Hope is an abstract concept that can be difficult to understand or comprehend.
Hope is defined by Webster’s dictionary as the “feeling and expectation or desire for a certain thing to happen”.
This sounds basic to understand, but what some might not consider is that while hope can bring us much positivity, it can also lead to let down and sadness if we are not channeling our hope in the right way.
Rational Hope vs. Irrational Hope
Philosophers around the world have studied into the idea of hope and narrowed down hope into two broad categories: rational and irrational hope.
Rational Hope is a hope that is specific and can be achieved based on evidence.
Irrational Hope is generally a way of thinking that encourages us to fantasize rather than hope for things that we know we CAN achieve.
The concern with irrational hope, is that while we want to be dreamers and hope for the biggest accomplishments and achievements, we can be let down when we don’t achieve those big dreams and fantasies. This can lead to sadness, anger, and ironically, hopelessness.
I will share a personal testimony of my own that led me to learn more about the concept of rational hope.
Four years ago, I decided to take leave from my job and attend rehab.
My life was falling apart as well as my relationships with all of the people whom I love dearly.
In the early stages of my recovery, I found that I had these hopes that were self-deceptive- they were dreams that were almost impossible for anyone in the early stages of recovery to achieve.
I reached out to my sponsor in defeat and hopelessness. I thought, why is this so hard?!
Through coaching and getting a better understanding of 12 step recovery, I realized that I was planning out my sobriety for the entire first year. It was exhausting and overwhelming.
I changed my approach to create small, bite-sized goals. For example, just for today, I am not going to drink and I’m going to achieve just that for a whole 24 hrs.
Once I began noticing that I didn’t drink for multiple days that turned into multiple weeks and now multiple years, I realized that my hope had become RATIONAL.
I could see actual evidence that my hope for the day was successful upwards into the years. I was no longer fantasizing about the rest of my life as a sober human.
Ask yourself if your hopes are rational or irrational. This does not mean that we can’t be dreamers and hope for the biggest outcomes for our lives.
It means that we create many more successes for ourselves when we base our hope off of evidence that we have and can achieve that goal.
Challenge yourself to write down one hope you have just for today. You might want to reach out to a loved one that you might have lost touch with do to a variety of circumstances.
Challenge yourself to take action in that one small goal. Be sure that your hope is rational and achievable. You might not sort out every issue with that person and you most likely wont gain their trust today.
But if you take that ONE RATIONAL step towards gaining what you hope for, you will endure more successes than failures in achieving your hopes.