Seven Ways to Defeat Hopelessness
Hope is a way of thinking when things are uncertain.
Leadership requires boldness in the face of uncertainty. Boldness requires hope. Hope enables action.
Hope believes things can change.
Leaders with hope rise to challenges. Leaders without hope run. Hope gets more done than discouragement or despair.
Hope faces uncertainty with reasoned confidence.
Real hope has reasons. False hope is an ambiguous positive feeling.
Scholars believe hope has at least three components:
Hope needs goals that are:
- Meaningful to the individual. Meaningful goals captivate thoughts. If you aren’t thinking about it, it doesn’t matter to you.
- Challenging but attainable.
- Uncertain but achievable. Uncertainty is the context of hope. But, when success can’t be achieved, hope is delusional.
Hope without a path is delusion.
Hope needs pathways that are:
- Visible. Results may be uncertain but the path forward must be clear. Hopelessness is feeling trapped. A clear path forward transforms thinking from “can’t” to “can.”
- Reasonable. Results may be uncertain but the path forward must make sense.
- Adaptable. Hope needs alternatives when encountering obstacles. Hope asks, “What else?”
Hope needs agency that:
- Believes taking action matters.
- Knows taking action is reasonable and possible.
- Recognizes things can change even if results are uncertain.
Hope can be taught.
Seven ways leaders defeat hopelessness:
Successful leaders inspire hope.
- Describe a meaningful path forward. Successful leaders describe what’s next.
- Allow struggle in a context where success is attainable. Hope is learned in struggle.
- Acknowledge success without minimizing future challenges and obstacles.
- Talk problems in the context of solutions. Those who believe they can fix it have hope.
- Explore alternatives and choose new paths forward. Persistently doing what doesn’t work is stubbornness not hope.
- Keep the far future in mind but focus on what’s next.
- Connect on a human level.
What makes hope possible?
How can leaders give hope?
Dan, I believe inspiring hope is a vital component of great leadership. Here’s my angle. http://letsgrowleaders.com/2013/08/26/how-to-inspire-hope/
Thanks Karin,
Glad you extended the conversation. I love the angle you take on hope. cheers
Dear Dan,
It is true that hope is the way when things are uncertain. I would like to add some more aspect to hope here. Hope infuses life to lifeless situations. It is a breather to look beyond what is not visible and it also provides meaning to our life. However, hope has its own limitation. Creating hopeful imagination beyond limitation is worthless. We can create hope to become something one day, but we need to analyze the boundary of hope. It means hope should have some ground, trends and after all our reason to believe that something will be favorable. Secondly hope without effort is actually hopeless situation. It is like fooling oneself. We can hope anything without examining the reason, efforts and difficulties faced in the process.
I think, reasonable reason makes hope possible. Reasonable reason could be justification of hope, evidence of hope, if any or it could be our extra effort put forward to make hope realize. Leaders can give hope by creating platform of trust, where people should listen to leaders. Leaders can not give hope unless they have proved something in the past. They should provide strong reasons that people can see it. Alternatively, they should make others realize about their potential and leading along with them. Just words are not enough, effort and actions play great role in creating hope.
Thanks Ajay,
“Hope without effort is actually hopeless…” I was trying to find the words to communicate that idea but couldn’t … Bingo!
Hey Ajay,
I like hope as an AED…recharges life!
Well now that I get the biology it is pretty simple. Thanks Simon
The answer FOR ME is oxytosin. Google it.
This dumped in my bloodstream this chemical causes good feelings. No theory, no disputing…..biological. Your bloodstream too by the way. Our biology works the same just understandings of it differ.
I can’t out smart the feeling I have when a large amount if adrenaline is dumped into my system. Everyone knows how that feels.
On the positive side is oxytocin, the chemical that produces warm fuzzies!
So people, including Leaders can help make hope a possibility by becoming an oxytocin generator!!!!! Said it I do not know how many times…..get ones own house in order!!!!! House in order…..oxytocin generating machine!!!!!
Only way to give, is to have what u are giving first! Said it a thousand times….one can’t give apples if what they have is oranges.
Thanks to Simon Sineks video on Vimeo. Leaders Eat Last. Gives the biological proof. Simon even praises the 12 Steps right at the end of the talk. Yea that number 12, a suggestion to give away what was freely given to us! Oxytocin generating suggestion.
SP back to figuring how much oxytocin I can generate today!!!!
If I had any knowledge of this area I would comment.
What better reason to watch Simons video and get the knowledge, right?
Video right there for viewing so nothing stopping you Dan getting the knowledge. Just a google away.
My Hope for you is you do get this knowledge then become a oxytocin generating crusader.
You do it everyday anyway all this does is clarify the language of how it works biologically.
SP
Good post. I don’t agree that hope is delusional when you are unable to articulate actions you can take. Sometimes it’s good enough to know that you will come up with a way or to hope that someone will step in, such as in spiritual matters. I would hate to think that if someone does not have steps that they can take, they would just give up because hope would be delusional.
Thanks Diana,
I like your take on finding a path vs. having a path. I’m on board as long as one of the two is happening. But hope without action is useless. I’d say delusional but that’s a bit aggressive for a personal comment. 🙂
Hey Dan, good post. I like your number 3….not minimizing future challenges. It has me thinking inthe context of how school systems celebrate almost any success these days – it’s great to enthhusiastically celebrate a 50% pass rate or just competing – but the follow through should be future focused and how that matches with expectations and aspirations (and ability ) – of course having said that being happy with the life we are leading sits both above and underneath the bouyancy of our hopes.
Happy thanksgiving (+1)
Richard
We are on the same page today Croadie!
Thanks Richard,
Hope is future focused. Without a goal hope is just a wish.
I’m with you on too much celebrating. Celebrating meaningless accomplishments only inspires apathy.
Concerning Hope for Education
It is here, called Khan Academy
SP
Thank you, Dan. I needed that this morning. Must remember “a reasonable path forward.”
Thanks bimuse,
Yeah, it’s pretty easy to circle problems until the world turns dark. Hope says give me a next step. I’ll take it. 🙂 Best on the journey
Dear Dan,
A thoughtful post with a clear message to believe in hope and action with positivity.
Hope keeps the life moving in uncertain conditions. At the same time, boldness keeps the hope alive which in turn pushes you to act which may work to bring the desired results or may bounce back resulting in pain. Some people may consider this as a foolish step when there is no sign of any certainty. It is more of self-confidence and the will to work turnaround things in your favor. This is true in individual cases.
When it comes to the organization or group level, leaders need to go through the seven steps as listed to bring back hope in people and make them work towards remedial actions. It’s like hitting into dark with a sigh of hope instead of accepting a defeat with helplessness.
Thanks Dr. Asher,
I really like, “Hope keeps life moving…” Nice!
Interesting how the interplay and interweave of hope and belief.
Wonder if leaders give hope or share hope. 😉
The #3 in inspiring hope—acknowledge (celebrate) the successes on a path (which may not actually be THE path) without minimizing future challenges/barriers seems to be a pivotal point.
Pace and timing are key in maintaining momentum, while still stopping long enough to smell the roses. At times it may a blend of breathing in the fragrance, acknowledging what muck it takes to make a rose, and then suggesting that there are bouquets roses yet to be savored.
Thanks Doc,
I wonder about giving, sharing, or helping others find their own hope. Right now, I’d go with the last but when I wrote I the article I went with the first. I’m hopeless… 🙂
This an excellent post. One of your best
Thanks Rajiv. 🙂
The opposite of hope is despair.
One of the principal elements linked to despair is a feeling of loss of control. That is why sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, lack of control of temperature, lack of control of environment, separation from other living beings, etc. are used to drive political prisoners to despair and compliance.
As leaders, we can help to instill hope in people by giving them control of their destiny, and showing them that they can influence it.
On a different, but related note, I like the ancient Greek concept of hope. It did not refer to a wish, but to a certainty not yet experienced. A Greek would say “I’m leaving my home now, and travelling towards Athens, where I hope to be soon”. This was not a dream, but a reality towards which he could aspire with some certainty. (That is the reason the Bible speaks of a “hope” of salvation. it is not a wish, but a future certainty not yet experienced).
This Greek concept of a more concrete hope is one that leaders can and mush put forwards. It is less ephemeral than a “vision” or “mission”. A hoped-for goal can be achieved – and will be achieved if pursued in the right way with sufficient focus and resources.
Thanks Marc,
Inspire hope by giving people a sense of control. Kaching!
Great great great words!!!!
Huge dump of oxytocin in my system while I read your words.
Many thanks!!!!!
SP
You can achieve stuff with the two H’s of life . Hope and Hard work. That’s what I believe. Now reading your this post my opinions have broadened 🙂
Thanks deathisme,
“two H’s of life” — love it.
I define hope as “confident expectation based on faith.” Where you place your faith is the source of your hope. For me, that’s God and His promises. In any case, hope changes what’s possible. I’d suggest that authentic hope always leads to some sort of action, though I’m not sure if it requires a goal or plan.
Thanks Rich,
I wonder, if from a leadership point of view, hope is confident expectation based on the belief that working hard to change something will work.
Having hope suggests a reasonable expectation for success even if outcomes aren’t guaranteed.
What’s interesting to me is the necessity for uncertainty for hope to be present. When outcomes are certain, hope, in the context of leadership, has no meaning.
Dan–I agree with your third point. As for the first two, we’re placing our faith in different sources. I’m all for hard work, but my confident expectation is in God, not myself or my ability. Hope isn’t a “reasonable” expectation, but an assurance of success–on God’s terms, not mine.
beautiful
While I appreciate hope with direction, there are times when there is nothing in the facts of the situation that naturally lead to hope. We need to be careful where we invest our hope… Hope deferred makes the heart sick. Only one place, or person to be specific, merits all our investment of hope, and He is often illogical and unpredicatable when measured against observable facts. God’s solutions are often the least likely and quite unreasonable because His Truth superceeds the facts. Just look at Gideon’s story… Gideon didn’t have a plan and none of God’s moves were based in reason. God reduced the army to a small handful of men right before the battle and He chose his army based on how they drank water.
I am a pratical, highly strategic leader. It comes in handy… and I rely too much on my ability to logically formulate a plan. Sometimes the best plan is to trust in a God who is big and not lean on our own understanding of the situation. God gave us reason and it is not without place. But hope should not be void of faith and faith is seldom reasonable.
The stories of people acting in faith, then and now give us hope when reason isn’t enough.
Dear Dan
I get a lot of things which is hope with action is very help full to run strategically because hopelessness is rooted from future uncertainty. It is really true because of the to days Complexity of leaders pathway. But we do not forget that hope is natural and it needs struggle in day to day life moment.