Hope can transform our lives
Hello lovely Positivity & Gratitude Community, I hope all of you are doing well today! 
What is hope? Hope means something good that you want to happen in the future, or a confident feeling about what will happen in the future. Research suggests that hope really helps an individual with keeping a healthy mindset, makes them emotionally strong and also makes the tough times more bearable for them. Just being hopeful that something good is going to happen to you goes a long way. It could be as simple as hoping it will be a sunny day today or hoping you’ll get to talk to your friend, hopeful about getting your favourite meal, hoping you’ll score well in the upcoming exam, hopeful for anything that matters to you. Being hopeful can be a struggle for a lot of us because there are some things that have happened to us, or are continuing to happen that makes it hard to have hope that it will get better at some point. It’s understandable and you’re definitely not alone if you struggle with it personally.
There could be various reasons some people may not have the hope that could provide them with the resilience needed at that moment to get through their troubles. Some of them can be and are not limited to, not having an environment that was supportive of them growing up or one which was unfavourable for them, disappointments in life which makes it hard to believe things will change and having repeated setbacks. When we are at our lowest, that’s when we need to hold on to our hope the most and the good news is, hope isn’t something we just either get or we don’t, it’s a tool that we can develop as we go through life. Hope is more than just wanting something to happen, it’s about believing there is a possibility of something good happening.
Now, we have established that having hope seems to be nice, and even though there are some struggles which a lot of us face, we can develop resilience through which we can learn to cultivate hope and get through almost everything life throws at us. What are some ways in which hope is actually beneficial? Some positive effects of being hopeful are:
1. It is associated with a higher happiness level.
2. Having hope can help us get through hard times because we believe there is a possibility for things to work out.
3. Some studies have also suggested having hope is linked with a greater worth of self.
4. Improves our relationship with other people.
5. Better performance in their individual fields/work.
From the discussion so far, it seems that hope is wonderful and there are some great benefits of it which can make our life better, easier and more enjoyable. What are some ways we can cultivate more hopefulness in our life? Here are some things we can remind ourselves about when we don’t feel it’s easy to have hope:
1. Looking at the bigger picture - would my situation be the same in a year from now, 5 years from now, 10 years? Would I be benefitted more if I had hope?
2. Try to be inspired - for different people, it will be different things. What are some things which put you in a light mood and make you hopeful about your future? For me, it’s watching Studio Ghibli movies because of the cinematic experience, the way simple things are romanticized really helps me see life as something beautiful and ready for me to experience all of it.
3. Talk about your struggles and/or share how you’ve been trying to be hopeful - sharing your progress with others and seeking help with anything that has been bothering you for a while helps a lot. It reminds us that humans are social creatures and we strive on social connections, we are all here to support each other and nobody is ever truly alone. There is goodness in all of us and we just need to go ahead and share it with others.
4. Practice thinking positively - I know this one can particularly be hard and it’s easier said than done. But it’s extremely important to be positive while cultivating hope. Maybe we can remind ourselves that things aren’t as bad as we think they are, maybe this particular situation is teaching me to be patient, maybe this thing is asking me to learn something which I haven’t yet. There are various ways to look at a situation, if you try, you may find something which you may not have given much attention to before.
5. Visualization - it is the act or process of interpreting in visual terms or of putting into visible form. Visualize yourself getting better, things working out in your favour, having things that you want already as your reality. Not only will this put you in a good mood automatically, but it will also inspire and motivate your next steps in the right direction so that you achieve your goals.
We also have a great resource on 7cups about hope which you can find under My Path => Self-Help Guides => Hope (the word Hope is hyperlinked and you can click on it to find the guide)
Question. Do you think your experience with hope has helped you in the past and is it something you’re trying to have more of? Let us know by replying to this thread!
Sources & Resources you can refer to 1. Meaning of hope: https://tinyurl.com/yxhbonol 2. Why is it hard to have hope, hint, the upbringing plays a role: https://tinyurl.com/y276zgjk 3. How hope can improve our life: https://tinyurl.com/y4ts5kx2 4. Meaning of visualization: https://tinyurl.com/lhpz6pf
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@lumieremilkyway
First, thank you and congratulations for such a well-written, synthetic and at the same time exhaustive essay, that makes strongly the argument in favor of Hope, and shows clearly the way to have more of it in our lives.
Regarding my experience, some “irrational belief” that things will finally turn out well, played a crucial role in embarking in my most ambitious and rewarding life projects, from starting a new relationship, studying a career, learning a new skill, taking a challenging job, building something complex (a large telescope, Lumiere Milky Way), to having a child.
I would certainly like to have more Hope in general. I am not that optimistic about the course of my life in the next decades, and that’s a problem.
It’s not obvious at all that Hope can be cultivated. Your section on how to do it is most encouraging. I will definitely incorporate into my daily routine the practices that you propose.
Thank you !
Marcelo.
@WelcomeToChat
thank you for sharing your view on this, Marcelo! I did put in some extra efforts for this post, and I am delighted to receive your congratulations and gratitude for it.
sometimes hope does seem like an "irrational belief" but it is amazing to see how much you've achieved through its aid. a large telescope sounds so thrilling! I wonder what your experience building it was like. those are some great changes and knowing that having hope helped you really makes me happy.
I wish you very well for your future endeavours, Marcelo. there is always hope and I'm sure you'll develop the resilience for life as you go through it, or should I say, grow through it? *sending you beams of hope* it will get better as you put in the efforts. I sure hope the things that I have mentioned really helps you, would love to hear an update on it sometime in the future if you'd like to do that. take care Marcelo!
@lumieremilkyway
Thank you Lumie for taking the time to read my post, and for your kind, thoughtful words!
I take them to my heart !
You shine so bright...
Tu a beaocup de lumiere, vraiment !
Marcelo.
@WelcomeToChat
you're really sweet, Marcelo. merci beaucoup 💜
keep shining xx
Great essay. Thank you. 💙
@Gale1032
thank you so much for reading it, Gale. I'm really glad you liked it. 💜
Hello lumie , it was indeed a great post. I loved reading it. Hope is like the light at the end of a tunnel.
Question. Do you think your experience with hope has helped you in the past and is it something you’re trying to have more of? Let us know by replying to this thread!
I would say a bit of both. It inspires me to keep moving forward with hope and be more positive. It is challenging sometimes but as you mentioned we need to take those steps to hold onto hope.
It could be anything as small as hoping that the exams would go well to hoping that somebody loves you to hoping that somebody becomes better in health.
I think it is better to hold onto Hope when things are not going your way because atleast it makes us feel optimistic that things will turn out ideally even if they don't. I hope to be hopeful when I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Have a good day !
@Actuallynobody017
actually, it's good to see you here in the forums! thank you so much for reading it. exactly, hope is like the light at the end of a tunnel.
hope indeed inspires us to move forward even when we may think it's not possible because simply having hope can provide us with energy or mental strength needed to grow through something. it can be hard and anyone who struggles with it from time to time isn't alone. sometimes we need other people to give us hope too or help us find it on our own, connections with people is really a great way to instill hope. it ranges and can be anything for different people. no hope is ever too small or too big. it's always just.
and I agree, Actually! even though the times may be hard just having hope can change our mindset and make it easier for us to deal with the thing at hand. hope is always good because you need to believe there is a possibility things will get better, that's the only way they do! I hope you can be plenty hopeful, and sometimes if it feels hard to find hope, know you have us supporting you! we're all in this together.
have a great day yourself!