In Making Hope Happen, Dr. Shane Lopez tells us:
“Goals: We seek out and identify an idea of where we want to go, what we want to accomplish, who we want to be—whether tomorrow or over a lifetime. Some goals are vague or fleeting and quickly forgotten. Others are actively shaped and modified over time. Hope is built from the goals that matter most to us, that we come back to again and again, and that fill our minds with pictures of the future. Agency: The word agency is shorthand for our perceived ability to shape our lives day to day. As ‘agents,’ we know we can make things happen (or stop them from happening), and we take responsibility for moving toward our goals. Over time, we develop our ability to motivate ourselves; we build our capacity for persistence and long-term effort. Agency makes us the authors of our lives. Pathways: We seek out and identify multiple pathways to our goals, pick the most appropriate routes for our situation, and monitor our progress over time. These are the plans that carry us forward, but we’re aware that obstacles can arise at any time. So we remain curious and open to finding better paths to our desired future.”
Hope = Goals + Agency + Pathways or H = GAP
I love the idea of multiple pathways to achieving our goals. To achieve our goals, we must be willing to go from Path A to Path B to Path C to Path Z. Then, if that does not work, we need to be willing to go from path AA to ZZ. Then, if that still does not work, there are an infinite number of paths we can pursue.
Which element of hope (goals, agency, or pathways) would you like to dial up?