Rockin’ Friends Spotlight – How to Have Hope

Jennifer Cheavens, assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State University during the 2008 annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Boston said, “We’re finding that hope is consistently associated with fewer symptoms of depression. And the good news is that hope is something that can be taught, and can be developed in many of the people who need it.” The research on how hope can fight depression was the catalyst of the discussion.

What is hope?

Hope is a belief that the outcome to any given circumstance will be for the good. Hope brings about an expectation with anticipation of a positive result.

That sure is a mouthful.

How can we cultivate hope?

• Have a dream
• Set goals and plan to make your dream come true
• Fill your life with positive people that believe in you
• Get tough and believe in a positive outcome during a hard or rough situation
• Remember that bad things happen to good people
• Don’t forget that not everyone is “good” and there are many that are “evil”
• Remind yourself daily of your dream and goals
• Surround yourself with hope reminders – hope chest, hope quotes, books on hope
• Do not have “giving up” as an option
• Laugh often
• Smile when you don’t feel like smiling
• Have a place you can go to in your mind to obtain peace and quiet in order to recenter your thoughts toward being hopeful
• Remove negative people from your life

Cheavens also said that “Hope therapy seeks to build on strengths people have, or teach them how to develop those strengths. We focus not on what is wrong, but on ways to help people live up to their potential.”

What is hope therapy?

This type of therapy focuses on teaching people to have a positive outlook and to change their attitude. It is different than just having optimism or believing that good things are likely to happen. Hope therapy is cognitive behavioral therapy that changes a person’s basic outlook. It teaches them to focus on the positive with a belief that they play an active and integral part in making it happen.

What can hope do for us?

Hope is the biggest enemy of depression and hope therapy does a great job at fighting it. Depression can be an overwhelming state of being and keeps you on the outside of your life filled with unhappiness. If you find depression creeping into your life, remember that hope is your greatest tool in making it go away.

Do you set goals? Do you hope they come true and put into action a plan to ensure that you succeed?

This is the weekly post where I spotlight my Rockin’ Friends who are the Top Nine active participants and loyal followers in my community! If you want to be mentioned here next week, then all it takes is to come in and start chatting with everyone in my community.

With a big thank you for their participation and friendship, here are the Rockin’ Friends this week in order of most participation:

• Katlupe at Homesteading on the Internet
• Paula at Love Is A Journey
• Kristi at The Child Sensitive Communication Grid
• Joan at A Bad Marriage Is Fattening
• Lori at Lori’s LOLz
• Holly at Diamond Potential
• Marlene at Marlene’s Many Hats
• Carol at ArtMuseDogs
• Esther at Laugh With Us Blog

This week the special spotlight is shining on Carol of ArtMuseDogs. Carol’s “About Me” is as follows:

Carol is very creative not only with her talents, but also her thought process. In Love of Creating Carol offers a lovely explanation of who she is and what makes her tick. She also offers some very sound advice and observation:“When I was teaching psychology of motivation on the college level, I would tell the students something like this: If you want to understand ‘what motivates you’, observe what you like to do and see how easily you do it. There is no hesitation when one likes or loves to do something.”

As we all begin to settle in and brace ourselves for the cold months ahead, I found WINTER SOLSTICE ~ AMAZING LIGHT ~ Stop ~ Change to be enjoyable reading as I learned about change, foundations and inchies.

I loved reading Quiet Times of Creative Process because the message directly relates to so much of what I need to do especially when she says,“No matter, one’s style, it all begins ‘in the now’ and evolves into the next moment, the next hour, like life. Breatheeeeeeee.”

The first sentence of the third paragraph of Dancing With Your Muse is simply brilliant.

There is no way you can resist the cute little face in the photo on Down Time. The entire post is written from Zoe’s point of view, so if your are an animal lover, this posting is especially for you.

There are also other posts that you won’t want to miss:

• Love In The Eyes Of A Child
• Exploring Artistic Expression
• Ah Yes!
• Trust
  

I’m so glad that I’ve been able to get to know Carol better since she has become active in my community and by reading her blog. Be sure to add ArtMuseDogs to your blogroll, but also come over and chat with Carol in my community.

For everyone mentioned in the top nine this week, feel free to grab the Rockin’ Friend badge below and thank you for your participation!!

<a href=”https://theredheadriter.com/” target=”_blank”><img border=”0″ alt=”Rockin’ Friends” title=”Rockin’ Friends” src=”http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt308/TheRedHeadRiter/2009%20TEMPLATE/69015f9c.jpg” /></a>

Until the spotlight next week…Happy Chatting Rockin’ Friends!

Don’t forget to add your blog URL to the Linky at Woo Us To Your Blog and learn blogging tips that will help you have a polished blog and to increase your traffic! This week it is all about favicons! Do you know where to find a favicon?

Until next week…Kiss your family, hug your friends and don’t forget to be the friend you would like to have around.

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