Hope
“I am realistic and also full of optimism about the future, believing in my actions and feeling confident things will turn out well.”
Become Aware Of Your Strength
Understand what hope is all about so you can begin recognizing it in yourself and others.
What is Hope?
The character strength of hope has to do with positive expectations about the future. It involves optimistic thinking and focusing on good things to come. Hope is more than a feel-good emotion. It is an action-oriented strength involving agency, the motivation and confidence that goals can be reached, and also that many effective pathways can be devised in order to get to that desired future. Optimism is closely linked with having a particular explanatory style (how we explain the causes of bad events). People using an optimistic explanatory style interpret events as external, unstable and specific. Those using a pessimistic explanatory style interpret events as internal, stable and global.
Which virtue is this strength?
Hope is a strength within the virtue category of transcendence, one of six virtues that subcategorize the 24 strengths. Transcendence describes strengths that help you connect to the larger universe and provide meaning. The other strengths in Transcendence are
appreciation of beauty & excellence
,
gratitude
,
hope
,
humor
,
and
spirituality
.
Explore and Apply Your Strength
Research findings on the benefits of the strength of Hope found Hope is one of the two-character strengths most associated with life satisfaction and well-being. People who are hopeful are less likely to be anxious or depressed. If they do become anxious or depressed, those feelings tend not to overwhelm them. Hopeful people tend to be healthier, happier, and more successful. Hope leads to greater longevity.
