How to Be More Hopeful
8 TED speakers show you how to nudge your mind toward the sunny side of the world by using eight tactics from TED speakers to cut through the fog. We all go through times when we see the world through cloudy-colored glasses. Times when it’s tempting to just climb into bed – or bathtub – and hide out, maybe for up to a month
Shift your expectations
Optimism bias: “Optimism changes subjective reality. It also changes objective reality.”
- When you wake up and think it’s going to be a blah day, you’re helping set yourself up to have just such a day.
- Think about a few things you can look forward to throughout the day.
Think about your death
In our age of increasing distractions, it’s more important than ever to find ways to maintain perspective, and remember that life is brief and tender.
- Preparing for death can be one of the most uplifting things you can do
- Candy Chang created a giant chalkboard with a single fill-in-the-blank sentence: “Before I die I want to ___.” As people completed the sentence, the wall changed from a neglected space into one that connected neighbors and highlighted their hopes and dreams.
Recognize that you can change your life at any point
Choose 2: resign yourself to the inevitable, or open yourself up to the possibilities that exist for everyone, at every age
- Starting a business is not something that is better to do when you’re young
- Older entrepreneurs have a 70 percent success rate when launching new ventures compared to 28 percent for younger entrepreneurs
Add some wow to your world
Look up at the sky – drones are flying over Africa delivering blood and plasma to hard-to-reach rural populations
- Innovation leads to more innovation, and more innovation means more innovation
- Search for news stories with the key word “innovation” or watch one of the many TED Talks tagged innovation
Look for meaning in the most challenging moments
Even negative events can end up having positive effects
- Take the traumas and make them part of who you’ve come to be
- Fold the worst events of your life into a narrative of triumph, evincing a better self in response to things that hurt
Remember the essential goodness of humanity
Put your fears aside and connect with strangers.
- Smile and be genuinely grateful for what you see and hear. This will bring you closer to the person you want to be, and will help you find the joy in your day to day life.
Listen to another person’s story
When you’re feeling down, it can help to get out of your own head
- Make it a point to ask someone – a family member, friend, or even a stranger – to tell you a story about a meaningful time in their life
Return to your home base
Write about the thing or thing in this world that you love more than yourself
- Maybe it’s creativity, family, adventure, faith, service, or maybe it’s just raising corgis. Find your center, and write about it.
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