The Power of Hope in Motivating Change
Years ago, a wonderful mentor explained the power of hope to me. As a young adult filled with cynicism and uncertainty, I equated hope with blind optimism. She countered that, actually, hope is an essential first step in motivating us toward action, especially when facing the unknown.
Psychologist C. Rick Snyder’s research led to our understanding that hope is our ability to envision goals and to see a variety of pathways to achieving those goals (Snyder, et. al., 1991). These days, clients express helplessness for a myriad of reasons, whether witnessing state violence or trudging through the cold feeling lonely and slow. Now more than ever, we must nurture hope in our lives to keep going.
Here are some ideas to get started:
Identify your values: Values are principles we do our best to live by, though they are not specific actions. Examples include: connection, social justice, or health. Check out this link for more: (Values Card Deck) . When we know what matters to us, we feel more grounded in our authentic selves and have a blueprint on what to prioritize day to day.
Write a list of SMART goals based on your values: SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Based. So, if I were to focus on the value of “social justice”, my goal might be: Find one volunteer organization that supports an important cause, and sign up for a single event within the next month. If I chose “connection”, I might aim to talk with at least two coworkers in the office this next week. These are specific, doable, and relevant to my chosen values. When we create meaningful and manageable goals, we are motivated to keep going!
Trust the process rather than forcing outcomes: View each action like planting seeds. It may be difficult to see the direct impact of any one volunteer event or any one interaction, but when we continuously live by what matters and act from a place of hope, we foster change in unexpected and beautiful ways.
Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Victor Frankl (1959) put it best in his memoir Man’s Search for Meaning with the following quote:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances—to choose one’s own way.”
Rachael is a therapist and clinical supervisor at AACG who works with individuals and couples navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, and relational challenges. Trained in EMDR and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), she helps clients identify patterns and make meaningful changes aligned with their values. She can be reached at rachael@amandaatkinschicago.com.
References:
Snyder C. R., Harris C., Anderson J. R., Holleran S. A., Irving L. M., Sigmon S. T., et al. (1991). The will and the ways: Development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 60 570–585. 10.1037//0022-3514.60.4.570 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Original 1959 Edition: Frankl, V. E. (1959). Man's Search for Meaning. Beacon Press.