How Hope is Different from Resilience

In the last of my three posts on why hope is different from other positive traits, today I want to talk about resilience.

I’ve exhibited a little hubris when it comes to hope. I’ve said it’s better than optimism, self-efficacy, and, now, resilience.

I admit I’m a little biased, but I’m confident the science behind Snyder’s Hope Theory is solid. I’m less certain about resilience.

The problem with resilience is a lack of uniformity in how it is defined. Is resilience a trait or a process or an outcome or a combination of all three? It’s confusing.

Also, does resilience involve external factors such as family and support networks or is it simply internal strength? In the end, it seems resilience can be (and is) used to describe anything we want it to describe if it makes us feel better.

Hope, on the other hand, deals with our ability to cognitively assess our abilities to pursue goals and our ability to maintain motivation, particularly when “the going get’s tough.”

With hope, we don’t really need to focus on “bouncing back” from tough or demanding events. With hope, we have a framework for how we can overcome barriers, handle tough situations and setbacks, and still pursue our life’s goals.

Whether times are tough or we are on an upward trajectory, we can all use more of the science of hope as we pursue our goals!

If you find my posts about hope helpful, please share so more people can learn about the science and power of hope.

If I can help you learn more about how to use hope to protect against job demands, please contact me.

Chris

(Adapted from Pharris, A. B., Munoz, R. T., & Hellman, C. M. (2022). Hope and resilience as protective factors linked to lower burnout among child welfare workers. Children and Youth Services Review, 136, 106424.)