OU-Tulsa Hope Research Center Founder Featured in TIME Magazine
Dr. Chan Hellman, founding director of OU-Tulsa’s Hope Research Center, recently interviewed with TIME on cultivating hope when we feel like we don’t have any. The article appeared online and in the Nov. 20, 2023, print magazine issue.
In the article, Hellman notes that many people don’t understand what hope is and isn’t – that being hopeful isn’t wishful thinking or blind optimism.
Hope is “the belief or the expectation that the future can be better, and that more importantly, we have the capacity to pursue that future,” Hellman was quoted in the article. This means the opposite of hope is apathy, and having hope means taking action.
The Hope Research Center, where Hellman’s research is put into action, designs and collects hope-centered program evaluation and applied research projects. The center provides staff and leadership training, assists with trainings that build hopeful communities, and offers keynote and plenary presentations to spread the message of the power of hope. Hellman and his team at the center consider hope the change catalyst required for individuals, families, organizations and whole communities.
The article from TIME offers several suggestions for cultivating hope that are especially useful this time of year. Hellman wraps up the list with a suggestion for tapping into your imagination, as the “instrument of hope.” He suggests spending a few minutes visualizing what would happen when you achieve your goal.
“You and I have this wonderful capacity to play a movie in our head. And when you can see yourself in the future, that is the very essence of hope,” he says.
Read the full article here.
By Bonnie Rucker
