BEING HOPEFUL

BEING HOPEFUL

Wendy Edey R. Psych M.Ed.

Hope is: A process of anticipation that involves the interaction of
thinking, acting, feeling and relating, and is directed toward a future fulfillment that is personally meaningful” (Charlotte Stephenson, 1991, p. 1459).

How can I look to the future and be hopeful at the same time? Here are eight things I have learned about being hopeful despite the things that are happening around me. You might have others to add to this list. .

1) Hope audaciously. Others can give you statistics, predictions and probabilities, but only you can decide what to hope for.

2) Discover how it feels to be hopeful. Where does your body feel it—in your chest, your knees, your eyes or somewhere else?

3) Hang out with hopeful people, the people who make you hopeful.

4) Remember things that turned out better than you expected and tell others about them.

5) Remember impossible things that became possible and tell others about them.

6) Say things that make you hopeful. Use the language of “when” and yet”. Start sentences with ”I hope”.

7) Do things that make you hopeful.

8) Hoping is an active process. Keep finding new things to hope for.