77 - Hopeless
3m | May 20, 2021Full transcript here 👋
Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.
The word for today is hopeless, and it’s going down with the ship [fog horn + bubbles]. Now, I can completely accept that some people don’t have control over their outlook. If it’s possible to have the kinds of experiences described in Oliver Sacks’s book, Hallucinations, then it’s equally possible to have your brain create a kind of hopelessness that feels very real and inescapable. According to positive psychologists, though, hope is yet another mental habit that can be enhanced through practice, and it is distinct from general optimism. Miceli & Castelfranch write, “Being hopeful is regarded as more realistic. The hopeful individual recognizes that life may not work out as planned, yet maintains positive expectancy directed toward possible outcomes that hold personal significance.” For the last month, we’ve included a phrase for you to repeat at the end of each episode. This simple practice of massaging your identity can help you to see hope where it was hidden before. If you feel the kind of pervasive hopelessness that interferes with your will to continue living, please get psychological help at 1-800-273-TALK.
Today’s concrete challenge is to repeat the soundtrack at the end of this episode. It’ll play right after this break.
Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who is able to see possibilities that are realistic, yet require me to stretch.”
Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.
Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.
References:
"Bubbling, Large, A.wav" by InspectorJ
Happiness & SWB What is Hope in Psychology + 7 Exercises & Worksheets
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