Hope is a character strength of the virtue of transcendence. More than a wishful dream like thought process. Hope is the bee carrying optimistic thoughts and expectations for the future like pollen. We can spend years studying the negative consequences of being hopeless or we can get busy like a bee having profound positive consequences on our well-being and health by cultivating Hope!
Hope is all about being in the moment. Not the past or in the future, it's active in your decisions and how you will fulfill a goal that you have made or how a situation may positively turn out. Hope coupled with optimism can leap into a future plans and relationships while pollinating your everyday thoughts into positive growth. Hope carries us through our trials and wild lives right into the future. Like the bee that grabs and stores up pollen for the hive, while continually sharing from each tree, flower and shrub. We are no longer numb or confused at our reality but present to another view that keeps us positive. That is how hope gives the strength to persevere in tough and exhausting times without becoming as anxious and depleted. Hopefulness keeps us resilient in the face of challenges. When hope is a strong character strength, we fortify our lives throughout waves of grief that trigger depression and anxiety.
Why be Hopeful? Because we need to feel satisfied with your life each day. Satisfaction and well-being get richer and deeper when we are hopeful. We may offer better solutions for an ongoing issue or find greater pleasure and meaning in our lives because we are hopeful. Hope is also an overflowing strength! Giving us strength to make positive changes and flows throughout relationships in extraordinary ways. Studies show that people who are strong in hope may fail but they remain positive thereafter. This keeps our progress trending forward leading to more success and better performance .
As we begin to think of the New Year, Let's take an inventory of Hope and see its potential for blessing positive growth in our lives in 2024. If you would like to discover and explore more of your virtues and character strengths, contact me to book a Positive Psychology Practices Session or sign-up for Spiritual Direction to grow your spiritual journey. Or combine them to unleash your fullest potential.
In a Buzz of Hopefulness!
Mandy Gero, OFS
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