Hope
What does Hope mean to us?
In the HVRC program, we learn how to cultivate realistic optimism, an approach to life that reflects the real world and allows us to take confident action with hope. Realistic optimists do not ignore or deny negative situations or emotions, but acknowledge them and take action to resolve the situation. Optimists tend to engage in proactive behavior, preventing problems when possible, and dealing with issues effectively as they arise. Optimism requires the ability to generate pathways of thought which get us from the present to an imagined positive future, and hope creates agency, which is the ability to use these pathways to propel us toward our desired goals. Hope betters our performance, helps us cope with stress and manage fear, and gives us control over our lives.
Our program examines the scientific basis and practical aspects of building optimism, which then leads us to take hope-filled actions. We learn to overcome the brain’s negativity bias, which evolved to ensure human survival, but which no longer serves us well in the modern world. This enables us to understand our difficulties within a wider perspective, and helps us to find the positives in a situation. When we can see the potential benefits, we are able to take advantage of opportunities being presented. Rather than focusing on what we don’t want, hope helps us identify what we do want and drives us toward our objective.
Laura’s Hope Corner
