# Hope **Domain:** Psychology / Future Orientation / Human Development **Doc Type:** Concept Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition **Hope is a future-oriented capacity to perceive meaningful possibility and sustain action before the desired outcome is guaranteed.** ## Mechanism and Practice Hope regulates attention toward openings that fear and despair can hide. It becomes durable when imagination is joined to social support, practical steps, and the willingness to keep a future possibility psychologically alive. ## Relationships [[wiki/Resilience|Resilience]] · [[wiki/Opportunity|Opportunity]] · [[wiki/Future Orientation|Future Orientation]] ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > “Places where people gather to honor a shared hope can carry real emotional power. A memorial kept alive by strangers around the clock shows that a vision of peace and beauty survives long after its author is gone. Standing in such a place can restore faith in the resilience of the human spirit.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Central Park, Imagination, and the Courage to Defy the Script - Livestream (Dec 2015)* [[reminders/Hope/Shared Hope Outlives Its Author by Bryant McGill|Shared Hope Outlives Its Author by Bryant McGill]] > “Imagination can be practiced nightly. Lying in bed and picturing life as one wishes it to be, with needs met and peace restored, rehearses a better future. The practice strengthens hope and direction.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Imagination, Possibility, and the Refusal to Give Up - Livestream (Apr 2016)* [[reminders/Hope/Rehearse a Better Future by Bryant McGill|Rehearse a Better Future by Bryant McGill]] > “Imagination comes before reality. Children pretend to be dancers, builders, or explorers before they become them, and visualizing your destination, perhaps with a vision board, imprints a pattern your mind can then recognize in the world. Many adults have lost this gift of possibility and need to practice it again.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Direction, Patience, and the Sailboat Model of Progress - Livestream (Feb 2018)* [[reminders/Hope/Imagination Comes Before Reality by Bryant McGill|Imagination Comes Before Reality by Bryant McGill]] > “In the darkest seasons of life, an anchor in the future can keep a person going: a vision of who they might become, even when nothing yet proves it. Other people may dismiss that vision as unrealistic, but a hope that is keeping someone alive deserves protection. If you are in that darkness, hold on to the vision and reach for people who will help you protect it.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Anger, Self-Acceptance, and the Mind-Body Story of Change - Livestream (Aug 2015)* [[reminders/Hope/Protect the Hope That Keeps Someone Alive by Bryant McGill|Protect the Hope That Keeps Someone Alive by Bryant McGill]] > “Common thinking tends to produce a common life. Entertaining uncommon thoughts opens uncommon possibilities. Daring to think differently is the start of a different life.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Time, Trust, and the Formation of Leaders - Livestream (Jan 2016)* [[reminders/Hope/Uncommon Thoughts Open Uncommon Possibilities by Bryant McGill|Uncommon Thoughts Open Uncommon Possibilities by Bryant McGill]] > “If you have given up on a dream, keep a small flame alive. A new partner, technology, idea, or season may appear months or years later, and a dream that was set aside rather than abandoned can still be revived. Patience keeps more dreams alive than force ever could.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Faith, Resilience, and Building Through Failure - Livestream (Oct 2018)* [[reminders/Hope/Keep a Small Flame Alive by Bryant McGill|Keep a Small Flame Alive by Bryant McGill]] > “Lasting goodwill needs to be both beautiful and tough. Hope that vanishes at the first difficulty cannot carry people through hard times, so it must be built from the strongest and best things people hold in their hearts.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Becoming Conductors of Goodwill and Taking Turns Being Strong - Livestream (Sep 2018)* [[reminders/Hope/Hope Must Be Beautiful and Tough by Bryant McGill|Hope Must Be Beautiful and Tough by Bryant McGill]]