the medical evidence can lead to disappointment and frustration. Misguided hope can also perpetuate harmful behaviors or prevent individuals from seeking practical solutions to their problems.
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