How to feel more hopeful

Hope is wanting or waiting for something good to happen.

Sometimes it can feel like there are a lot of things going wrong or that there's always bad news. This can make it diffcult to feel hopeful.

For example

• Maybe you wake up in the morning and the weather is rubbish.
• Maybe you have a task to do at school that you don't enjoy.
• Maybe you see something happening in the world that reminds you of how unfair and difficult life can be.
• Many of us are now experiencing 'climate anxiety' as we're faced with a lot of bad news about climate change.

Remember: there are always good things happening too. It's just sometimes these things aren't as easily noticed.

Along with the things you're not looking forward to in your day, there are probably lots of things that you can look forward to and that can bring you a sense of hope.

Wellbeing professional, Lorna Walker, encourages us to think about all the things we're feeling hopeful about.

Try Lorna's practical wellbeing activity to help you feel more hopeful.

If you are struggling or feeling worried, it might be helpful to think about what things you can look forward to.

Think about your day ahead today or tomorrow.

Can you think of three things that you can look forward to?

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• getting fresh air
• walking by a particular place your like
• going to school
• coming back from school
• playing with a friend
• eating your favourite snack
• getting cosy at nighttime

Getting into a habit of noticing the things that you might enjoy coming up through the day can be very positive:

• you might be more aware of the positive things in your day
• you might enjoy things more as they're happening

Many of us can feel saddened, angry or overwhelmed by bad news.

As well as trying to pay attention to the things we're looking forward to, it's also important to manage and cope with challenging emotions you might be feeling.

Here is some more information about dealing with news that you might feel overwhelmed by.