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We’ve been taught not to get our hopes up as a form of protection, yet hope unlocks possibility.

Hope is a powerful, evidence-based practice that changes how we think, feel, and show up.

The world needs people who dare to get their hopes up and help others do the same.

People often say, “Don’t get your hopes up.” “Be realistic.” “Don’t get carried away.”

In many places and spaces throughout our lives, we’re subtly encouraged to lower our expectations, to brace ourselves, and protect ourselves from possible disappointment. Most of the time, people aren’t trying to limit us. They’re trying to protect us. Protect us from uncertainty, from big feelings, from the sting of things being outside of our control. But people getting their hopes up is exactly what this world needs more of. And yet, many of us hesitate because getting our hopes up doesn’t always feel safe.

When It Feels Safer to Expect the Worst

When everything feels uncertain, expecting the worst can start to feel safer than imagining what’s possible. We put up artificial guardrails. We armour ourselves. Our thinking narrows, rigidity increases, we miss opportunities, and disconnection and fear grow. We limit our growth. And with so much pain, ill-being, relentless challenge, and darkness in the world right now, it can be tempting to turn inward, shut down, or protect ourselves by caring less.

Yet from a psychological perspective, we know that when the brain predicts threat, attention narrows. When the brain predicts possibility, attention widens. It increases flexibility, reveals opportunity, and strengthens connection. Hope is not naïve; it’s a strategy. It is the remedy this unwell world needs.

People are scared to get their hopes up right now. It can feel like the darkness in the world is asking us to turn our light down. I invite you to ask yourself: What might be some of the deep-rooted beliefs that are keeping me from dreaming big or getting my hopes up again? For some, it’s the belief that we must stay realistic, we should avoid failure or disappointment at all costs, we need everything figured out before we begin, or that big dreams are for other people. But the reality is, when we do allow ourselves to envision something different, something better, we unlock possibility.

Being hope-filled doesn’t mean we ignore what’s hard or pretend everything is okay. It means we allow space for both reality and possibility to exist at the same time. It prevents us from falling into despair and keeps us engaged in finding solutions. Hope is a practice that helps us stay connected to meaning, resilience, and forward movement, even in uncertain seasons. It’s believing that healing and change are possible.

And right now, that matters.

The Power of Imagining Your Biggest Hopes

Pause for a moment: What are your biggest hopes for yourself, your loved ones, maybe even for your community or the world? Let yourself imagine they’ve all come to pass. Notice how you feel, not just emotionally, but in your body. Is there a softening in your shoulders? A lightness in your chest?

These moments of positive visualization have been shown to enhance motivation and well-being. They are powerful tools for shifting your emotional landscape and opening your mind up to possibility. From a psychological perspective, this leverages the broaden-and-build theory, coined by Barbara Fredrickson, which suggests that positive emotions expand our awareness and encourage novel, varied, and exploratory thoughts and actions.

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Often, we readily envision the worst-case scenarios. It’s only fair (and important) to give ourselves time to envision the best ones, too. Imagining what’s possible is how change begins. But without action, it’s wishful thinking. Hope requires action. Hope increases our resiliency because it helps us see a way through. It increases our creativity by inviting us to imagine what it would take to get there. We also strengthen our self-efficacy when we begin to believe our actions matter.What is one small step you could take this week toward something you're hoping for? This is the work. It starts with us, right now, choosing to lean into hope. It’s also why I wrote I Hope So. I want people to see that hope is more than an idea or feeling we wait for—through intentional exercises that help you cultivate, access, and strengthen hope in everyday life, even when it’s hard.

Where Hope Becomes Practice

At the heart of hope lies this truth: regardless of our circumstances, we hold power in how we respond and how we move forward. I recently had a beautiful conversation with Dr. James Rouse, a functional medicine doctor, author, speaker, and high-performance coach, about what it means to stand audaciously in hope, to care boldly, and to be a disruptive force for good, especially when the loudest voices around us seem fueled by fear or cynicism. He spoke about becoming protectors of hope. Protecting your heart but not closing it. Daring to imagine better futures and acting on those imaginings. Recognizing that we always have agency in how we show up.

One of the practices he shared is something he calls soft eyes. Taking 20-30 seconds each morning to look at ourselves with tenderness and acceptance. It’s a gentle yet powerful, hope-filled practice. It builds trust, strengthens self-compassion, and allows us to reclaim agency, helping us decide how we want to show up, no matter what’s swirling around us.

When we choose to meet ourselves with compassion and possibility, even in challenging times, the world feels more spacious, hope feels a little more reachable, and connection feels a little more possible. Being hope-filled is not passive. It’s practiced. It asks us to look for hope around us and protect hope in ourselves, in our homes, in our workplaces, and in our communities.

Hope isn’t something that just happens. It’s something we cultivate through intentional thoughts, small daily actions, and choosing to care, even when it feels easier not to. Showing up heroically hope-filled, especially in community, is how we begin to co-create better days and a brighter future. When you protect hope in your own life, you permit others to do the same. The world needs people right now who dare to get their hopes up, choose hope on purpose, believe in brighter days ahead, and take steps toward them.

It’s not naïve. It’s brave. And it’s time.

Hanley-Dafoe, R. (2026). I Hope So: How to Choose Hope Even When It’s Hard. Page Two.

Rouse, James. (Guest). (2026, February 11). Soft Eyes and Heroic Hope: What the World Needs Right Now with Dr. James Rouse. [Audio podcast episode]. In Life by Design.

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