1. Week #3: The Power of Positive Thinking

2. Hope Scale (Handout)
Complete the handout. Be honest and truthful when completing the assessment.

3. “Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”
Want to talk about the power and influence of hope on our lives.
And hope can help us envision our dreams, careers, and helping students on their paths to success.
Want to look at how to demystify hope concepts.
Strengths & Hope

4. Do you get the opportunity to do what you do best every day?
Do you consciously think about how to use your talents to each day?
Is it natural for you to access your talents – to capitalize on?
How do you ensure that?
Academics
Each student learns and studies best in different ways. The best way for you to prepare for your next exam, paper, or presentation might be different than the way your roommate, classmates, or your friends prepare.
How you think, learn, study, and work best is unique to you. Leverage your talents to help you "do what you do best" in the classroom.
How do you prefer to study -- in a quiet corner of the library, listening to music in your room, or with a group of friends?
StrengthsQuest can help you thrive in your academic career by showing you how you can leverage your talents to approach your coursework through a focus on what you naturally do well. By using your strengths in your studies, you can take greater control over your academic future.
To learn more about how to apply your talents to your success in the classroom, check out Chapter 7 of StrengthsQuest. You will need to sign in to view this content.
StrengthsQuest can improve and deepen your relationships by helping you see and appreciate other's talents.

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu HZhi1B4T4
What about Hope?
What is hope?
HZhi1B4T4
When you hear me say hope, what thoughts and feelings come to mind?
Hope is another concept of Positive Psychology

6. Hope vs. Wishing vs. Optimism
Optimism: The belief that things will turn out well.
Wishing: feel or express a strong desire or hope for something that is not easily attainable; want something that cannot or probably will not happen:
Hope: connected to goal-directed actions and desire for a certain thing to happen.

7. 12% bump in letter grades for hopeful students
Hopeful students believe that the future will be better than the present and that they have the power to make it so
Hope fuels problem-solving and it helps faculty understand how to work with students to develop their own strengths.
Hopeful students…
are excited about the future
go to school
are engaged
are resilient
are happy
12% bump in letter grades for hopeful students
Most of us want a good job and a happy family, but struggle to know how to get there – hopeful people are able to figure out how to get there
As students gain confidence in setting goals and establishing realistic, concrete steps to reach them, they are more likely to remain motivated and maintain a positive sense of well-being conducive to academic persistence and overall academic achievement.
nking) (Lopez, et al., 2009).

8. Hope Defined
“the belief that the future will be better than the present, along with the belief that you have the power to make it so.” “…not only is hope good for your wellbeing, but it’s a measurable quality that can be increased with practice” “…the ability to clearly and consistently articulate goals (goals thinking), develop step-by-step plans to reach those goals (pathways thinking), and persevere in spite of obstacles (agency thinking).” (Lopez, et al., 2009)

9. Hope Defined
“…a human strength manifested in capacities to: (a) clearly conceptualize goals (goals thinking), (b) develop the specific strategies to reach those goals (pathways thinking), and (c) initiate and sustain the motivation for using those strategies (agency thinking).”
(Snyder, 1996)

10. Do you think your future will be better than your present?
How hopeful are you?
Do you think your future will be better than your present?
What do you believe?
I have the power to make my future better
I am excited about at least one thing in my future
I see paths to my goals
The paths to my goals are not free of obstacles
My past and present life circumstances are not the only determinants of my future
Determine your hope score at

11. Hope Theory
“High hope” individuals regularly operationalize three types of thinking and behavior:
Goals Thinking: consistent emphasis on focused goals for the future
Pathways Thinking: belief in one’s capacity to generate routes toward a goal
Agency Thinking: belief in one’s capacity to initiate and sustain actions
(Snyder, 1991)
Hopeful people focus on 1 or 2 key goals in their lives
What makes a good goal? The first component of hopeful thinking is the development of goals. A goal, defined, is the aim or object for which an endeavor (i.e., action) is directed. While the definition seems straightforward, the process of goal setting has many variables. Goals may be self–directed or assigned (e.g., the parent or teacher sets the goal the student must achieve), learning oriented (e.g., learning how to play the piano or learning all the names of the 50 states and their capitals) or performance oriented (e.g., earning an A on an essay, making 70% of one’s foul shots), long–term (e.g., saving $100 by summer) or short–term (eating only one cookie today), complex (e.g., learning how to finger pick on the guitar) or simple (e.g., learning how to hold the guitar), and difficult or easy to achieve. The ability to set and achieve goals is helpful to individuals throughout their lives and across many domains of life.
Pathways thinking. The second component of hopeful thinking is called pathways thinking. Pathways thinking refers to an individual’s perceived ability to develop strategies and routes to accomplish a desired goal (Snyder, 1994). Individuals who are high in hope are more likely to develop multiple strategies, take into account possible obstacles, and develop solutions to ensure that they reach their goals. Snyder et al. (2002) present the findings of several studies in which people who are able to identify several pathways toward a goal outperformed those who identify only one or a few pathways. The findings suggest that people higher in hope perform better academically (i.e., perform better on achievement tests, have higher grade point averages, and have higher graduation rates), and are less likely to quit sports and more likely to outperform their lower–hope counterparts in athletics, at least in part because once they hit an obstacle, those high in hope have fallback strategies already in place.
Agency thinking. It is not uncommon to work with students who, despite setting appropriate goals and developing a variety of pathways to accomplish the goal, fail to get started in the goal pursuit. This difficulty in getting started might indicate that a student needs support in building his or her agency thinking. Agency thinking refers to the beliefs or "self–talk" that facilitate a student’s ability to get started and follow the pathways to a goal. It is such agency thoughts that provide the motivation necessary for goal attainment. Students high in agency thinking often encourage themselves through statements such as, "I can do this," "I really want this and I’m not going to let anything stop me," or "I’m going to keep at this until I reach my goal." In contrast, students low in agency thinking undercut their resilience and success through counterproductive self–talk such as, "There’s no way I can do this," "I’ll never make it," or "I just don’t have what it takes."

12. 3 Components of Hopeful Thinking
Part #1:
GOALS
- Anything the individual desires to get, do, be, experience, or create
- Can be:
- Big or Small
- Short-term or Long-term
- Goals anchor purposive behavior

13. 3 Components of Hopeful Thinking
Part #2:
PATHWAYS THINKING
Adaptive Planning
How will I get there?
What are my possible ways to get to my goal?
Is there only one way to my goal?

14. 3 Components of Hopeful Thinking
Part #3:
AGENCY THINKING
Can I do it?
Will I do it?
What is going to stop me from reaching my goal?

15. CONSEQUENCES OF LOW HOPE
Pathways without positive agency thinking
lack of persistence toward goal
Striving for success may make no sense
Agency thinking without pathways
frustration and stagnation
Planning for the future may feel like a waste of time
 Without adaptability
lack of resilience and flexibility
Setting goals can seem meaningless

16. How does it all relate to me?

17. Having Lasting Hope Caine’s Arcade:
What are Caine’s talents and strengths?
What role did Caine’s father and others play in nourishing Caine’s talents and strengths?
What do you think would’ve happened if Caine’s father/others wouldn’t have been so supportive?
How did his father/others nourish his hopefulness?
Video is 10 min – show 6 minutes

18. Suggestions for Building Hope
Think about what really excites you
Invest time in the things that you have a passion for and that you are good at
Think about forming strong relationships around the things that you are interested in
Create paths and opportunities to spend time doing what excites you
What makes a good goal? The first component of hopeful thinking is the development of goals. A goal, defined, is the aim or object for which an endeavor (i.e., action) is directed. While the definition seems straightforward, the process of goal setting has many variables. Goals may be self–directed or assigned (e.g., the parent or teacher sets the goal the student must achieve), learning oriented (e.g., learning how to play the piano or learning all the names of the 50 states and their capitals) or performance oriented (e.g., earning an A on an essay, making 70% of one’s foul shots), long–term (e.g., saving $100 by summer) or short–term (eating only one cookie today), complex (e.g., learning how to finger pick on the guitar) or simple (e.g., learning how to hold the guitar), and difficult or easy to achieve. The ability to set and achieve goals is helpful to individuals throughout their lives and across many domains of life.

19. Building Hope Reflection opportunities:
Who am I?
Strengths, Personality (StrengthsQuest Resources)
Interests, Hobbies, Values
What excites me? - GOALS
Where do I want to go in life?
Goals developed into -- PATHWAYS/ROUTES
What is my motivation? How will my strengths be instrumental in my success? – AGENCY
Strengths education and focus is a good foundation for building hope

20. Why Hope
WITH HOPE, NO MATTER WHAT PROBLEMS WE FACE TODAY, THERE ARE NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR A BETTER TOMORROW