Palejowe ABC - HOPE

What is hope anyway? And is it worth having it, or is it better to live without it?

Hope is more than positive thinking or optimism. It's far from the magical thinking that all we have to do is sit back and imagine good things and they will surely come true. Expectations that are too high, planning things that are difficult to achieve, clinging to the vision that some matter important to us will definitely turn out in the direction we want can lead to disappointment and discourage action. Depending on its definition, hope can be both an emotion and a state. It is also a certain way of thinking that gives us the motivation to pursue our desired goal, develop ways to achieve it and take the next steps toward change. In other words, hope is when you believe that your future can be better than the past and realize that you have some influence to improve it.

The older we get, the more difficult it can be to hold onto hope. Confronting the fleeting nature of health and life, painful losses of loved ones or daily worries can undoubtedly make it difficult to look to the future with a sense that things will still be okay. However, it turns out that nurturing hope is associated with health benefits. Harvard University researchers found that people characterized by high levels of hope that lasted most of their lives enjoyed better physical and mental health and coped better with stress than others. This is because, among other things, people who look to the future with hope imagine that they are able to overcome obstacles that come their way and face them alone or with the help of others. They take into account their past experiences and, based on them, conclude that they will be able to cope regardless of the circumstances - while not assuming that everything will work out and run easily. However, they are able to develop a plan of action or adapt to changing events and circumstances.

Feeling hopeful can be learned just like any new habit. It requires a bit of work on oneself, changing some beliefs and considering one's thoughts, however, it is possible. It' s helpful to cultivate hope by practicing planning skills, which will help us devise different ways to achieve our goals. In addition, you can try to take control of the goals you are pursuing. Ask yourself some supporting questions: Is what you want really what you want? Or do you want it because others expect it of you? Are all your goals equally important? How can you achieve your desired goal in at least three ways? Do your chosen methods of achieving your goal bring you closer to it? Are they effective? How else might you try to achieve your chosen goal?

Charles R. Snyder - a researcher of hope - also encouraged us to look for evidence in our memory that we have already managed to achieve our plans and dreams in the past, and that we successfully face various challenges every day. The result is to facilitate our feelings of hope and gratitude.

Hope isn't always easy, but it is effective in helping people thrive in many areas, including work and school. If we inspire hope in ourselves, we are motivated to act because we believe we can achieve the result we want. Hope makes life more meaningful. People who have a high level of hope are more persistent, and they don't give up as quickly in the face of failure. Besides, when they face obstacles they can't overcome, they are able to plan other methods of reaching their goals. And as they formulate more goals, even if they encounter difficulties in achieving one of them, they continue to try to achieve other goals they have set. Of course, each failure is associated with feeling a variety of emotions - anger, anxiety, disappointment or sadness. However, when there are other goals on the horizon and hope for their fulfillment, the frustration resulting from earlier failure becomes less acute and it is easier to get back on track. Hope is a life-sustaining human force that drives us to action. It gives us the power to get through the most difficult times.

Sources of knowledge and inspiration that led to this article:

Snyder C.R., Shorey H.S., Cheavens J., Pulvers K., Adams V.H, Wiklund C. (2002), Hope and academic success, Journal of Educational Psychology

Kausar S., Jevne R. F., Sobsey D. (2003), Hope in Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities, Journal of developmental disabilities

Vered Shenaar-Golan (2015), Hope and subjective well-being among parents of children with special needs, Child & Family Social Work