There have been a lot of feelings swirling around this past month. From grief to sadness, and sometimes a sense of hopelessness. All these emotions and more are coming and going; letting them be, feeling into them as much as possible.
Being in community helped me move through these emotions with more ease. And now, at last, hope has begun to emerge again. Hope is a more positive state of mind. It is fertile ground for cultivating the motivation needed to take action.
Charles R. Snyder developed Hope Theory in the early 1990s. It is a psychological framework that views hope as a mindset that fosters commitment, motivation, and progress toward goals. The theory includes two key components: pathway thinking and agency thinking.
- Pathway thinking refers to the ability to think of multiple strategies or routes for achieving goals. Hopeful individuals can identify and commit to a course of action and remain flexible when obstacles arise, adapting their plans as needed.
- Agency thinking is the belief in one’s ability to achieve goals. It serves as the motivational aspect of hope, driving individuals to take action and persist despite challenges or setbacks.
Together, these two components create a mindset that supports actions towards a goal. By taking action, we can become more reconciled to the grief, sadness, and even anger that might be present during times of high stress.
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