"He's got high hope's, yes he's got high apple pie in the sky hopes..."
- Frank Sinatra
I remember the exact time and place that I first leaned this song. I was on a daylong hike with my mother, and we were nearing the summit of the mountain. I was around 9 years old, and had decided that I was never going to make it to the top, even though only hours before I had spoken excitedly about the lake at the top that I was excited to swim in. After several hours of a challenging climb, I had forgotten my original goal, being distracted by the blisters developing on my feet and anything else my 9-year-old mind could come up with. My mother could have quite easily turned around at this point, allowed me to give up and enjoyed the glass of wine waiting for her at home. Instead she taught me the silly song of an ant and his rubber tree plant. I enjoyed my swim in the mountain lake that afternoon.
While I am sure she was unaware of it at the time, my mother was using elements of hope theory to help me attain my goals. I can still remember the feeling of happiness and contentment that I felt as I swam in the lake that afternoon. I learned in that instant that goals are the stepping-stones to the achievement of your highest hopes.
Aristotle defined goals as "action caused by purpose" (Locke, 1996, pp. 117). If you define your hopes as your purpose then you can see how goals are the physical steps (actions) that you can take to accomplish these hopes. By having and achieving goals that you set for yourself you can maintain the motivation and direction needed to achieve anything that you truly desire. Hopes can often be an abstract concept that is difficult to define. As I stood on the bottom of that mountain I was able to clearly verbalize my goal for that day; to swim in the mountaintop lake. What I wasn't able to verbalize as clearly was my ultimate hope that by swimming in that lake I would feel more content and quite simply happier. When it is difficult to conceptualize your hopes it can be extremely frustrating and difficult to maintain the commitment and determination required to achieve these hopes. When you begin to break your hopes up into goals you can clearly see a pathway to achievement. Through the achievement of goals you are constantly building self-efficacy and reinforcing your commitment to your highest hopes. Edwin Locke (1996) has been working in the area of goal theory for over 30 years. He describes how having and achieving goals influences motivation. One of the most significant findings that has come from his extensive research is the relationship between commitment and the nature of the goal. Locke has found that commitment to the attainment of the goal is essential, especially when the goal is 'difficult and specific' (pp. 119). He has also found that commitment to the goal is highest when the individual believes that the goal is not only important, but attainable as well. He believes that this can be influenced intrinsically by the individuals' values (hopes) and their own interpretation on how this goal can help in the achievement of those values (hopes). Locke also places significant emphasis on an individual's own self-efficacy. If a person has belief that they possess the required skill and talent to accomplish the goal that they have set for themselves they are more likely to be able to maintain the commitment to the ultimate goal. Self-efficacy can be built through 'sub-goals' (pp .119) smaller more immediate goals that show progress and partial success. When an individual completes these goals they are able to regain the motivation needed to continue to pursue their larger goal, and ultimately their highest hopes.
Hope itself however is an active agent in the motivation required to achieve goals. When clients enter into a theraputic environment it is their initial hope that the intervention will be successful that is the primary source of change within the client (Lopez, Snyder, Magyar-Moe, Edwards, Pedrotti, Janowski, Turner & Pressgrove, 2004). When my mother taught me the song she was engaging in what hope theory defines as 'hope reminding' (Lopez, et al., 2004). Hope reminding is an essential component of achieving your ultimate goals because it reminds a person of why they are attempting to achieve their goal and hope in the first place. It also helps to refocus the individual, instead of focusing on the obstacle (my poor blistered feet) they focus on the ultimate end (swimming in the lake). By renewing hope the individual experiences a relief from distress and therefore another renewal of hope, it is a circular process that builds upon itself. It is this circular nature of hope that makes it such an active agent in motivation. As it continues to build upon itself it provides the spark necessary to stimulate the further creation and achievement of goals. It was the constant renewal of hope that helped the ant eventually move the rubber tree plant, and allowed me the amazing experience of swimming in a crystal clear mountain lake.
REFERENCES
Locke, E. (1996). Motivation through conscious goal setting. Applied & Preventative Psychology, 5, 117-124.
Lopez, S. J., Snyder, C. R., Magyar-Moe, J. L., Edwards, L., Pedrotti, J. T. Janowski, K., Turner, J. L., & Pressgrove, C. (2004). Strategies for accentuating hope. In P.A. Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive Psychology in Practice (pp. 388-404). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Van Heusen, J. & Cahn S. (1960). High Hopes [Recorded by Frank Sinatra]. On All the Way [record]. Hollywood: Capitol (1961)
