Many people think that hope is something you either have or
you do not, but you can learn to be more helpful.
Hope can feel like a tricky thing to hold onto when things
around you get hard. But it is at these moments that you need hope the most.
American Psychology Association spokesperson Kim Mills
describes hope as ‘a necessity that helps buffer people against the stress and
trauma of adversity’
Hope can be thought of as the belief that the future can be
better than today and that you have the power to make it so. It has been shown
to be linked to wellbeing and positive mental health while the absence of hope
can feel devasting.
The building blocks of hope
Hope has been described as ‘optimism with a plan’, but it is
more than just hoping for the best. Charles Snyder, a prominent hope
researcher, outlines hope as having three main components.
This helps break hope down into its parts so you can see
what skills to develop on your way to being more hopeful.
1. Goals: thinking in a goal-oriented way
Using goals as a tool to move forward rather than staying
stuck is a practice you will be familiar with in many aspects of your life. To
set goals, you need to have a good understanding of your current situation as
well as the creativity to imagine new possibilities.
2. Pathways: finding different pathways to achieve that goal
Whilst creativity is important in setting goals, it is also
vital to find pathways to your goal, especially if you come up against barriers
along the way. Perseverance, problem solving, and flexibility will help you
achieve your goal even if ‘plan A’ does not work out.
3. Agency: believing you can instigate change.
Having confidence in your ability to create change is at the
core of agency, but without self-compassion it is entirely possible that you
will fall at the first hurdle, and then stop trying out of shame or fear of
failure. Self-compassion allows you to view your missteps more kindly, making
you more likely to take necessary (calculated!) risks to get you where you want
to go.
What gets in the way of hope?
Getting stuck thinking about difficult things that have
happened in the past or worrying about the future are known to impact your
ability to feel hope.
Practising mindfulness, grounding yourself in the her and
now can help quieten those worry voices. When you start feeling overwhelmed by
the ‘what ifs’, try asking yourself ‘what now?’.
Return your attention to the present moment, with the
‘5,4,3,2,1 meditation: name five things you can see, four things you can hear,
three things you can touch, two things you can smell and one thing you can
taste.
Calming your brain will boost your creativity and
problem-solving, helping you build hope rather than staying stuck in fear.