Should we maintain hope in uncertain times?

These days, this question is at the forefront of my mind—and probably many other people’s. Especially when we face political polarization, humanitarian crises at our borders, and the prospect of a warming planet, it’s easy to despair rather than hope.

But, according to William Miller, professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico, this is the wrong approach to what ails us. In his new book, 8 Ways to Hope, he explains why we should hope and how to cultivate a hopeful outlook.

“The essence of hope is envisioned betterment, and it serves us well,” writes Miller. “It comes hardwired in human nature to dream a better future, helping us to carry on and survive.”

Why we need hope

As Miller defines it, hope is not a naive approach to seeing the world, where we ignore problems and engage in “wishful thinking.” Instead, hope is a complex response, involving “feeling, thought, action, vision, a life force, and a way of seeing or being.”

Having hope, as opposed to living in fear or being cynical, he argues, helps us to see possibility in present-day circumstances and not become overwhelmed. People who feel hopeful are good problem-solvers, more resilient and persistent, more engaged and productive at work, more creative and adaptable, and better at recovering from adversity. For these reasons and others, inculcating more hope in ourselves means we’re better equipped to handle problems and enjoy life more.

“Given the plethora of positive characteristics with which it is associated, hope might be considered a master virtue,” writes Miller. “It is a positive orientation of mind and heart toward your own future or that of the world at large.”

Being hopeful can be contagious, too, affecting how others look at what’s possible. For example, Miller recounts a study where staff at an in-patient alcohol treatment center were given the hopeful message that certain patients in their care were more likely to improve. After treatment was over, those patients did, indeed, have fewer drinking episodes, longer periods of abstinence, and higher rates of employment than other patients. But it turns out the staff had been duped—those patients actually had no better chance of improvement than any others. Just infusing hope changed the course of treatment.

While some may doubt the benefits of hope, Miller suggests that a dour view of the future often becomes a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, he says, believing that people are against you may cause you to act subtly (or not-so-subtly) more hostile toward them, and your behavior can actually cause them to react negatively toward you. Unfortunately, writes Miller, “[These negative] expectations, like a virus, can replicate themselves in an individual or group, often without awareness, and mightily resist effort to remove them.”

How to hope

Since there are good reasons to hope, it’s helpful to understand the many facets of hope, writes Miller. Each of these can play a role in creating or maintaining hope in ourselves and others.

Desire. Hope involves wanting a future outcome that could potentially manifest (even if it seems unlikely). Miller, who spent much of his career helping people overcome alcoholism, found hope for success to be an important element of recovery—and desire to be an important precursor for hope. If his patients didn’t think it was that important to quit drinking—if they really didn’t desire sobriety—it was harder to get them to take the necessary steps to change.

“Desire can create hope, and hope encourages us to take action,” he writes.

In that sense, getting clear about what you desire may be an important starting point. One way to do that is to try the Magic Wand or Best Possible Self exercises.

Probability. Since we can’t know what the future holds, there is always uncertainty. But, to some extent, believing that a positive outcome has a good probability of coming to pass can make us more hopeful about it.

However, probability can also be deceiving. We’re all different in our need for certainty, which affects when we will allow ourselves to be hopeful—and it may vary depending on the situation, too. For example, if we’re entering a risky surgery, we may research every corner of the internet seeking reassurance before being hopeful or just trust our surgeon’s expertise.

When it comes to assessing the probability of a hoped-for outcome, we should keep in mind our biases, such as the tendency to only seek information that confirms our views (like ignoring the science around vaccine safety) and our prejudices (like assuming our surgeon’s race or gender is a sign of their competence).

We also shouldn’t assume what’s probable based only on past experiences. For example, women gained the right to vote in the U.S., and Northern Ireland brokered a peace agreement, despite past failures. Having hope can change our odds, he says, so we needn’t let probability determine it.

“Hope not only anticipates but also shapes the future,” he writes.

Possibility. Hope is not just about what’s probable, but also what’s possible. Being willing to keep hope alive can affect everything from your health to a peace treaty, says Miller.

For example, myriad research finds that keeping hope alive in medical situations can affect how much pain a patient feels and whether or not they’ll be “cured.” In fact, Miller cites an interesting review of many placebo studies that found people can experience significant pain relief on placebos if they’re hopeful about them, even though the placebo isn’t active.

“In perceiving and pursuing possibilities, the seemingly improbable can happen because, at least in part, what you see is what you get,” writes Miller. “Seeing a possible pathway forward is both a source and a product of hope.”

Optimism. While hope can be situational, optimism is a facet of being hopeful that is more like a personality trait, writes Miller. Optimistic people seem to experience a lot of benefits, including greater well-being and resilience, and better health and work performance.

When optimists face negative news, they still look for hopeful information surrounding it, and that can inspire them not to lose hope. Pessimists, in contrast, can get lost in negative news and feel hopeless or helpless. But all of us might do well to not overly focus on negative news, as it can affect our Mental health and discourage optimism in others, too.

“Collective optimism can rise or fall within a group or population, affecting people’s willingness to invest in the future,” writes Miller.

To practice more optimism, you can try the Finding Silver Linings exercise.

Trust. Trust might look like seeing people around you as generally trustworthy or believing that things will generally work out, even if sometimes they don’t. In that way, it requires something different from other facets of hope.

“Probability is a calculation, possibility a vision, desire a wish, and optimism a predisposition,” writes Miller. “Trust is more like a decision, a risky choice to entrust your well-being to the safekeeping of another.”

Trust can build relationships and encourage cooperation, which is good for collective action. While not everyone or everything is necessarily trustworthy, we often get better results if we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and accept the uncertainty that comes with trust, writes Miller. Giving into fear, in contrast, may keep us stuck and unhappy.

“Mutual trust is closely related to happiness in personal relationships, organizations, and nations,” he writes. “You [can] choose to trust despite doubts and fear. If the risk is rewarded, trusting can open the door to further trust just as fear begets more fear.”

Meaning and purpose. Having a sense of meaning or purpose in life can also foster hope, writes Miller. While different in tenor, they both help affect how we see ourselves in relationship to the world around us.

“Perceiving meaning in life can provide a sense of coherence, recognition, and comprehension in whatever is happening,” writes Miller, while “purpose in life includes a personal role in the present and future.”

When people have a strong sense of meaning or purpose, it helps them see a bigger picture and avoid giving up after facing obstacles or setbacks. For example, if you are a woman who’s faced discrimination, you may find meaning and purpose in the fight for equality and be less inclined to step away from that fight—even if you become discouraged.

As with optimism, purposeful people seem to experience many benefits, including less chance of developing dementia and better mental and physical health. Purpose can give us the fuel to hope (and work toward) something better, as can meaning.

“Meaning draws on your deeply held beliefs and values, painting a larger picture than the particulars of the present,” says Miller. “It provides a larger context within which to understand current adversity, a bit like zooming up to a certain altitude that affords a broader view.”

For cultivating a sense of purpose, you can try the Affirming Important Values or Life Crafting practices.

Perseverance. While other facets of hope are more about how we think and feel, perseverance is more about action, writes Miller. “To persevere is to continue trying despite obstacles or opposition, to pursue what is difficult even after many optimists and realists have long since lost hope,” he writes.

While hope can spark action, action can also spark hope. For example, when people are depressed (and feeling hopeless), one of the treatment approaches is simply to activate them—to get them to move or engage in pleasant activities, whether or not they feel like it. Doing those activities can provide hope, as people see that their mood is not permanent but can fluctuate.

When we persevere, we are more likely to succeed, because we are willing to consider alternate paths if the path we’d hoped to take was blocked, writes Miller.

Hope beyond hope. While all entryways into hopefulness can be good, there is something to be gained from having hope even when the cause seems lost, writes Miller.

“The core characteristic of hope beyond hope is a refusal, regardless of current reality, to give up and succumb to hopelessness, cynicism, or despair,” he writes.

While it may be hard sometimes to imagine hoping when things are so rough, one can look to exemplars from history who overcame the odds by keeping hope alive, writes Miller—for example, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, or Mother Teresa. Not only did these people keep hope alive, they worked in community to help bring about the changes they wanted to see.

Practicing hope is particularly important when we face difficulties that seem insurmountable, writes Miller. Visioning what we want, collaborating with others, practicing patience, and being dogged in our actions can make all the difference in what happens in our future.

“Ultimately hope seeks to keep faith with deeply held values and without regard to attachment to immediate outcomes,” he writes. “It is a conviction that something better is ultimately possible for us collectively.”