Just as people worldwide start to return to some normalcy in life, I’m coming across headlines indicating there could be another wave of COVID infections.
Added to this are continued news stories about the war in Ukraine.
And let’s not forget about the state our planet is in, with heatwaves, storms, and warnings that things could get worse.
But as troubling as it is to continue hearing and thinking about pandemics, climate change, war, and inflation, there are strategies you can implement to nurture thoughts and feelings of hope – an essential component for building resiliency and posttraumatic growth.
Strategies for Building Hope
Here are a few strategies that I’ve picked up along the way, both in my quest to be more hopeful and from the research literature in psychology.
1. Building hope requires effort. It’s easy to think that hope magically appears. But it doesn’t. Hope requires effort. If you want to have more hope, you need to work at building it. Specifically, you have to find hope. For instance, lately, I’ve been searching for headlines that suggest things are turning around in Ukraine. “Russian forces are stalled,” or “Russia has effectively admitted defeat in Ukraine.” When looking to build hope, search for changes in a situation’s narrative. Recognizing even the most minor improvements can nurture feelings of hopefulness.
2. Spend time with hopeful people. You’ve heard the expression, “Misery loves company.” Well, there’s a lot of truth to that statement. Whenever you’re feeling depressed, hopeless, or just plain miserable, you can find people willing to share in your misery. Conversely, if you want to feel more hopeful, you need to look for people who feel and think the same way you do. Spending time with hopeful people will inspire you to see the bright speck of light in a pool of darkness.
3. Embrace uncertainty. Regardless of how many talents and strengths you might have, one thing you cannot do is accurately predict the future. No human being can predict the future. And since no one can predict the future, how can you be sure that the future will be negative? How can anyone be certain that the next 5, 10, or 20 years will be worse than the last? The fact is that your future – our future – can be better than it is today. When you embrace this possibility, you feel more hopeful that the challenges we all face will soon end, leaving a much brighter future ahead for you and all.
Summary
Over the last few years, every human being has dealt with some adversity or challenge. But as Viktor Frankl states in Man’s Search for Meaning, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
Being more hopeful is just one way in which you can change yourself. If you put in effort toward finding hope, spend more time with hopeful people, and embrace the possibility that the future can be much better than the past, then you are on your way to becoming more resilient in the face of life’s challenges.
Richard
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