How to Promote Wellness Through Hope

Hope, also known as the art of positive thinking, is helpful to many, particularly in the pursuit of wellness. Hope, often used as a noun, is also an important verb for anyone in need of improved health or overall wellness. It denotes action on the part of an individual, that is, to engage in positive thinking. The act of hoping can change your body chemistry to promote endorphins, the release of which can relieve unwanted stress that is harmful to your health and well-being.

Things You'll Need

• Pen
• Paper
• Dry erase board

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Instructions

How to Promote Wellness Through Hope

• 1

  Practice attitude adjustment. From time to time, we all have negative feelings that hold us back from being the best we can be. However, it is vitally important to know when a change in attitude is needed. Simply naming and claiming negative feelings can prevent them from ruining the day. Write down your feelings on a piece of paper or dry erase board. Once these unsettling feelings are recognized, the next step is to choose to be optimistic. Attitude often follows action; a change in attitude is easy to do and has lasting benefits for all involved. Though attitude adjustment presents a significant challenge for some, the health and wellness benefits are well worth the effort.

• 2

  Choose hope. It has been said that the average person makes approximately 2,000 decisions every day; choosing to hope is one decision that is hugely beneficial to health and carries no regrets, as optimism is an essential component to sustain physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health and wellness. Without hope in our lives, there would be no reason to get up in the morning, no reason to forge ahead. Yet, with hope there is a beacon of light around every turn in the road, stoking the fires of optimism.

• 3

  Enlist positive thinking by trying to look at situations in a new light to promote stress management. Use the power of positive thinking to lower the stress hormone adrenaline, lower blood pressure and replace chaos and confusion with a state of calm, all without the use of medications. Positive thinking often begins with a conscious change of thought, and subsequently, you will gain a new perspective on circumstances. Some people use distraction, others try to stay busy and others pray or meditate to promote a substantial change in viewpoint. The endpoint is a fresh perspective with a hope-filled twist.

• 4

  Use visual imagery to move past the doubt and fear that are obstacles to positive thinking. Imagine walking along a beautiful country road or along the coastal beach where the blue water meets the sifted sand. Decorate the living space with pictures of flowers dancing in a field. If enduring an infirmity, imagine yourself vibrant and visiting with loved ones. If disabled, imagine walking unassisted, cane or walker free.

• 5

  Practice social optimism. Begin being hopeful for others, and eventually become an encourager of others. Soon, it will become easy to do when encountering a personal hope-challenge or that of a loved one. Remember, positive thinking is an attractive trait that brings people together. It helps forge relationships and brings radiance to those who embrace it.