Pray or meditate

Research has shown that prayer can increase hope and optimism, self-esteem, and adaptability during challenges, while decreasing feelings of depression and suicide. Prayer has also been shown to greatly improve relationships and can even improve health problems.

You don’t need to be religious to pray. Ultimately, prayer is a quiet search for perspectives, energy, or reasons. It’s putting yourself in a frame of mind in which you believe good things will happen — and then taking action. Set aside some time each day to sit with your own thoughts, whatever form that takes. If you don’t know how to fill that time, try simply thinking good thoughts or “sending positive energy” to the people you love, and see how your outlook changes.

Increase Your Hope

It’s a skill we need right now. Especially in a time of social unrest, widespread unemployment, and a global pandemic, the advice to “stay hopeful!” might make you groan. But in getting through hard times, hope may be more powerful than we realize.

In his book Making Hope Happen, the psychologist Shane Lopez writes that in a crisis, less-hopeful people tend to shut down. They’re more concerned with “surviving the now” than preparing for the future. The most hopeful people, however, are more likely to create a picture of a meaningful goal that expands their sense of what they can accomplish.

Hoping for something doesn’t mean you’re not taking action. Hope is action. Hope requires three things: a specific vision of a better future, the agency to learn and do whatever is required to get what you want, and a constant search for different pathways to achieve your goals.

The hope

There is good news. There IS hope.

Let’s start with the facts. You haven’t really tried everything. That would be impossible. There are far too many things to try and far too little time. The harsh truth is, you’ve only tried everything THAT YOU KNOW ABOUT.

Is it possible that there is some tactic or strategy you’ve overlooked? Something you aren’t aware of yet? Be very careful when allowing yourself to say, “I’ve tried everything.” It sounds an awful lot like saying, “Hey, I’ve done my part.” Or, “I’ve tried enough to justify giving up.”

AGAIN. You should try again.