Why Hope Is So Important

I believe in a place called hope

In his 1992 Democratic Convention speech, Bill Clinton talked about the town of Hope where he grew up. And even though he was talking about a community, he also spoke to the greater issue of hoping for the future of America and its people.

People have amazing talents, unbridled ambitions, and incredible skills. And there is no question these tools help people succeed. But even the smartest, most passionate, and highly skilled people get discouraged. No one is exempt from sometimes wanting to quit. But unique abilities and all the right tools are not enough. There is one more ignored or downplayed tool. That tool is hope.

Perhaps you’ve wondered what’s wrong in your life. You know you have plenty of talent, or you are more ambitious than anyone you know, or you have developed your skills and honed them to perfection. But you feel like your dreams will never happen for you.

If that sounds like the way you’ve felt, this article is for you.

What is hope?

There are a lot of definitions for hope, but it’s defined best as “To look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.”

Having hope isn’t optimism. Optimistic people are generalists. An optimist will say “I feel good about the future.” But people with hope are specific about what they want. They say “I hope I get the job I applied for,” or “I hope the financing for my business gets approved,” or “I hope the story I’m writing gets published by a specific magazine”.

The second part of the definition of hope is having reasonable confidence that what you are hoping for will happen. If you have a goal of writing an article that a major magazine will publish, but you have published nothing, you’re setting yourself up for failure. It’s better to start small with a publication that you feel reasonably confident will publish your work.

Using baby steps will reward you. They may seem small today, but they will get bigger and stronger. Small accomplishments today will give you the hope of doing bigger things later.

What does hope do for a person?

Hope is the fuel that keeps a person focused on a particular goal.

I’ve read hundreds of books and articles on positive thinking. And I’ve gone to a dozen or more seminars and bought as many courses. But the problem with positive thinking books, training, and courses is the training doesn’t stick for most people. People take a class or read a book, then practice what they’ve learned for a few weeks. Then they gradually slip back into their old routines and thinking until something new comes along. And they start again. The saying is “wash, rinse, repeat”. And it feels like a never-ending stream of learning about positive thinking but reaching no goal beyond knowing more about positive thinking.

Psychology Today published an article that describes how hope brings a sense of well-being and positive thinking. For example, take someone who has the goal of becoming a talented writer. I have that same ambition so I can relate. When a person submits a story, there is anticipation and excitement that a publisher may accept the article. That emotion creates a good feeling that encourages the unpublished to write another story.

We practice this throughout life, starting at a young age. In school, we study hoping to get an A. In sports, we practice hoping we’ll get a position on the team. At work, we learn new skills, hoping to get a pay raise.

And a side effect is that our hope will give us a positive mental attitude because we expect the future to reward us.

The dual effect of hoping combined with a positive mental attitude is powerful. That’s what hope does for a person.

Why is hope important?

When talking to people, it isn’t uncommon to hear hope being tied to an unpleasant or dire situation. Children will say “I hope I don’t get in trouble”. Teenagers will talk about “I hope she (or he) will go on a date with me”. And adults will stress “I hope I don’t lose my job”.

The more important the issue is to them, the more they will dwell on it, creating anxiety, worry, and negativity.

But hope can also do the exact opposite. By hoping for the best, the result is feeling better. Hoping not to lose a job creates anxiety, stress, and tension that could cause a problem at work. But people seeing a happy work environment will experience peace, happiness, and feeling relaxed.

Many things in life just happen. Positive thinking or “hoping for the best” won’t stop a nail from puncturing a tire. Wishing for a better job won’t create alternative employment where people are happy and prosperous. Willing yourself into being a successful author won’t make you a talented writer.

Hope is so important because it creates calm and anticipation of good things in a person’s life. Envisioning a hopeful ending will bring a period of happiness or anticipation of the future. And having hope will give you the motivation to make positive adjustments and necessary changes in your life.

“Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there’s no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.” — Laini Taylor