Hope is a state of mind in which we imagine that a certain outcome is possible, and we wish for it to come true (Garrard & Wrigley, 2009). All hope involves these two key ingredients: at least one possible, but uncertain, outcome, and the desire for that outcome to be realized. When we hope, we are looking forward to a hypothetical future scenario with optimism.

Hope is interesting enough to psychologists that one such researcher developed what he called Hope Theory (Snyder, 2002). Snyder was interested in how there are emotional and behavioral elements to hope. He agreed that there can be no hope without a goal or goals to which somebody aspires. He added to the mix that hope, as an emotional experience, also drives us into action – in this case down either or both of two paths.

• First, hope makes us think about what the pathway is to achieving the goal. “How can I get to that hypothetical future? What strategies do I need to use to follow that path?”
• At the same time, being hopeful makes us focus on our own agency. We begin to think about our ability to make movement down that pathway happen. In these ways, we can see that hope is often closely tied to potential or actual action on the part of the hopeful person.

The Benefits of Hope

The scientific research is pretty clear that having high levels of hope relates to all sorts of positive life outcomes, including overall well-being. First of all, people who are more hopeful seem to be more likely to take action to improve their health (Corn et al., 2020). Whether it is exercising more, smoking less, or changing one’s diet, being hopeful that better health is possible seems to help. Just as encouraging, people high in hope are more likely to learn about and try different strategies to tackle medical issues when they come up.

People higher in hope also seem to be more able to tolerate pain (Snyder, 2002). This may be because they perceive the pain as less intense or because they spend less time thinking about the pain they are experiencing. That makes sense to me – if you are hopeful by nature, you are probably less likely to get lost in thoughts of “this pain is going to last forever” or “I will never feel better.”

People who are more hopeful also seem to handle stressful life events more readily with fewer impacts on their mental health and overall well-being (Valle et al., 2006). For this reason, many psychologists characterize hope as an important psychological strength or tool of resiliency.​

Does Hope Heal?

There is emerging neuroscience research that confirms what many of us probably intuitively believe: being hopeful can help you heal more effectively from illness and disease, including cancer (Corn et al., 2020). For this reason, some scientists have encouraged doctors working with chronic or potentially deadly illnesses to think about how their language with patients reinforces or diminishes hope; it may even be a good idea to provide people in these positions with hope-enhancing therapies (Corn et al., 2020).

Hope seems to heal, but also to maintain: a recent review of the research indicates that mental and physical well-being is higher in people with more hope in their lives (Murphy, 2023). Based on our scientific understanding of hope, we can see how it becomes a positive feedback loop in our lives. Our successes suggest to us that we will be successful, and this makes us more optimistic as we contemplate the next step toward greater fulfillment in our lives. We move into more positive action, get more positive feedback, and become yet more hopeful.

Tips on Cultivating Hope

To cultivate hope, you can start by getting a good amount of support, focusing on what you can control in the situation, and getting ready to recognize how external factors may slow your progress (Heatherton & Nichols, 1994). When people succeed at reaching their goals, they often cite support from others and a willingness to accept that obstacles come up as key components in their success.

Using standardized procedures for generating hope may also help us become more hopeful. Psychologists have designed interventions for this purpose, and they often involve carefully reviewing one’s previous successes to understand where one found hope and how one maintained it (Magyar-Moe & Lopez, 2015). These interventions suggest that choosing realistic and flexible goals in the first place is an important way to avoid losing hope. Meeting regularly in groups to track progress toward a goal and identify ways to problem-solve may also help people increase their levels of hope (Cheavens et al., 2006).

All this said, for people who are very low in hope, an intervention simply targeting one’s levels of hope may not be effective (Weis & Speridakos, 2011). Instead, people in this situation may benefit more from more intensive psychotherapy.

In Sum

Surely there are things you hope for in your life. Hopefully, this article helps you see how essential a force that hope can be for you, as well as ways to maintain or grow it.

References

• Cheavens, J., Gum, A., Feldman, D. B., Gum, A., Michael, S. T., & Snyder, C. R. (2006). Hope therapy in a community sample: A pilot investigation. Social Indicators Research, 77, 61–78.
• Corn, B. W., Feldman, D. B., & Wexler, I. (2020). The science of hope. The Lancet Oncology, 21(9), e452-e459.
• Garrard, E., & Wrigley, A. (2009). Hope and terminal illness: False hope versus absolute hope. Clinical Ethics, 4(1), 38-43.
• Heatherton, T.F., & Nichols, P.A. (1994). Personal accounts of successful versus failed attempts at life-change. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 664–675.
• Magyar-Moe, J. L., & Lopez, S. J. (2015). Strategies for accentuating hope. In S. Joseph (Ed.), Positive psychology in practice: Promoting human flourishing in work, health, education, and everyday life (2nd ed., pp. 483–502). Wiley
• Murphy, E. R. (2023). Hope and well-being. Current Opinion in Psychology, 101558.
• Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4), 249-275.
• Valle, M. F., Huebner, E. S., & Suldo, S. M. (2006). An analysis of hope as a psychological strength. Journal of School Psychology, 44(5), 393-406.