How to Find Hope
“...asking my therapist and the clergy where the hope at,” Heath McNease, Down Bad
Have you had trouble finding hope this year? Maybe you’re overwhelmed by political stress and anxiety. Maybe you’re so stressed about work right now that it’s hard to believe that life will get any better. Or maybe you’re just trying to make it through the day. If you’re asking where’s the hope at, you’re asking a good question which can help you find it.
Where is the hope at? Hope is always in the future! The problem is that so many other things are in the future too - anxiety, hopelessness, and despair can also exist in the future. To find hope, you’ve got to choose to look forward to something in the future. Hope is the belief that tomorrow can be better than today, hope is the anticipation of something good. It’s hard not to feel at least a little bit hopeful when you’re directing your attention, planning, and resources to something in your future that you’re looking forward to.
In his song Down Bad off his new album Notes Vol 4, Heath quips about asking his therapist and his clergy where the hope is at. If you can’t find hope yourself, you can find someone else to ask. You can direct your attention to reasons to have hope. I love Heath’s vulnerability in wanting to know where to find hope and the examples he shares in song. When you look for something to hope for you can find something to hope for, and when you can’t find it yourself you can ask the people around you and join into their hope.
Some Tips to Find Hope
Ask: Hope by definition is a, “desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.” To find something to have hope in is to choose something in the future to believe in the fulfillment in. Instead of focusing on where hope isn’t, asking questions can help you to find something to hope for.
Ask your friends: Ask one of your friends about something they’re looking forward to. Hope can be infectious. Hope can be shared. Can you join them in what they’re hoping for? Can you be excited for them about what they’re hoping for?
Ask your colleagues: When it’s tough to hope for something at work, you can talk to a colleague about what they’re looking forward to. Are there any exciting deadlines coming up? Or what about an innovative and engaging project? Even if it’s an upcoming holiday weekend - that’s a work related event that you can look forward to.
Ask yourself: Take a self inventory - What are you looking forward to? Is there a date on the calendar you’re excited to celebrate this year? Or an event? Or a moment? It doesn’t have to be a monumental occasion - what’s something that you can look forward to later today?
Ask God: Spirituality and/or religion is a strength and support for many people. When the questions seem too big to answer, practicing spiritual disciplines like reading a holy text, listening to spiritual teachings, or engaging in prayer and meditation can help direct your focus toward hope.
Ask your therapist: Your mental health treatment provider can help you develop an awareness between your thoughts and your feelings and can help you be empowered to choose what you’re hoping for.
How Future Full of Hope Can Help
If the future seems bleak and you can’t find anything to hope for, starting therapy with Future Full of Hope, PLLC may help. We join with you to increase your awareness of your perspective toward the future, to develop the skills to find hope even when it seems most difficult to do so, and to be prepared to find hope even when faced with discouragement.
Ready to start therapy? Use the form below to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation!
AI Disclaimer: This post is original and written by Kevin Boyd of Future Full of Hope, PLLC. No AI tool was leveraged in the development of this post
