Making Hope Happen

Draws on cutting-edge research and inspiring true stories about people who resolved to build better lives for themselves, their families and their communities in a guide based on the author's research about the psychology of hope that provides a scientifically based, customizable blueprint for meeting goals.

Draws on research to offer strategies for adopting a high-hope attitude and shaping a successful future, and provides real-life examples of people who create hope and have changed the lives of their communities.

In this practical guide to the anatomy of hope and how to harness its incredible power in your own life, a leading psychologist “shines a light on one of the most powerful, and most misunderstood, emotional forces in our lives” (Daniel Pink, author of Drive). Some people manage to bounce back quickly from setbacks, to lead happy, healthy, productive lives, no matter their circumstances. These people have found a way to make good things happen even when luck isn’t on their side. The secret ingredient they use to transform their lives, it turns out, is hope. Using discoveries from the largest study of hopeful people ever conducted, Shane J. Lopez, PhD, “the world’s preeminent expert on hope” (Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness), reveals that hope is not just an emotion but an essential life tool. Hope is a leading indicator of success in relationships, academics, career, and business, and with Making Hope Happen, you can measure your level of hope and learn how to increase, use, and share it. In addition, Lopez shares the uplifting stories of real people who have created hope in their own lives and communities, from a CEO who befriended a curious nine-year-old to a college student who is thriving after two heart transplants. Praised as “thoughtful and pragmatic” (Publishers Weekly), Making Hope Happen is for anyone seeking a better future—for themselves, for their business, or for the world. The message is clear: Hope is a choice. Hope can be learned. Hope is contagious. Hope can change your life.

Learn to overcome trauma, adversity, and struggle by unleashing the science of hope in your daily life with this inspiring and informative guide. Hope is much more than wishful thinking. Science tells us that it is the most predictive indicator of well-being in a person’s life. Hope is measurable. It is malleable. And it changes lives. In Hope Rising, Casey Gwinn and Chan Hellman reveal the latest science of hope using nearly 2,000 published studies, including their own research. Based on their findings, they make an impassioned call for hope to be the focus not only of our personal lives, but of public policy for education, business, social services, and every part of society. Hope Rising provides a roadmap to measure hope in your life. It teaches you to assess what may have robbed you of hope, and then provides strategies to let your hope flourish once again. The authors challenge every reader to be honest about their own struggles and end the cycle of shame and blame related to trauma, illness, and abuse. These are important first steps toward increasing your Hope score—and thriving because of it.

“[A] landmark book . . . Solnit illustrates how the uprisings that begin on the streets can upend the status quo and topple authoritarian regimes” (Vice). A book as powerful and influential as Rebecca Solnit’s Men Explain Things to Me, her Hope in the Dark was written to counter the despair of activists at a moment when they were focused on their losses and had turned their back to the victories behind them—and the unimaginable changes soon to come. In it, she makes a radical case for hope as a commitment to act in a world whose future remains uncertain and unknowable. Drawing on her decades of activism and a wide reading of environmental, cultural, and political history, Solnit argues that radicals have a long, neglected history of transformative victories, that the positive consequences of our acts are not always immediately seen, directly knowable, or even measurable, and that pessimism and despair rest on an unwarranted confidence about what is going to happen next. Now, with a moving new introduction explaining how the book came about and a new afterword that helps teach us how to hope and act in our unnerving world, she brings a new illumination to the darkness of our times in an unforgettable new edition of this classic book. “One of the best books of the 21st century.” —The Guardian “No writer has better understood the mix of fear and possibility, peril and exuberance that’s marked this new millennium.” —Bill McKibben, New York Times–bestselling author of Falter “An elegant reminder that activist victories are easily forgotten, and that they often come in extremely unexpected, roundabout ways.” —The New Yorker

Hope has previously been a construct more of interest to philosophy and religion than in psychology. New research has shown, however, that hope is closely related to optimism, feelings of control, and motivation toward achieving one's goals. The Handbook of Hope presents a comprehensive overview of the psychological inquiry into hope, including its measurement, its development in children, how its loss is associated with specific clinical disorders, and therapeutic approaches that can help instill hope in those who have lost theirs. A final section discusses hope in occupational applications: how the use of hope can make one a better coach, teacher, or parent. Defines hope as a construct and describes development of hope through the lifespan Provides multiple instruments for measuring hope Guides professionals in how to assess hope levels & implement hope as part of therapy Relates hope to all portions of the population Includes case studies, figures, and tables to aid understanding of research findings and concepts; discusses the importance of hope to relationships, achieving goals, and success at work

Why do some people lead positive, hope-filled lives, while others wallow in pessimism? In The Psychology of Hope, a professor of psychology reveals the specific character traits that produce highly hopeful individuals. He offers a test to measure one's level of optimism and gives specific advice on how to become a more hopeful person.

This powerful program shows readers how to break old self-defeating habits, learn new ways of thinking about themselves, and develop the willpower to say Yes, I can and the waypower to overcome roadblocks and find new troutes to their goals.