Let’s face it – there’s a lot going on in the world today that could leave us feeling hopeless.
I’m talking about worldwide conflicts, personal and political violence, environmental concerns, and poverty and food insecurity – just to name a few.
And then, there are our own personal concerns about health, finances, and relationships – especially as we enter the holiday season.
But the presence or absence of hope in our lives, or in those of our clients, may have a significant impact on our overall life experience.
Just recently I came across a study conducted by Carol Graham, PhD, and Redzo Mujic, PhD, at the Brookings Institution at the University of Maryland. Doctors Graham and Mujic completed a longitudinal study of 25,000 randomly sampled adults over the course of 14 years seeking to answer two questions:
- Does hope act as a psychological buffer against major events throughout a person’s life?
- Do higher levels of hope improve a person’s long-term well-being?
The study collected data from both face-to-face interviews as well as self-completion questionnaires, with the former recording primarily demographic and socioeconomic information.
Questionnaires focused on positive and negative life events such as money gained or lost, changes in job situation, health of self and family members, and whether or not participants had experienced natural disaster.
Here’s what they found – people with higher levels of hope felt the least drop in life satisfaction after hard life events. And people with the lowest levels of hope felt the greatest drop.
The researchers also found a strong link between high levels of hope and improvement in areas of economic, health, and social well-being.
Now, of course, we always need to be cautious when interpreting these kinds of results. For example, the researchers acknowledged that participants with low levels of hope may have been more likely to drop out of the study. In addition, the study could not randomize the experience of hope across the sample of individuals who participated. You can dig more deeply into the study here.
But here’s the thing that came to my mind – if a greater sense of hopefulness could lead to greater satisfaction over the course of our lifetime, what are some ways we can foster it?
Well, it just might be something that many of us are doing today (especially in the US). And I don’t mean watching football.
I mean giving thanks. Expressing gratitude.
Charlotte Witvliet, PhD, of Belmont University has been researching a possible connection between gratitude and hope, and here’s what she says:
Gratitude is like the hub on which the hope wheel pivots.
You can check out Dr Witvliet’s work here.
Meanwhile, as you celebrate Thanksgiving, let me encourage you to express full-hearted gratitude for the many good things you’ve experienced.
And I would like to express my gratitude to all of you who follow and support our work here at NICABM.
Now I’d like to hear from you – what’s at the top of your gratitude list this Thanksgiving? Please leave a comment below.
Thank you, Ruth to you and your staff helping me find my practice as well as myself
I’m grateful for Ruth Buczynski’s contribution to the professional development and CEU requirements of her many readers through the years. She has introduced experts in the field to listeners who might not have access to such resources. Her generosity and foresight are deeply appreciated.
– Elizabeth Fung