There’s hope for hope

An evidence-based intervention

Julia Mossbridge, PhD & Laura Nissen, PhD

You can listen to the 7-minute audio meditation with Dr. Michael Sapiro here.

Hope is not a luxury, but right now we are treating it as one. Whether it’s COVID-19, the widening income gap, apparent increases in racism and sexism or global climate change, there seem to be two common approaches to the future: assume we are all doomed no matter what we do or assume things will return to normalcy without changing a thing. Neither of these approaches is particularly hopeful, and neither motivates helpful actions. We think it’s time for a hope intervention — for all of us.

As we begin, let’s acknowledge with love that hope in its many forms may feel a little distant right now. Life feels like freefall for many. So beginning with what is real is perfect — let’s breathe into exactly how we feel right now.

We’ll start with what scientists and clinicians have discovered about hope. A positive or robust “future orientation” or “future time perspective” are the scientific terms that may come closest to what we commonly call “hope.” A positive future orientation can be loosely defined as emotional, cognitive and behavioral awareness of, and plans for, a positive future. A 2018 meta-analysis of 77 studies and 31,558…