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How to Increase Hope in Six Easy Steps

By Operation-Meditation

Hope is one of the most beautiful feelings available to us humans. Even when things are at their worst, hope can always pull us through. It is the promise of better things to come – whether rational or not. Having hope for the future is essential to being at your best on a daily basis. We all go through tough times, and we all need feelings of hope deep within to keep moving forward. This article will tell you how to increase hope using six different methods.

– Pamper Yourself. It is easy to lose track of hope when you are slogging through unenjoyably hard days. Even if you are not happy with your routine (a job you hate, for example), you can take time during the day to do something you enjoy. 10 minute breaks to have a cup of your favorite coffee or read a great book will do wonders for your outlook, and your hope for the future.

– Turn it off. Let’s be honest – the news can be downright depressing sometimes. If you are always plugged in to the news via TV or mobile device, you can easily be drug down into a hopeless frame of mind. Thankfully, there is an easy solution to this problem. Just turn it off. Limit yourself to a set amount of time each day where you catch up on the news, and leave it at that. To start, try 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening. That will be enough to keep you ‘in the loop’, but not so much as to damage your attitude.

– Be Nice. Sometimes, the simple lessons we learn as kids are the most powerful even as adults. Try going through your day being nice to everyone you come across. Say hello, thank them for their help, or whatever else the situation calls for. You will soon find that people are more than ready to return those niceties, making everyone’s day a little bit brighter. As this attitude becomes your normal approach to life, you will find feelings of optimism and hope naturally increase along the way.

– Pitch In. Hope often can be found in feeling good about the society around us. When we feel kinship with our fellow humans, we can’t help but feel positive about the future. To tap into those feelings, volunteer your time to help with a cause outside of yourself. There is certainly countless organizations right within your own city that would love to have your help. Choose one that calls to you in a personal way, and build time into your schedule to help that cause in some way. You will be making your community a better place, and building your own capacity to hope at the same time.

– Laugh. The act of laughter is great for many psychological processes, and hope is no different. Seek out something that will give you a good laugh, whether it is a TV show or a particularly funny friend. Make time for laughter each day and find your views on the future suddenly looking better than they did before.

– Meditate. It is easy to spiral into negative thinking when you get caught up in the chaos that is modern life. Take time to meditate and slow that spiral down until it is well under your control. Meditation re-organizes your brain and allows it to function properly again. You will be untangling the mess that the world around you has created and finding your way back to your true self. During this process, you will see how much you are still capable of, and how many reasons you have for hope.

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