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Psychology of Hope: You Can Get Here from There
Why do some people lead positive, hope-filled lives, while others wallow in pessimism? In The Psychology of Hope, a professor of psychology reveals the specific character traits that produce highly hopeful individuals. He offers a test to measure one's level of optimism and gives specific advice on how to become a more hopeful person.
605 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 1994
53 people are currently reading
537 people want to read
About the author
C.R. Snyder
24 books17 followersFull name: Charles Richard “Rick” Snyder
Professor Rick Snyder is internationally known for his work at the interface of clinical, social, personality and health psychology. His theories pertain to how people react to personal feedback, the human need for uniqueness, the ubiquitous drive to excuse transgressions and, most recently, the hope motive.
He has received 27 teaching awards at the university, state, and national level, and 31 research awards, including the 2002 Balfour Jeffrey Award for Research Achievement in Humanities and Social Science and the 2001 Guilford Press Award for Pioneering Scholarly Contributions in Clinical/Social/Personality Psychology. In 2005, he received an honorary doctorate from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Professor Synder's research focuses on the ideas of hope and forgiveness. As a pioneer in the positive psychology movement, he has written or edited 23 books, including six books he wrote on the theory of hope. His books and 262 articles describe hope’s impact on various aspects of life, including health, children, spirituality and work.
Professor Rick Snyder is internationally known for his work at the interface of clinical, social, personality and health psychology. His theories pertain to how people react to personal feedback, the human need for uniqueness, the ubiquitous drive to excuse transgressions and, most recently, the hope motive.
He has received 27 teaching awards at the university, state, and national level, and 31 research awards, including the 2002 Balfour Jeffrey Award for Research Achievement in Humanities and Social Science and the 2001 Guilford Press Award for Pioneering Scholarly Contributions in Clinical/Social/Personality Psychology. In 2005, he received an honorary doctorate from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Professor Synder's research focuses on the ideas of hope and forgiveness. As a pioneer in the positive psychology movement, he has written or edited 23 books, including six books he wrote on the theory of hope. His books and 262 articles describe hope’s impact on various aspects of life, including health, children, spirituality and work.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 24, 2021
It was working my way back through Brené Brown’s work that led me here ( See Rising Strong (Part 1 & Part 2), Daring Greatly, and The Gifts of Imperfection). In The Gifts of Imperfection, she referenced Snyder’s work in The Psychology of Hope to explain how hope is not an emotion, but is instead a thought process. This was a different perspective and ultimately led me to wanting to know more. I’m glad that I dug in deeper.
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January 4, 2017
I saw a reference to this book somewhere in my readings about hope/spirituality/fascism, and totally expected something different than what this book was actually about. It's not a bad book (probably deserves more than 2 stars), but it's way more about goal-setting and -reaching than it is about the kind of hope that I was thinking of. The only reason I skimmed it was because I interlibrary-loaned it and felt guilty not reading it at all.
November 23, 2025
I started reading this book analytically in the first few chapters and later skimmed it. Hence I would count this as reading the book at Adler's second level of reading (Inspectional Reading or Skimming).
1️⃣ What is the book about as a whole?
It is a practical book in psychology. The book gives a theory for how hope can be built consciously by breaking it down into building goals, will power and way power. Initially a theory is given for how hope can be built through establishing clear goals, building will power and way power to attain these goals. Further, the author explains in detail how the hope naturally builds in kids and how it can be nurtured in adults through the three components of hope.
2️⃣ What is being said in detail, and how?
To build hope, it is necessary to establish clear goals and in order to pursue them, it is necessary to build the will power by fighting the fatigue, rewiring the negative thoughts of the mind. To build the way power, it is necessary to think of as many ways as possible to attain the goal and not fixate on one precise way to attain the goal. Each proposition is supported by the author's own theory that hope is made up of three components - goals, will power and way power.
The author solves the problem of setting new goals and attaining them and building hope. However, the author does not address the problem of bringing someone out of hopelessness when they are stuck in a situation of not having had clear goals earlier. The author's solution works for starting out freshly on new goals.
3️⃣ Is the book true, in whole or part?
The book is true in whole.
4️⃣ What of it?
I learnt that not having clear goals can rob someone of the joy of attaining the goals and also lead to hopelessness. It is important to have a clear set of goals always and pursue them consciously by building will power (interest can help here and fighting the fatigue) and building way power (thinking of multiple ways to attain the goal) rather than staying fixated on one. It definitely adds to my knowledge. The author mentions at times that it helps to have a growth-mindset (without referring to the term explicitly - likely because the term was not yet defined when this book was written). I would like to have clear goals moving forward both in life and teaching (I already try to have them in teaching but I shall be more conscious).
1️⃣ What is the book about as a whole?
It is a practical book in psychology. The book gives a theory for how hope can be built consciously by breaking it down into building goals, will power and way power. Initially a theory is given for how hope can be built through establishing clear goals, building will power and way power to attain these goals. Further, the author explains in detail how the hope naturally builds in kids and how it can be nurtured in adults through the three components of hope.
2️⃣ What is being said in detail, and how?
To build hope, it is necessary to establish clear goals and in order to pursue them, it is necessary to build the will power by fighting the fatigue, rewiring the negative thoughts of the mind. To build the way power, it is necessary to think of as many ways as possible to attain the goal and not fixate on one precise way to attain the goal. Each proposition is supported by the author's own theory that hope is made up of three components - goals, will power and way power.
The author solves the problem of setting new goals and attaining them and building hope. However, the author does not address the problem of bringing someone out of hopelessness when they are stuck in a situation of not having had clear goals earlier. The author's solution works for starting out freshly on new goals.
3️⃣ Is the book true, in whole or part?
The book is true in whole.
4️⃣ What of it?
I learnt that not having clear goals can rob someone of the joy of attaining the goals and also lead to hopelessness. It is important to have a clear set of goals always and pursue them consciously by building will power (interest can help here and fighting the fatigue) and building way power (thinking of multiple ways to attain the goal) rather than staying fixated on one. It definitely adds to my knowledge. The author mentions at times that it helps to have a growth-mindset (without referring to the term explicitly - likely because the term was not yet defined when this book was written). I would like to have clear goals moving forward both in life and teaching (I already try to have them in teaching but I shall be more conscious).
January 30, 2022
Our attitude directs our focus, gives meaning to our objective and activates consequent actions in the direction of the goal.
We can respond to each event in three different ways: with positive, negative or neutral energy.
By projecting a positive future, we nurture belief, faith and hope, which are transformed into willpower in the photogram of the present. Positive thinking can give us creative energy in every moment.
Inspiring book!
We can respond to each event in three different ways: with positive, negative or neutral energy.
By projecting a positive future, we nurture belief, faith and hope, which are transformed into willpower in the photogram of the present. Positive thinking can give us creative energy in every moment.
Inspiring book!
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November 4, 2022i want to read it
October 30, 2023
A detailed look into the science of hope from one of the pioneers of the positive psychology movement.
“At some point in our evolution, we humans were able to generate mental representations of ourselves and the world around us. We also developed a linear sense of time in which, roughly speaking, there was a past, a present, and a future. We came to think of ourselves as travelers moving through time, going somewhere.
We were not just going anywhere, however. We gave careful thought to where we wanted to go. These thoughts, of course, were about goals. Humanity’s earliest goals were basic and centered, perhaps, on shelter or food. Whatever the goal, we began to think of ourselves as moving toward the achievement of those goals, and our species succeeded in the grand survival game.
Just as our ancestors did, today we think about getting from where we are now, let’s call it Point A, to where we want to go, say Point B. In this context, Point B stands for any of the many goals we may envision ourselves wanting to pursue. In aiming at goals, we are constantly engaging in mental target practice. At the risk of appearing overly simplistic, I believe that life is made up of thousands and thousands of instances in which we think about and navigate from Point A to Point B. This is the basic premise on which my model of hope is built. Indeed, it is the reason this book is subtitled You Can Get There from Here.”
~ C.R. Snyder from The Psychology of Hope
Rick Snyder was the founder of research into the science of hope. And, he was one of the pioneers of the positive psychology movement. In fact, he literally wrote the textbook on “Positive Psychology.”
Sidenote: As I read the book (which was written in 1994), I was hoping that Rick was still alive so I could interview him and thank him. As soon as I finished, I hopped online to learn, unfortunately, that Rick passed away in 2006 at 62 years old after suffering for 15 years from an undiagnosed condition. My heart sank as I read the news and then read Shane’s eulogy.
With that, back to the book… It’s a very thorough analysis of what hope is. Rick walks us through the three key facets of hope (Goals + Willpower + Waypower), why it matters, how it’s developed from infancy to adulthood, how we can lose it and, most importantly, how we can Optimize it. (Get a copy here. Note: For an intro on the science of hope, start with Shane’s book!)
Some of my favorite big ideas from this book include:
1. Science of Hope - What is it?
2. High-Hope People - Look like this.
3. Goals - Authentic, stretchy.
4. Willpower - Break through barriers.
5. Waypower - Create multiple pathways.
6. Time Travelers - Making a difference.
I’ve added The Psychology of Hope by Charles R. Snyder to my collection of Philosopher’s Notes--distilling the Big Ideas into 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3s on 600+ of the BEST self-development books ever. You can get access to all of those plus a TON more over at https://heroic.us.
“At some point in our evolution, we humans were able to generate mental representations of ourselves and the world around us. We also developed a linear sense of time in which, roughly speaking, there was a past, a present, and a future. We came to think of ourselves as travelers moving through time, going somewhere.
We were not just going anywhere, however. We gave careful thought to where we wanted to go. These thoughts, of course, were about goals. Humanity’s earliest goals were basic and centered, perhaps, on shelter or food. Whatever the goal, we began to think of ourselves as moving toward the achievement of those goals, and our species succeeded in the grand survival game.
Just as our ancestors did, today we think about getting from where we are now, let’s call it Point A, to where we want to go, say Point B. In this context, Point B stands for any of the many goals we may envision ourselves wanting to pursue. In aiming at goals, we are constantly engaging in mental target practice. At the risk of appearing overly simplistic, I believe that life is made up of thousands and thousands of instances in which we think about and navigate from Point A to Point B. This is the basic premise on which my model of hope is built. Indeed, it is the reason this book is subtitled You Can Get There from Here.”
~ C.R. Snyder from The Psychology of Hope
Rick Snyder was the founder of research into the science of hope. And, he was one of the pioneers of the positive psychology movement. In fact, he literally wrote the textbook on “Positive Psychology.”
Sidenote: As I read the book (which was written in 1994), I was hoping that Rick was still alive so I could interview him and thank him. As soon as I finished, I hopped online to learn, unfortunately, that Rick passed away in 2006 at 62 years old after suffering for 15 years from an undiagnosed condition. My heart sank as I read the news and then read Shane’s eulogy.
With that, back to the book… It’s a very thorough analysis of what hope is. Rick walks us through the three key facets of hope (Goals + Willpower + Waypower), why it matters, how it’s developed from infancy to adulthood, how we can lose it and, most importantly, how we can Optimize it. (Get a copy here. Note: For an intro on the science of hope, start with Shane’s book!)
Some of my favorite big ideas from this book include:
1. Science of Hope - What is it?
2. High-Hope People - Look like this.
3. Goals - Authentic, stretchy.
4. Willpower - Break through barriers.
5. Waypower - Create multiple pathways.
6. Time Travelers - Making a difference.
I’ve added The Psychology of Hope by Charles R. Snyder to my collection of Philosopher’s Notes--distilling the Big Ideas into 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3s on 600+ of the BEST self-development books ever. You can get access to all of those plus a TON more over at https://heroic.us.
October 17, 2017
this is a good book and i would reccomnd it to everyone
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews