Well I have waited long enough.
I was hoping that by not responding to the query two blogs ago, that others might put forth their ideas. Since that has not happened YET, I will tell you that, "Yes, I believe hope is a perspective that helps us see or find opportunities." Having said that, I also believe that at times it is difficult to maintain a hopeful perspective, which is why we need to surround ourselves with 'hope coaches'. It is also why I believe we need to find ways to uncover and access our hoping selves and the hoping selves of others. It is why I was so determined to publish a resource that contained ways to access our hoping selves.
I think Dufault and Martocchio (1985) would agree. They did a study with 35 elderly cancer patients and found there are two spheres and six dimensions of hope. I believe the spheres contribute to what I mean when I say when we look through a hopeful lens our thinking, actions, feelings, and relationships helps us envision and move toward a future in which we can participate with enthusiasm and interest.
The two spheres of hope are particularized and generalized. Particular hopes focus on specifics, often in the moment. Particular hopes might be: I hope I don't freeze on the way into work today; I hope I can write another section for my paper before I have to leave my desk this morning; I hope no one bullies me today. Generalized hope, on the other hand, provides an overall sense of hope that things will turn out okay, a sense of well-being and security that one will cope with whatever comes along. It is a feeling or sense that one can develop and work toward particular hopes.
On the flip side, if we have experienced many hope suckers in our past or do not feel very hopeful, our generalized hope would look, feel and sound quite different. Let's use the particular example of the particular hope "I hope I am not bullied today." This might be the statement of someone who is using a 'less than' hopeful perspective or whose generalized feeling of his or her ability to be or not be bullied is not very hopeful. Feeling that one has strategies to cope with the bullies of the world helps me feel that when I meet one that things will turn out okay because I will be able to stand up to the bully or at least have supports in place so that I am not harmed by the bully's actions or that I can access the support I need it so that I do not continue to be harmed.
So now what do you think?
2 comments:
I think I have more questions.
Are 'hope coaches' those that see potential when we are blinded by hopelessness?
Are 'Particular Hopes' baby steps?
Is 'Generalized Hope' found by examining past successes?
What are the 6 dimensions of Hope?
Thank you
Great questions that I will attempt to respond to given what I know at this time.
Hope coaches are people in our life who help us use hope as a guide. A hope coach might be a parent or other significant adult like a teacher or track coach. They help us when our hope is being challenged, but they also encourage us to stay connected to our hopes. I like to think of them as individuals who 'listen with their whole being'. Who encourage us to name and work toward our hopes.
I am not sure I would say that particular hopes are baby steps per se. I think they are more specific to he situations that we each find ourselves in. They help us get to where we want to go, whereas generalized hope is more of a feeling that motivates or diminishes our belief that we can accomplish a particular hope.
I would have to say that examining past successes most definitely influences our present and future hopes. I believe this often happens at an unconscious level. I believe that our stories of who we are and are becoming are influenced by the stories we tell about ourselves.
And now for the easiest question of all. The six dimensions are the:
-cognitive (thoughts, goals, imaginings)
-affiliative (relationships)
-affective (feelings)
-behavioural (actions)
-contextual (different places)
-temporal (past, present, future)
In the Nurturing Hopeful Souls resource, which is available at the Hope Foundation of Alberta, I write about how these interact and overlap with each other in contributing to the unique nature of our hope.
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