“Things will be better when..”
“I’ll be happy when…”
But what if “when” never happens?
When “when” doesn’t come soon enough, or worse, “when” doesn’t come at all, we experience disappointment, despair and may even resent hope itself and believe hope is a dangerous thing.
Science shows hope is important because:
Hope decreases
- anxiety
- depression
Hope increases:
- resilience
- perseverance
- health
- well-being and
- longevity
Since hope is so important How do we increase our hope in a hopeless world?
Here are four ways to hack hope in a world of chaos and despair:
- Consider the positive. Our brains naturally want to focus on the negative. To plant and grow hope we must actively switch gears and focus on what is positive and what we are thankful for. Positivity and gratitude remind us that there are beautiful things to see and experience that we can easily as we drown in the sea of negativity that swirls around us. Want to see how this works? Take ten minutes and divide a sheet of paper into two columns. On one side write down the positive things you see happening around you and in your life regardless of circumstances. In the second column write down things you are thankful for. Watch your hope grow!
- Take action. Do something positive knowing its OK to start small. Even the tiniest seed of hope will grow and thrive with a little tending. You can:
- Invest in your own personal development. Let’s say you live in an area that has a high concentration of people who speak Spanish and you love travel and language. Investing in your personal development ie: learning to speak Spanish can dramatically increase your hope for the possibility of contributing to your life and the life of your local community.
- Support another person in their endeavors to make the world a better place. Helping someone else who has hope and enthusiasm can ignite your hope in new and powerful ways. Ex: Find someone in your life who is taking positive action to care for people in need. Ask how you might join in and watch your hope grow!
- Divide and conquer. We may not be able to have hope in all areas of life, but we can start with one and watch hope grow. Consider the facets of your life that are affected by decreased hope. For example: Your family life, your work life, your community, global crisis. Write down smalls steps you personally can take to make difference for the good in one area and go for it! Ex: Feeling isolated? Organize a block party. Want to help people in Ukraine? Organize a drive to fill shoe boxes with essentials to aid children in need through Samaritans Purse Start with one small step and watch your hope grow!
- Base your hope on a solid and realistic foundation. Authentic hope isn’t just a feeling. It’s more like an equation: reality + positivity + action = hope. This means that authentic hope is build on something real and true and builds on that. There’s an ancient parable in the book of Matthew, chapter 7 verse 24-26 where Jesus said, “be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” What real and true “rock” is your hope build on?
Written by Julia Fikse, NBC-HWC
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach
Mental Health and Emotional Eating Certified Health Coach
Weight Loss Certified Health Coach
For more information on Julia Fikse go to onesteptowellness.com
How did you like this blog? Are there other topics you’d like to hear about? Need more support or want to say hello? Contact Julia here: https://www.onesteptowellness.com/contact-us/
Julia Fikse is a Nationally Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, specializing in Functional Medicine, Emotional Eating Mental Health, and Weight Loss. Julia has personally experienced the frustration of weight gain, weight loss, weight-related health issues, and emotional eating challenges. Learn more about her journey here: https://www.onesteptowellness.com/julias-story/
