Harnessing hope

Learn to ride the rollercoaster of life with enduring optimism, and bolster your wellbeing, writes Kellie Gillespie-Wright

At one time or another, most of us have lost hope. Situations don't always turn out as we would like, and hope doesn't pay the bills, or stop the ice caps melting.

Yet an increasing body of research suggests that if you want to cultivate positive change - in yourself, others, or society - restoring hope is a vital first step.

In particular, hope can help you find meaning, purpose, and motivation, and there's now a growing recognition that it also has an important role to play in your health and well-being. For instance, individuals with higher levels of hope have been found to experience less anxiety and depression, manage stress more effectively, and recover more quickly from illnesses. In fact, hope can be one of the most powerful tools in your psychological toolbox, and may well be the antidote that we all need to today's chaotic world.

And the great thing about hope is that it's a learned skill - anyone can improve their hopeful thinking by using the right goal-setting, planning and motivational approaches.

So, what exactly is hope and how can we bring a little more of it back into our lives? The concept of 'hope' can seem very abstract, especially when compared to the day-to-day reality of the things you may be experiencing, and it's meaning can be hard to grasp at first. But it needn't be complicated.

'Hope is simply your perceived ability to develop pathways to a desired goal,' says Dr Andy Cope, co-author of The Art Of Being Brilliant (John Wiley, £11.99). 'And, crucially, it incorporates your personal motivation to achieve that goal,' he adds.