The Difference Between Hope and Optimism

Four takeaways:

  1. People tend to use hope and optimism as synonyms, but that isn’t accurate. A 2004 paper from The Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology determined that “hope focuses more directly on the personal attainment of specific goals, whereas optimism focuses more broadly on the expected quality of future outcomes in general.”
  2. In other words, Optimism is “the belief that things will turn out all right,” an assumption that Hope does not make. Hope is more powerful, “a conviction that one can act to make things better in some way.”
  3. Hope involves personal agency, and thus is more practical and linked to individual success. In 2013, researchers defining hope as “having the will and finding the way” found that high-hope employees are 28 percent more likely to be successful at work and 44 percent more likely to enjoy good health and well-being.
  4. Brooks lays out three steps to maximizing the practical value of your sense of hope:
    • Imagine a Better Future, and Detail What Makes It So
    • Envision Yourself Taking Action
    • Act!

From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
Read the whole story.

Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.


This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

A Counterintuitive Way to Cheer Up When You’re Down

Five takeaways:

  1. Research shows that a reliable treatment of unhappiness is to make the effort to bring joy to others. A concerted effort to do so can be a source of well-being.
  2. Misery loves company, but it creates company too: research shows that unhappy people tend to spread their unhappiness to those around them.
  3. There is growing evidence that a “fake it till you make it” attitude towards personal happiness can help increase overall happiness. This includes a concerted effort to bring joy to others.
  4. Spending money on others and volunteering have both been shown to raise one’s own happiness levels
  5. “By deliberately preparing yourself to cheer up the people around you the way a happy person spontaneously would, you’ll create the conditions by which you can produce your own happiness naturally—and give the gift of happiness to others, as well.”

From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
Read the whole story.

Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.


This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.