Hope Matters
We use the word hope all the time. We say things like I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow or I hope my favorite team wins the championship. Seems to me that we confuse hope with optimism.
Where does hope come from? Hope starts in the prefrontal cortex of our brain. That’s the same area that we use for decision making and problem solving. How does having hope make a difference in our lives?
Hope reduces anxieties and depression.
Hope strengthens relationships.
Hope inspires collective action and social change.
Hope encourages people to set goals and believe they can achieve them.
Hope motivates people to meet everyday challenges because they feel they can.
Hope fosters resilience, helping us bounce back from overwhelming situations.
Hope nurtures the ability to face the challenging situations life puts in our way.
Hope is learnable. Recall a time when you found yourself in a difficult situation and you overcame it. What did you experience in that situation? Learning from a difficult experience can be painful but it is also a great way to learn and grow your ability to be hopeful. Every time you are hopeful you build a reserve of optimism and expand your resilience.
People who are hopeful are more likely to develop coping strategies in the face of adversity. Unlike optimism, which is the expectation of a better future, hope is action oriented. Hope is sometimes used in place of wishing. Wishing is more passive while hope is about taking action.
An example of hope being action focused is to think about how you approach a challenging project or deliverable. Breaking the project into smaller, manageable pieces provides you with a better chance of finishing and encourages you to go on to the next piece. This builds your ability to hope.
Hope can also have a positive impact on some of the most serious mental challenges in our world today including PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Don’t overlook any opportunity to ask for help when you need it.
People with hope are more likely to be able to recover from illness or injury and they usually have lower levels of depression and anxiety.
Don’t think that people with hope are happier than the rest of us. Even people who are happy and hopeful can get discouraged. The difference is that people with hope know that there is light at the end of the darkness.
On June 18, 2026, President Barack Obama’s Presidential Center opened in Chicago. The center was created as a beacon of hope. His presidential campaigns centered on Hope. During his speech at the Center’s opening, he spoke of finding community when he first arrived in Chicago and witnessing the resilience of citizens in the face of hardship. First Lady, Michelle Obama reminded us during her speech, “Hope is the essential spark that lights the flame of change.”
As a closing thought, Jonas Salk said, “Hope lies in dreams, imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.”