Hope

Nothing is more influential to our happiness than hope. What I mean by hope is a strong expectation that something good will happen. Numerous studies have shown that hope has a greater impact on people's happiness than their standard of living. Poor people with more hope are happier than richer people with less hope.

Hope is different than optimism. Optimism has little impact on happiness because optimism implies a probable outcome, whereas hope provides a confident assurance.

• Optimism: “Today, I may get a kiss from Suzie.”

• Hope: “I’m going to do whatever it takes over the next few weeks to get countless kisses from Suzie.”

Genuine hope requires a change in our lives because hope requires faith. I’m not referring to the Biblical definition of faith for this discussion. Rather, I define faith as,

A strong belief or trust that certain actions

will produce the desired result.

(One of my grandmothers was named Faith. Everything she did was an act of Faith.)

The principles of faith and hope prompt us to take responsibility for our lives and make positive changes for the better.

To illustrate this, here are some examples:

​If hope is so vital to our happiness, why don’t we take advantage of it more often?

“What?” you say.

Here are some questions for you:

• What are you looking forward to with your home?

• What are you looking forward to with your family?

• What are you looking forward to in your schooling?

• What are you looking forward to at work this week?

• What are you looking forward to this year in your marriage?

“Looking forward to” is another way of saying “hoping for.”

We must always have something to hope for. Such a strong expectation compels us to have increased faith in ourselves and causes us to adjust our thoughts and behaviors.

Do not confuse hope with goals.

Goals are:

• Milestones

• Achievements

• Checked boxes

Examples of goals are:

• Increasing income by 15%

• Losing ten pounds of weight

Hopes are:

• Living without fear

• Enjoying better health

• Having a greater sense of well-being

• Enjoying more meaningful relationships with family, friends, and coworkers

Hope helps us to increase our strength, potential, wisdom, happiness, and fulfillment. Hope and faith drive us to alter our lives to become better people.

People often achieve something great and then stop hoping. They get married, publish their first novel, or become Class President, and then feel they’ve “made it.” They forget that hope must remain central to maintaining their happiness. So, they start to coast. Over time, happiness for these individuals diminishes.

The opposite of hope is hopelessness. Hopelessness produces misery. Utter hopelessness produces utter misery. Whereas it is difficult to be miserable if you believe your actions will eventually achieve your desires.

Berlin, July 1945

Watch the video linked here, which shows colorized footage of people in the streets of Berlin two months after Germany surrendered. Everyone in this film lost family members in World War II. Compare the physical condition of the city to how the people are dressed and how they carry themselves. What is the predominant expression on everyone's faces? Is it anger, bitterness, despair, or hatred? Or is it hope?

Always getting your way

Who wouldn't want to have his or her way all the time? Would that be appealing to you? You can achieve it every day if you wish. Anyone can. Here's how to do it:

For every waking moment of every day, always have something to look forward to, whether it be lunch at 11:30, dinner that night, the drive home from work, or finishing the movie on Netflix you started last night. Whatever it may be. But always have something in mind. Then, when it happens, you will have gotten your way.

The idea may sound silly. However, as you follow this advice, you will soon realize that you often get your way. This will have a significant, positive impact on you. While other people around you complain and are bitter about so many things, you have hope in your life--hope that is realized regularly.

If you come looking forward to that last bit of peanut butter ice cream in the freezer and discover that your husband has eaten it, then send him to the store to replace it. Or you could do it yourself--and get something else for yourself while you're at it.

Gratitude

Another benefit of having hope is it engenders gratitude. Gratitude is documented by countless studies to provide the following effects:

• Improved sleep

• Improved self-esteem

• Improved physical health

• Improved physiological health

• Increased empathy and reduced aggression

Google the phrase, benefits of gratitude, and you can read as many academic papers and accounts as you'd like.

Most importantly,

Happiness is not possible without gratitude.

You cannot be happy about something that you are not grateful for. I was raised hearing the following phrase spoken by my mother countless times:

"Count your blessings."

The phrase never really resonated with me because I believed my blessings to be innumerable, and I sensed that I did not fully recognize most of them. But I did try to develop a general sense of gratitude and respect for what was happening around me. The older I get, the more grateful I become. I believe that most of my grievances come from not being sufficiently grateful for the events and people around me.

Hope and gratitude

Hope is the confident expectation of a desired future. Hope, in this sense, is gratitude in advance. I believe that the more grateful we are generally, the deeper and richer hope we will feel in what is to come in our lives.