To hope or not to hope...

בס"ד

 Do you believe that books and movies that we read and watch or conversations that we were "occasionally" involved in and people we have bumped into come to us by chance? Personally, I do not. There are a couple of reasons that the book I’m about to talk about has come into my hands. I have been processing the data for my seminar papers for about a couple of months, hence I have been reading relatively a lot about education, psychology and a strong connection between the two. I want you, readers, to breathe the air of excitement I had after encountering the "Psychology of Hope" by Snyder, C.R.

Could our hope rate be measured? What turns out our hopes to be realistic? Hope for relationship and vice versa. How to put the foundation under the castles one has built in the air? Is it enough to have a determination and a willful thinking in order to reach the target? What if your target changed by circumstances? Are we flexible enough in our mind set in order to back up our plans with the right amount of energy to drive it, otherwise the will without the way or v.v. leaves us painfully stuck.

 There is an episode in the book that describes the “professional” reaction of the former US President, Ronald Reagan, on the blaming report of Tower Commission in 1987. The author brought out this historical case as an example of learned optimism.

 Reagan’s reaction was based upon  basic principles of this theory.

 Always look for the external source that could have been the cause of the failure.  Think about the future, it gives you a right perspective. Pick up from your memory the patterns of your personal successful experience.

Make real goals, free of envy and revenge and fill your sails with the wind of future success.  Did I mention that  it is not a book to rest on? You are flooded by emotions and there is no chance to distract the attention from the "real" thing.