Increase hope through humor and optimism
Stress for Success
June 16, 2009

Hope that the future will be better helps you deal with life’s curve balls. Without it existence can look grim leaving you less resilient, therefore less capable of fielding your problems. Hope helps you cope with exceptionally stressful times, whether from a lingering illness or financial uncertainty.

Two particularly effective methods of nurturing it are:
* Seeing humor in your stressors;
* Shaping more optimistic perceptions of them;

For example, Melissa B. Wanzer, EdD, professor of communication studies at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, recently found that aging adults who more frequently used humor reported greater coping, therefore, greater life satisfaction.

In 2005, Texas A&M University demonstrated that humor can significantly increase your level of hope, according to psychologist David H. Rosen. He also found that the severity of recent setbacks takes more of a toll on hope than does the number of stressors. So the more weighed down you feel by any challenge the more you need to foster faith.

Seeing humor contributes to the two components of hope, the ability to:
* Overcome obstacles;
* Problem solve;

Appreciating humor fosters optimism by softening negative thoughts with positive ones. Plus, humor’s positive emotions lead to greater confidence therefore, more creative thinking and problem solving.

To cultivate humor, therefore hope, many hospitals offer humor rooms or humor carts. These are brightly decorated and furnished with a TV, VCR and funny videos. They offer games, toys, costumes, masks, funny hats, yo-yos, bubbles, etc. Patients’ imaginations determine their potential fun.

The second avenue for greater hope is diminishing pessimism and increasing optimism about your challenges. Dr. Martin Seligman of the University of PA, world-renowned optimism/pessimism researcher, identified three components of speech that make up your "explanatory style": how you explain why something bad (or good) happens to you. These reveal your interpretations as optimistic or pessimistic.

More optimistic interpretations lead to greater resiliency to stress, more success at many things in life and even better health.

Pretend this bad event happened to you: you applied for a job and didn’t get it. Now, answer, “Why didn’t I get the job?”
1. Ongoing vs. temporary: Does your reason suggest the event has ongoing consequences vs. a temporary setback?
* “I’ll never get a job!” (On-going/pessimistic)
* “I wasn’t on for the interview.” (Temporary setback/optimistic)
2. Global vs. specific: Does not getting the job have global effects on your life or only on a specific part?
* “I’m a loser.” (Global/pessimistic)
* “Money will be tight until I get a job.” (Specific/optimistic)
3. Blame yourself vs. an outside source:
* “I suck at interviews.” (Self-blame/pessimistic)
* “What a terrible interviewer!” (Blames outside source/optimistic)

(Seligman isn’t suggesting you shirk personal responsibility but finds excessive self-blaming is a sign of pessimism.)

When something bad happens change your explanations from on-going to temporary, from having global implications to specific ones, and from self-blame to lightening up on yourself. Increased optimism leads to greater hope and opens the door to see humor, increasing your confidence that you can tackle any setbacks you encounter.

Jacquelyn Ferguson, M. S., of InterAction Associates, is a trainer and a Stress Coach. E-mail her at www.jackieferguson.com or call 239-693-8111 for information about her workshops on this and other topics or to invite her to speak to your organization.