We keep hearing and thinking about this four letter word “HOPE” in our daily lives. What is hope? What does it mean? Why is hope so important? Why do you need hope? A simple rational definition of hope could be, “a feeling of expectation and desire for something to happen”. However, hope is not rational, so you cannot define hope in a single line logical definition.
Hope is not a talent, skill or ability to achieve something. Neither hope is a sense, nor hope is a feeling. People often confuse hope for faith. Although faith and hope are closely connected, they are different.
Faith is all about trusting and believing in something or somebody. However, hope is a predecessor of faith. Hope is a positive attitude that an individual carries to overcome obstacles and achieve positive outcomes. Hope is based on an expectation connected to certain circumstances and events going on in one’s life, for beneficial results. If you have a desire to cherish with anticipation or you are confident about your expectations, you are hopeful.
Understanding Hope
According to Dr Barbara L. Fredrickson, when a crisis threatens, hope emerges on its own and opens up the doors of new possibilities. Fredrickson says when need knocks your door, your mind starts generating multiple fruitful ideas, which is then known as hope. With hope, people start experiencing the emotions of courage, happiness, empowerment and joy.
Hope is hidden deep inside you, which comes to the surface when you need it. We are made of four different dimensions within ourselves; psychological dimension, cognitive dimension, physical dimension and social dimension. Whatever we feel during the journey from crisis to hope, is derived from these four dimensions. Being hopeful is all about reminding yourself, “Yes I can”. What we call hope is a naive false expectation, real hope is based on the practical sense of optimism, which eventually shows fruitful results.
Famous psychologist Charles R. Synder, says hope is a presence of an aim or goal, which is integrated with a structured plan for achieving positive results. Charles R. Synder also stresses the connection between hope and personal willpower. After completing his research, Synder studied about the impacts of hope and forgiveness on various aspects of life like education, health, work and relationships.
Why is hope so important?
Life is not easy. Every one of us had to go through a difficult time in some point of our life. Deciding your life goals is not enough. You need to upkeep your willpower of achieving your set goals. With all the twists and turns of life, you need to keep moving closer to your ultimate goal. Hope is your key to unlock strategies and approach problems with a confident and positive mindset. Hope helps you increase your chances to achieve happiness and healthy life. It gives you the light and the path to move out of darkness.
Hope should not be an optional part of your life. Hope is an essential element of your daily lives. Therefore, hope is everything you need to lead a happy and prosperous life. This little four letter word HOPE lifts your eyes and show you what you are capable of doing. It forces you to keep moving forward in life and searching for happiness.
Here are some of the ways HOPE improves your life:
#1 Hope enhances your learning capacity
As we mentioned above, Hope is not a naive feeling or a good emotion. Hope is all about being practical and resilient, which eventually makes you a better learner. Hope shows the path to all the learning goals, which helps in your personality growth and lifestyle improvement. Individuals who have learning goals stay engaged in discovering new strategies, planning, and working to achieve their aims. They also keep tracking their growth and progress time to time, so that they do not lose track. Irrespective of the category your learning goals are from, they are positively associated with success all across the world. Your learning goals can be anything from sports to academics, to business, staying practically hopeful helps you achieve success.
People who lack hope are mostly attracted towards mastery goals. Mastery goals depict tasks, which are easier to accomplish, as compared to learning goals. If you lack hope, you will scare of attempting challenging tasks, which may steal your opportunity for growth. If you know somebody who gives up too quickly and acts helpless, they are suffering from “hopeless syndrome”. Individuals who opt for mastery goals often believe their capabilities and lack control on their surroundings.
#2 Hope improves your performance
According to research, students who are hopeful, tend to achieve higher grade and graduate more quickly than those who have no hope. Therefore, if you are optimistic you will achieve better academic results than others, as hope enhances your performance and ability to develop new ideas.
#3 Hope helps build creativity
It has been proven by research conducted at University College Utrecht that people who feel hopeful are creative. As per the results of a contest in college, participants who were asked to think hopefully, constructed better ideas, compared to them who were not given any instructions.Hope and creativity are interconnected as hope is the basis of all strategies created to achieve goals.
As said by Martin Luther King Jr., “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope”. You may have been defeated today, but that does not mean you cannot win tomorrow. False hope is unhealthy, but a positive, practical hope that motivates you to learn, struggle and move near to your goal is always good for your mind, body and soul. Never lose hope, you never know what tomorrow may bring for you. When you feel depressed, think what your goals are, what you want to achieve and what you deserve. Hope is the only thing stronger than fear. You should leave your worries behind and move forward to try and try till you succeed.
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