What is Hope?

Hope describes our motivation to realise 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”. ‘Action’ means to take specific steps to make our goals a reality. This distinguishes Hope from similar concepts as it presumes personal accountability for the outcome.

It can be difficult to maintain Hope in situations where an obstacle (be it real or perceived) is standing in the way. This can allow thoughts of doubt or disbelief to creep in and lead to feelings of giving up.

This module will guide you through three steps that have been shown to shape hopeful thinking. It provides practical tools to help you fulfil each step and work towards achieving 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.

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 having higher levels of personal growth and life satisfaction than individuals 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.

Healthier lifestyle

Individuals with high levels of Hope are more likely to make healthy choices. For example, eating a balanced diet or exercising regularly.

Longer life expectancy

As a result of the healthy lifestyle choices that accompany increased hopefulness, people who are more hopeful may actually live longer than those who are not.

How can you be more hopeful?

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.

Step 1: Goals

Approaching life in a goal oriented way.

Step 2: Pathways

Finding different ways to achieve your goals.

Step 3: Agency

Believing that you can achieve your goals.

Tools to improve your Hope

Wheel Of Life

Goals

15 minutes

The Wheel Of Life is a simple tool that allows you to visualise 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.