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Hope is much more than desire or motivation because it requires the belief in the possibility of a favorable outcome. As a vital psychological resource in our lives, hope sustains us, sometimes desperately, under even the bleakest of circumstances. But when all hope fails, there is nothing but despair.
Most current theories of emotion do not include hope as an emotion. James Averill, a social constructivist, states that "hope is not associated with any specific physiological responses or reflex-like actions". It appears that hope is a cultural concept that includes learned behaviors and thought processes through the socialization process.
In addition, many studies have shown strategies used by hopeful persons: positive self-talking, having an uplifting spirit, envisioning hopeful images, listening to uplifting music, and being able to laugh.
Hope is a powerful motivator as it inspires people to take positive action.
Where to find the sources of hope for inspiration?
1. Children give us hope to make our world a better place for them.
2. Family and friends give us hope as we reach out to each other, help one another - sharing a sense of belonging.
3. Nature gives us hope to appreciate its glory and accept our small role as part of its master creation.
4. Religion and spirituality give us hope to have faith in God or ourselves.
5. A sense of purpose for living gives us hope to make our existence worthy and meaningful.
6. Dreams give us hope to make them a reality.
7. Music, art and literature give us hope as they uplift our spirits and move us to express our creativity.
Having hope is part of being alive!
Showing posts with label emotions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label emotions. Show all posts
Smile like a baby!
Why do you smile back at a baby?
Whether you're young, old, rough, gentle, male or female, your heart melts when a baby beams a smile at you. You turn soft in face of a genuine smile of innocence, warmth, and purity of heart and mind.
Babies naturally smile during sleep or in the process of falling asleep from the day they’re born. An interesting inborn behavior that is void of emotional content. After a month, babies smile in response to social interaction - auditory stimuli before visual. It’s delightful to watch a small curve of the lips signaling the beginning of a developmental journey that transforms an innate reflex into an expression of joy.
Why do we smile?
In our complex society, people smile for all sorts of reasons, only one of which is to signal happiness. Many kinds of smiles come from our feelings – the fear smile, the dampened smile, the contempt smile, the miserable smile, nervous smile, etc.
Psychologist Dr David Lewis said that a happy smile can trigger powerful emotions that help us remember other happy events and make us feel good - optimistic, positive and motivated. He also pointed out that a fake smile can be detected and construed as untrustworthy and hypocritical.
This is what French anatomist Duchenne de Boulogne wrote about the happy smile: “The emotion of frank joy is expressed on the face by the combined contraction of the zygomaticus major muscle and the orbicularis oculi.” He also concluded that “… fake joy, the deceitful laugh, cannot provoke the contraction of this latter muscle.. . .The muscle around the eye does not obey the will; it is only brought into play by a true feeling, by an agreeable emotion.”
In the Scientific American article, The Mirror Neuron Revolution: Explaining What Makes Humans Social, neuroscientist Marco Iacoboni explains: “. .. we are hardwired to smile, a real smile can’t be faked and it is contagious because our brains have mirror neurons that make us “simulate” within ourselves the states of others around us.”
As a universal language expressed in the form of a gesture that greets and welcomes other people, a smile can make all the difference in the world. It creates an atmosphere of unity and camaraderie. A smile of joy brings sunshine to the sad, hope to the discouraged, and rest to the weary.
Most importantly, a smile is contagious, just like laughter. So, pass it on…
Whether you're young, old, rough, gentle, male or female, your heart melts when a baby beams a smile at you. You turn soft in face of a genuine smile of innocence, warmth, and purity of heart and mind.
Babies naturally smile during sleep or in the process of falling asleep from the day they’re born. An interesting inborn behavior that is void of emotional content. After a month, babies smile in response to social interaction - auditory stimuli before visual. It’s delightful to watch a small curve of the lips signaling the beginning of a developmental journey that transforms an innate reflex into an expression of joy.
Why do we smile?
In our complex society, people smile for all sorts of reasons, only one of which is to signal happiness. Many kinds of smiles come from our feelings – the fear smile, the dampened smile, the contempt smile, the miserable smile, nervous smile, etc.
Psychologist Dr David Lewis said that a happy smile can trigger powerful emotions that help us remember other happy events and make us feel good - optimistic, positive and motivated. He also pointed out that a fake smile can be detected and construed as untrustworthy and hypocritical.
This is what French anatomist Duchenne de Boulogne wrote about the happy smile: “The emotion of frank joy is expressed on the face by the combined contraction of the zygomaticus major muscle and the orbicularis oculi.” He also concluded that “… fake joy, the deceitful laugh, cannot provoke the contraction of this latter muscle.. . .The muscle around the eye does not obey the will; it is only brought into play by a true feeling, by an agreeable emotion.”
In the Scientific American article, The Mirror Neuron Revolution: Explaining What Makes Humans Social, neuroscientist Marco Iacoboni explains: “. .. we are hardwired to smile, a real smile can’t be faked and it is contagious because our brains have mirror neurons that make us “simulate” within ourselves the states of others around us.”
As a universal language expressed in the form of a gesture that greets and welcomes other people, a smile can make all the difference in the world. It creates an atmosphere of unity and camaraderie. A smile of joy brings sunshine to the sad, hope to the discouraged, and rest to the weary.
Most importantly, a smile is contagious, just like laughter. So, pass it on…
