Harnessing The Power of Hope

These days, no matter what stage of life you’re at or what season you’re in, it’s crucial to always have hope. According to Psychology Today, hope is much more than wishful thinking. It’s a powerful tool in the life toolbox that’s built on strategies for strengthening well-being, resilience, and accomplishment. Hope can empower you to create and sustain a more positive future in many areas of your life—at work, at school, and at home. It can strengthen your emotional health and happiness, augment your stress reduction skills, and amplify your ability to achieve goals. Furthermore, clinical neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf said, “Hope leads to expectation, which creates peace, excitement, and health in our minds, thus increasing brain and body health.”

So how do we harness the power of hope in our lives? An organization called Hopeful Minds came up with the acronym SHINE as five keys to create hope.

S - Stress SkillsYou can strengthen your resilience by learning and practicing stress skills. Some of these skills include pausing and employing breathing techniques like lengthening the exhale or slow, focused breathing, listening to soothing music, laughing, exercising, or going outdoors and noticing the beauty of nature.

H - Happiness HabitsTo bring greater hope into your life, you can cultivate habits that nourish positive emotions. A few practices that can promote happiness and well-being include: pausing to notice and savor good moments, practicing gratitude and thankfulness, being kind to yourself and others, engaging in activities you find meaningful, and discovering and using your strengths.

I - Inspired ActionsYou can inspire your hope by setting meaningful goals that offer you encouragement and motivation for your life and your future. Experts recommend developing SMART goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-framed. It’s helpful to break larger goals into smaller, step-by-step actions. Also, consider possible stumbling blocks and brainstorm ways to overcome them if they get in the way.

N- Nourishing NetworkHaving a support network of family, friends, coworkers, and support professionals can go a long way toward helping to bolster your hope and happiness. Knowing who you can turn to in good times and bad can contribute to a hopeful mindset. These connections may also include people beyond your personal network, where you can go during times of crisis. Your hope network should include people who value you and your strengths, see the positives in you, and want you to be successful.

E - Eliminate ChallengesWhen you feel challenged, or there’s an obstacle in the way, first identify it. Then, you can use your SHINE skills to help yourself overcome it.

At RISE we also believe that Spiritual Strength is key to having hope. Pastor Rick Warren’s statement says it best: “What gives me the most hope every day is God's grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God.”  This month our coaching program at RISE has the theme of “Hope.” We will be learning strategies on how to weave the power of hope in our minds, our nutrition, and our fitness. We look forward to you joining us and discovering how hope can bring healing to the mind, body and spirit! 

Blessings!

From all of us at RISE