What is hope?
Some say it’s a positive mindset or attitude, or perhaps a feeling of optimism toward the future. Both the American Psychological Association and Biblical translators use the word “expectation” to convey this critical concept.1 2 Although we often use hope as a stronger synonym for wish, it has much profounder meaning and impact. According to Pedersen, “hope can exist even alongside the most difficult situations and emotions. Hope is much more than wishful thinking, as it requires optimism and willpower.”3
Optimism is something one would expect to be part of hope, and many definitions of optimism include hope. In general, optimism is “the belief that the outcomes of events or experiences will generally be positive… Such a perspective enables optimists to more easily see the possibility of change.”4
Willpower, on the other hand, is the capacity to enact or receive the desired change, as well as “resist short-term temptations in order to meet long-term goals.” Capacity here means we all have the capability, but we don’t always have what we need to employ it. Willpower is “a limited resource” prone to depletion. For example, it is easier to “override an unwanted thought, feeling, or impulse” when we are awake and alert, but when we are hungry or tired, the capacity for resistance is more scarce. Willpower is a “conscious, effortful regulation of the self by the self,” and by consciously regulating our internal resources, we allow our willpower to stay at a maintainable level. It is very much a feedback cycle.5
Many worldviews and therapy models posit that our soul, personality, or being have three main components.6 For this topic, we’ll focus on thoughts, feelings, and actions; or mind, emotions, and will.7 This would mean hope, being a combination of optimism and willpower, exercises two of the three components (mind and will), and our emotions generally follow. Even in grief and loss, we can set our mind and will toward hope while being gentle with ourselves. Real hope doesn’t deny real hurt. “The key message of CBT [Cognitive Behavior Therapy] is that the way we think (our cognitions) and what we do (our behavior) affects the way we feel.”8 Thus, hope is the manifestation of these soul changes. What we are choosing to believe, how we’re acting based on that belief, and how that hope makes us feel make up our worldview and an intentionally hopeful lifestyle.
So how does hope differ from a wish? You’ve probably already experienced it on some level. If I say, “I wish to visit New Zealand,” and “I hope to see my family for Christmas,” what are the differences for you? Maybe the first is a nice thought, and the second is a strong desire. But for me, hope here is also an expectation based both on experience with my family and my own participation. In this sense, I could just as easily say, “I will see my family,” “I plan to see my family,” or “I expect to see my family.”
It seems obvious that knowing something good will happen has positive impacts on us—so why so much emphasis on hope? Because hope also deals in the uncertainties of life. Sometimes what we know or believe will happen doesn’t match our present reality. In the unknowns and setbacks, hope is vital. Such as on a year where family members had a virus. Did I give up my desire to see them, or could I still hope for some quality time with them before the New Year? It wasn’t a wish; it was an active working toward healing and finding a way to meet, even if it was outdoors with masks. My expectation to see my family didn’t lessen with the setback. It was just that hope shined brighter, and the felt desire mixed with it, so that when the time came to see them, it was perhaps even more joyful. Cherished even. And because of hope, I could be patient and joyful even in the insecurity of waiting.
If it’s close to dinnertime and a loved one is late, do I still believe they will come? Worry watches the clock; hope sets a plate.
But what about those times that we hoped for something good that did not happen? “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life,” says Proverbs 13:12.9 Is hope delusional, or can we recognize false hope before it’s too late?10 Do the benefits outweigh the risks?
Real hope is not blind because it does not deny the present. “It takes a lot of courage and patience to actually be with this life the way that it is.”11 Hope knows how to hold both present pain with future freedom while keeping sight on one’s identity and purpose. “Life has its joys and sorrows — and we can’t even take in the good sometimes.”12 Can we be brave enough to accept both as they come and let both shape us for the better? “If we’re unable to find ways to be with what we’re experiencing, things won’t change for the better.”13 Breathe deep, and find your community, a place that is your safe home to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”14 As a Swedish proverb says, “A shared joy is a double joy; a shared sorrow is half a sorrow.”15 Knowing we’re not alone is the only way I can see hope truly surviving in spite of it all, sending down strong roots and growing tall up through the cracks in the concrete until we reach the sun that’s been shining even when we couldn’t see it.
Hope is future focused, but it can also help us change our perspective on the present. “If I see the world as a friendly place, I’ll experience the world in a much friendlier manner. If I see it as an evil and awful place, that’s what I’ll be noticing more of in my experience.”16 Modern studies show that hope is more than some ethereal, positive disposition towards the future; it can have measurable physical, emotional, social, and psychological benefits in the present.17 “It is possible that hope isn’t just a buffer against negative experiences but also something that can help us adapt, even when everything we’ve taken for granted about our lives has been disrupted.”18 Hope cannot create or stop negative experiences; it merely helps us walk through them with peace. It is a valuable resource we desperately need in a broken world and one that would be unwise to keep hidden and never utilize.
I have hoped for something, believed it, moved toward it, and seen it fulfilled, yet still wept at the loss involved in the process. And other losses that have yet to be revived. Hope is not easy, nor is it weak. It is not delusional or blind; it simply sees beyond present predicaments.
Hope is a beautiful thing that can exist in tragic places. It may feel awful to behold its glory in a desolate place. The contrast naturally frustrates us, but we must not undermine it in ourselves or others. Ensure hope is rooted in truth, in reality—past, present, future, eternal—then nurture and guard that plant. One day you will see the garden that grows around it.
Dr. Preston encourages us to “take perspective at regular intervals. Being able to see one’s progress is a great way to foster hope for the future.”19 Regular intervals could be daily for certain goals or every 3 months for others; there’s no formula. Take stock, adjust, and keep going. It is often easier to redirect what’s already in motion than to start motion in the first place.
What is your hope, that anchor in the present that both waits and works toward a future reality? What do you already have or need right now that can position you toward this future reality? Is there someone in your life who has walked a similar path and can support you in your journey toward hope? Is there someone who may need their own little spark of hope?
“Hope is a state of mind that can be learned.”20 I’ve shared my hope for hope and my hope for you. Take the spark, move toward the light, and be who you were made to be.
- “APA Dictionary of Psychology: Hope,” American Psychological Association, accessed August 16, 2025, https://dictionary.apa.org/hope. ↩︎
- “Topical Bible: Hope,” BibleHub, accessed August 16, 2025, https://biblehub.com/topical/h/hope.htm. ↩︎
- Tracy Pedersen, “Why Is Hope So Important?”, PsychCentral, last modified September 26, 2022, https://psychcentral.com/blog/the-psychology-of-hope. ↩︎
- “Optimism,” Psychology Today, accessed August 16, 2025, https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/optimism?amp. ↩︎
- “What You Need to Know About Willpower: The Psychological Science of Self-Control,” American Psychological Association, accessed August 16, 2025, https://www.apa.org/topics/personality/willpower. ↩︎
- Examples of a tripartite soul, state, or body can be found in Platonic traditions; Judeo-Christian teachings; Buddhism; the Vedanta; traditional Chinese medicine (i.e., Three Treasures); and modern psychology via Freud (Id, Ego, Superego), Eric Berne (Parent, Adult, Child ego model), and CBT. ↩︎
- “The Three Parts of the Soul,” Living Stream Ministry, accessed August 16, 2025, https://www.ministrybooks.org/display/index.php?ent=AMA&id=3995. ↩︎
- “Thoughts in CBT,” Psychology Tools, accessed August 16, 2025, https://www.psychologytools.com/self-help/thoughts-in-cbt. ↩︎
- Proverbs. 13:12 (New International Version). ↩︎
- “The Power of Hope,” Psychology Today, published May 2, 2023, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/202305/the-power-of-hope. ↩︎
- Andrea Rice, “Mindful Moment: Awakening to the Power of Hope,” PsychCentral, published March 10, 2022, https://psychcentral.com/health/mindful-moment-awakening-power-of-hope. ↩︎
- Rice, “Mindful Moment.” ↩︎
- Rice, “Mindful Moment.” ↩︎
- Romans. 12:15 (New American Standard Bible). ↩︎
- “About Us,” Half A Sorrow Foundation, accessed August 31, 2025, https://halfasorrow.org/about-us. ↩︎
- Rice, “Mindful Moment.” ↩︎
- Andrea Bonior, “The Health Benefits of Hope,” Psychology Today, published March 30, 2021, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/friendship-20/202103/the-health-benefits-hope. ↩︎
- Bonior, “The Health Benefits of Hope.” ↩︎
- Camille Preston, “The Psychology of Hope,” Psychology Today, published October 24, 2021, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental-health-in-the-workplace/202110/the-psychology-of-hope. ↩︎
- Pedersen, “Why Is Hope so Important?” ↩︎