Today’s avalanche of distressing news can make some of us feel helpless and hopeless. And research shows that we have an inherent “negativity bias” to focus on our problems, which can further drag us down (Rozin & Royzman, 2001). Yet research has also found that focusing on positive events can counteract downward spirals of negativity and increase our well-being (Garland et al., 2010; Hurley & Kwon, 2013).

One powerful way to increase our positivity is to actively build hope. Pioneering research in Hope Theory by psychologist C.R. Snyder, PhD (1994), has shown that hope involves three qualities: 1) Goals 2) Pathways 3) Agency.

Clinical psychologist David Feldman, Ph.D., and I conducted a study that showed how putting goals, pathways, and agency into active steps can significantly increase people’s hope (Feldman & Dreher, 2012).

Here’s how you can use these three steps to build your own hope.

Choose a goal you’d like to achieve in the next six months. Make it an approach goal like “I want to be fit and healthy,” “I want to enjoy life,” or “I want to have more friends.” Approach goals (striving for what you want) promote personal well-being while avoidance goals (striving to avoid negative situations) are associated with anxiety and distress (Emmons, 2003).

Choose your own approach........

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