Hope
"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." – Desmond Tutu
What Is Hope?
Hope describes our motivation to realize our goals, even when something is blocking us from achieving them. We broadly define hope as "the belief in a better future and the action to make it happen". The action part of this definition is particularly important as it means using specific steps to make our goals a reality. For example, where we may have a 'plan a' that fails, we need to also have a 'plan b', 'plan c', etc. This distinguishes hope from similar concepts as it presumes personal accountability for outcomes.
It can be difficult to maintain hope in situations where an obstacle (be it real or perceived) is standing in the way of our goal. This can allow thoughts of doubt or disbelief to creep in and ultimately leads to giving up.
Fortunately, there are a variety of strategies we can use on a daily basis to help us overcome these negative thoughts and take positive action.
This module will guide you through three steps that have been shown to influence hopeful thinking. Alongside explanations, you will be given practical tools you can use to complete each step and achieve your goals.
Understanding Your Hope Score
An optimal score suggests that you are able to employ multiple appropriate strategies when working on your goals. You likely experience no significant distress when encountering obstacles and are motivated to overcome them. You may want to explore this module in order to maintain good functioning.
A satisfactory score suggests that you are able to employ a few different strategies when working on your goals. You may experience some mild distress when encountering obstacles but are still largely motivated to overcome them. You may want to explore this module to work on those aspects where you are struggling.
A moderate concern score suggests that you are able to employ a limited set of strategies when working on your goals. You may experience some distress when encountering obstacles and may struggle to think of a 'plan b' in situations where 'plan a' doesn't work. We recommend exploring this module in order to work on those aspects where you are struggling.
An at risk score suggests that you are only able to employ one or two strategies when working on your goals. It is likely that you experience frequent and significant distress when encountering obstacles. You are also likely to struggle to think of any alternatives to 'plan a' and therefore have limited motivation to pursue your goals. We recommend exploring this module to work on those aspects where you are struggling and to seek help from your GP/listed helplines if needed.
Why Working On Your Hope Is Important
Having hope feels good, but it is also good for you.
Hopeful people benefit from:
Greater Life Satisfaction
Research shows that hopeful people have a greater sense of meaning and purpose in life and report higher levels of personal growth and life satisfaction than those who are low in hope.
Healthier Lifestyle
Individuals with high levels of hope are more likely to make healthy choices, for example to eat a balanced diet or exercise regularly.
Longer Life Expectancy
As a result of the healthier lifestyle choices that accompany increased hopefulness, people who are more hopeful may actually live longer than those who are less hopeful.
Increased Productivity
Research shows that having high hope can help you thrive at work as well as at home.
One study found that hope alone accounted for 14% of productivity in the workplace and that hopeful employees completed the equivalent of one day a week more work than less hopeful employees.
How Can You Be More Hopeful?
Research suggests that there are three main steps you can take in order to achieve a more hopeful outlook on life.
These steps can be remembered using the acronym GPA:
GOALS
Approaching life in a goal oriented way.
PATHWAYS
Finding different ways to achieve your goals.
AGENCY
Believing that you can bring about change and achieve your goals.
By understanding these steps and using relevant strategies, you can learn how to create clear goals, think of multiple pathways towards those goals and persevere until you have achieved them, even when obstacles get in your way.
Tools To Improve Your Hope
Wheel Of Hope
Visualize all the important areas of your life to identify which you are succeeding in and which ones need more work.
Start NowVision Board
Create a visual representation of the most important things you want to be, do and have in life.
Start NowOvercoming Obstacles
Increase your ability to identify and overcome any barriers that might get in the way of you achieving your goals.
Start NowPositive Affirmations
Positive statements that help you to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts.
Start NowWeighing the Evidence
A key difference between having high hope and having low hope is learning how to balance positive and negative thoughts.
Start NowWheel Of Hope
The wheel of hope is a simple tool that allows you to visualize all the important areas of your life at once. In doing so, the wheel helps you to identify which areas you are succeeding in and which ones need more work.
Completing the wheel is a good starting point for goal-setting as it allows you to gain some insight into the balance of your life and to start thinking about why your wheel looks the way it does, what you would like your wheel to look like and how to make it happen.
Once completed, you can move onto the 'Overcoming Obstacles' worksheet. This tool will help you break down your long-term goals (identified from your wheel) into short-term goals and gets you to think about different ways to overcome any obstacles you might encounter.
You can use and print the PDF template in the Download Materials or draw your own wheel of hope.
1. If drawing, draw a circle and divide it into 8 wedges.
2. Label each wedge so that all the important areas of your life are represented.
3. Assign each wedge a score from 1-10 that reflects how hopeful you are about your goals in that area:
(1 = not hopeful at all)
(10 = extremely hopeful)
4. Fill in each wedge so that the size of the wedge is representative of the score you have given it.
5. Once you have filled in all of the wedges, take a look at the wheel as a whole and take some time to reflect:
- Are there any big discrepancies between areas?
- Why do you think this is?
- How would you feel if those low scoring areas were to improve?
- What can you do to improve them?
6. Choose one area to focus on first and write down what you would like to achieve in that area in the long-term.
7. Then, write down one (or more) specific steps you will take in the next week in order to move closer to that goal and act on them.
8. Repeat for each of the areas you would like to improve and monitor your progress by revisiting your wheel at the end of the month to see how it has changed.
Proceed to the 'Overcoming Obstacles' tool to identify any potential barriers that might get in the way of you achieving your goals and to come up with a range of appropriate strategies for dealing with those barriers.
Vision Board
For the more creative individuals out there, creating a vision board provides an alternative starting point for identifying your goals.
A vision board is simply a visual representation of the most important things you want to be, do and have in life. These can be both short and long-term although research suggests that using a yearly benchmark is the easiest in terms of tracking your progress.
Creating a vision board is a great way for you to physically see your goals and what your life could look like once you have achieved them.
So, how do you create your vision board?
- Take some time to reflect and figure out which aspects of your life are the most important to you right now e.g. progressing in your career, starting a family or going travelling.
- Choose one or two areas that you really want to focus on and change in the next year.
- Print off or draw images that represent those areas and the specific goals you want to achieve in them.
- Arrange and fix the images on a piece of card or a cork board.
- Once you are happy with your finished board, place it somewhere you will see it on a daily basis e.g. bedside table, bedroom wall, desk etc.
- Review and update your vision board as you achieve your goals.
See these digital vision boards for inspiration.
Note: if you are not comfortable making such a statement with your vision board you can create a digital version on your computer and save it as your background or lock screen. See the next tab for instructions.
Creating a digital vision board Microsoft PowerPoint:
- Open PowerPoint.
- Select the 'blank presentation' slide from the home screen.
- Copy and paste in relevant images from Pinterest or Google Images.
- Arrange the images in a format that suits you.
- Save your board as a bmp file (File – Save As – Save As Device Independent Bitmap (*.bmp)).
Saving the vision board as your background image (Windows):
- Click on the Windows start icon and go to settings.
- Click on the personalisation icon and go to background.
- Select 'picture' from the drop-down menu and then click 'browse'.
- Find your saved PowerPoint file and click 'choose picture'.
- Your new background should appear.
Saving the vision board as your background image (Macbook):
- Click on system preferences and go to desktop & screensaver.
- Click on the plus (+) button and search for your saved PowerPoint file.
- Find your saved PowerPoint file and click 'choose'.
- Select 'stretch to fill screen'.
- Your new background should appear.
Overcoming Obstacles
This tool is a continuation of the 'Wheel Of Hope' tool.
Overcoming obstacles refers to your ability to identify any potential barriers that might get in the way of you achieving your goals and to come up with a range of appropriate strategies for dealing with those barriers.
Note: strategies should not be limited to 1 or 2 but should include any realistic course of action that can be taken in order to overcome the obstacle and reach your goal.
1. Look back at your completed 'Wheel Of Hope' worksheet. Now that you have identified what your long-term goals are, it is time to take appropriate action towards achieving them.
2. Using the worksheet in the Download Materials, write down 2-3 short-term goals that will help you to pursue each of the long-term goals you identified earlier.
3. Once you have done this, think of any potential obstacles you might face when pursuing these goals and write them down.
4. Finally, consider the steps you will take to overcome these obstacles and put them into practice.
Positive Affirmations
Affirmations are positive statements that help you to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts. When you repeat them often, you encourage your brain to adopt a more positive outlook on your life and your capabilities.
Over time, the positive changes to your thoughts will also be reflected in your behavior.
There is no right or wrong way to practice your affirmations but some suggestions include:
- Writing the affirmation down. Write the affirmation in a journal, diary or on your computer and add to it each morning until you have a comprehensive list of positive statements ready for whenever you need a little boost.
- Saying the affirmation out loud. When you wake up in the morning look at your reflection in the mirror and recite the affirmation out loud to yourself three times to solidify it in your mind.
- Downloading an affirmation app. Download a free affirmation app and get daily affirmations sent straight to your phone.
Note: what you choose to write in your affirmations is entirely up to you. Statements can range from something specific to do with your ability to perform in your job to something more general about your life. The important thing is that each affirmation is a positive statement created by you about you.
The flashcards in the Download Materials contain some examples to help you get started.
Here are some ideas for affirmation applications you can download to your mobile phone/tablet. All of these have free basic versions you can use with optional paid upgrades.
- ThinkUp: receive daily affirmations and personalise your experience by adding music, imagery and your own voice recordings.
- Unique Daily Affirmations: receive a new uplifting affirmation every day and let your mind think about it throughout the day.
- Selfpause: write and record your own affirmations and access professionally recorded affirmations, meditation music and nature sounds.
- I Am Affirmations (for Google Play and Appstore): choose from daily intentions and set reminders to be delivered throughout the day.
Weighing The Evidence
A key difference between people with high hope and people with low hope is in how they balance positive and negative thoughts.
Individuals with high hope tend to acknowledge their negative thoughts without letting them take control of their overall outlook on life. In contrast, those with low hope often focus excessively on negative thoughts which leads to self-doubt and giving up.
Weighing the evidence is a tool that can help you become aware of such negative thoughts and then test whether or not they are true, allowing you to reframe them in a way that is more reasonable and less distressing.
When you focus excessively on negative thoughts they can become extreme, leading you to:
- Blow things out of proportion – e.g. because I made a mistake, I will lose my job.
- Jump to conclusions – e.g. because this happened, this next thing is going to happen.
- Overgeneralize – e.g. because this happened once, this will always happen.
- Mind reading – e.g. my boss doesn't like me, I just know it.
- Labeling – e.g. I am useless.
Extreme thoughts can also lead us to make extreme statements such as:
- "I will never get promoted".
- "No one likes me".
- "Every time I try, I fail".
Next time you catch yourself thinking in this way, write the thought down. Then, using the worksheet in the Download Materials, write down all of the evidence that supports your statement (evidence must be hard facts, not yours or anyone else's opinion), followed by all of the evidence that contradicts your statement. Once you have done that, you should be able to create a more balanced thought.