Research has shown that people who are hopeful, do better in exams, work, relationships and is a better predictor of success than personality, intelligence or previous academic achievements. Hope protects us from the slippery slope into anxiety and depression and can be that critical vine to lift a person out of suicidal thinking.
What hope is NOT:
A fuzzy feeling that something good is going to happen.
A lucky charm that wards off all bad stuff and clears the path for you.
Wishful thinking and expecting miracles to happen out of nothing
How to build hope:
Hope can be constructed and realistic hope is practical. Here are the 4 elements to build hope and
Goals
In order to keep your hopes up, you need to make goals that are realistic and achievable.
Here’s how to make hopeful goals.
- Write down your goal in as much detail as possible
- What external conditions are necessary for these goals to be achieved?
- What opportunities are available now that were not available before.
Belief in self
Knowing your abilities, strength and resources including social support and people who can help you, will build up confidence in yourself to achieve the goals.
- What fear is causing you to feel hopeless. Often, our emotions can be the biggest hurdle against self-believe. Learning to dispel negative emotions and thoughts will help to clear the path for more self-confidence.
- Think of how you overcame smaller obstacles in the past. What were some of the barriers and what did you do to overcome them.
- List down all your personal strengths, talents and abilities.
- List down all the people who can support you, encourage you or help you to achieve the goals.
Plan
Putting together an actionable plan to achieve the goal.
- Think of all the resources that you have available
- What are the smaller actions that you can take to get started?
- What needs to be accomplished in order to move towards the bigger goal?
Motivation
Knowing why you want to achieve the goal will keep you going despite the obstacles that you will face.
- Know why you want to achieve this goal and how much you desire for it
- Think of how you will feel when you achieve your goal and remember that emotion
- Who are the people who inspire you?
Write down these thoughts and pin it up so that you can see it every day. The journey of hope is never without down moments, disappointments and hurdles. So be flexible and ready to twig the smaller steps as you push on towards your ultimate hope.
