Winter is behind us; spring is here. Flowers are blooming; leaves are green; life is a little warmer and the days are longer. Spring, for some, is a time of optimism, renewal and hope. Spring helps us remember that life does return in all its beauty even when, in the depths of the cold of winter, it does not seem possible. The analogy of spring emerging from winter helps illustrate key concepts that underlie this article, namely hope and resilience.
“Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.” While this popular quote from The Shawshank Redemption may seem too simplistic to be true, in the research community, its wisdom has resonance. Amy Senger, a researcher at the Houston Anxiety Resilience and Treatment Lab, examined the impact of hope on resilience during the COVID19 pandemic.
“Hope’s ability to predict well-being during times of chronic and extreme stress exemplifies the importance of cultivating resilience factors,” Senger wrote.
In fact, research shows that where people adopt hopeful stances in lives, their well-being improves, they have greater positive mood and they enjoy greater life satisfaction. How then, is hope defined?
According to a research report by University of Alberta researchers Denise Larson, Rebecca Hudon-Breen, Darryl Hunter and Veronica Taylor, “hope is the future-oriented belief, desire and mental imagining surrounding a valued outcome that is uncertain but possible.” This definition, while it may seem a far cry from the spring analogy, captures key ideas needed for the contemplation of hope.
To illustrate, I’ll use a gardening example. Every autumn, usually in September, I plant tulip bulbs in my flower beds. I playfully refer to this as my annual act of hope. Ultimately, I believe that in the spring, following a harsh, cold winter, I will see beautiful green leaves and flower buds that will bloom in a riot of colors. I am not 100 percent certain every bulb will germinate into a flower, and some may be sacrificed to the squirrels, but when I plant I believe that there is a good possibility that I will be rewarded for my efforts. I also know that I really love seeing my tulips bloom every spring. It is a future I am happy to embrace. While planting bulbs in the fall may seem a mundane act, it represents my plan for building a better future for me, my family and possibly my neighbors following the dark of winter.
Hopefulness is a valuable idea that, with practice, can be developed in children and adults. Being hopeful involves planning for the future and using personal agency to achieve the future we imagine. We also recognize that the future we imagine may not be guaranteed, but by being open to multiple pathways to achieve goals, we can live more resilient, happier lives.
For parents and teachers who seek to be more hopeful themselves as well as help children achieve a more hopeful future, this may involve a willingness to exercise and demonstrate self-compassion and self-kindness. As we are socialized into adulthood with expectations that we will be responsible adults, caring parents and outstanding employees functioning at high capacity most of the time, the willingness to be self-compassionate might take some practice.
After all, social norms and expectations invite us to overextend ourselves in all the roles we carry, as the work ethic of adulthood is normalized through well-worn phrases like “work hard, play hard” and “burning the candle at both ends.”
While at work or when parenting, how often do we allow ourselves to utter statements like “I will ask someone for help”? For many of us, admitting that we need help is a failure of our adult role, yet being self-compassionate enough to ask for help reconnects us into our community and helps demonstrate to ourselves and our children that we belong to the human race.
Fortunately, Hope Central provides a repository of articles and resources for interested readers including parents and teachers, as does the website for SHARP-MPH (Strengths, Hope and Resourcefulness Program for School Mental Health). Ultimately, the books, videos and quotes available on these websites can help parents and teachers think more deeply about how to introduce hope into their own lives and the lives of their children and/or students. In the face of high inflation, escalating political tensions at home and abroad, climate change, COVID19, automation and deepening inequality, it is not surprising that many adults are struggling with stress and mental health challenges.
We all have a role to play in strengthening our own “hope muscles” to help build more resilient and robust futures for young people. Enlivening our homes and schools with hope, using compassion and care, will help create better futures for everyone.
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