Life can be hard sometimes, often quite unpredictable. Everyone has pain and suffering in their life, unfortunately some more than others. The bad things that happen in our life does not define us. How we overcome these bad things, these obstacles that life has thrown at us is what truly defines us as a person. Hope is necessary in every aspect of life, helping improve the chances of a better outcome in life. (Morin).
Sometimes things that life has thrown at us seems like more than we can handle at the time, more than we can physically and emotionally take on. It takes mental strength to pick oneself back up and carry on thru life. Mental strength in the form of hope is needed to overcome the loss and despair that life has presented. (Morin).
Having hope can provide the foundation of strength needed to get thru life without falling into a spiral of depression or turning to drugs to cope with unwanted emotions. Hope helps paves the way for resilience. Resilience is the ability to recovery quickly from a setback, difficulties or let downs. The ability to bounce back after loss and defeat. (Cohen). Hope and resilience are both stable, psychological traits that can act as defensive factors against the negative unpleasant aspects of the human life. These traits paired together help a person rise above, stronger, and wiser than before.
Hope is the motivation to preserve thru life’s obstacles. It keeps oneself from getting stuck, unable to move past the constant barriers (Cohen). Although one might not know how, when, where or why, it is essential to carry on thru the dark patches in life, even if it feels like more than is bearable. Our ability to carrying on thru the hardest parts of life such as loss of a loved one, divorce, foreclosure, or losing a job is defines you and shows your true potential. The way we handle ourselves in difficult situations is how we set ourselves apart from the rest.
Desmond Tutu said, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness” (Solomon). Not only are we moving past the obstacles that life has thrown at us, but we are positive and hoping for the better. Not just moving thru the motions to get thru another day, but truly being in a healthy headspace, a positive outlook, hope on the horizon. This type of resilience can be attribute to hope. Hope for the better, hope for the future.
“Hope is a feeling of trust, a security, and a reason to keep going. It is a passionate desire of our heart. It is a feeling of expectation and a longing for a certain thing to happen,” said Verity Russell when asked what it means to have hope (Keating). So even when things look bleak and beyond our control, hope is your reason to not give in and accept defeat. Hope for a better tomorrow, a better week, a better year, a better future. Having hope can make the path to the future easier and clearer to see.
Life would be unbearable without the element of hope. Hopeless and in a constant state of despair. This would turn into a deep depression, possibly suicidal thoughts. Hope enables coping with stressful, encourages dealing with unpleasant situations, helping avoid a drastic turn in one’s emotional well-being (Hood).
According to psychologist Charles R Snyder, the feeling of hope includes three parts. This include a belief, a goal, and a path. Once a belief forms, a goal can be set and the route to reach said goal can be mapped out (Hood). This is important because hope involves the will to get there and different paths needed to take to get there. Sometimes the answer to our problems isn’t clear, maybe it just doesn’t seem doable, or maybe we are just lost. Hope can help you get back on the right path, to reach the desired outcome, whether it is a goal or destination.
Make hope strong and important. It leads to the inspiration to live life the best possible way. Hope can give a person the courage and motivation to follow your dreams and meet goals as long as the effort is put forth. If you have a strong aspiration, hope and faith, nothing can bring you down. It lets you aim at the sole purpose of your life.
