“There are questions which illuminate, and there are those that destroy. We should ask the first kind.”
—Isidor Isaac Rabi, Nobel Laureate in Physics, 1944
In an age of relentless noise and accelerating uncertainty, this insight offers a steady call to intentional action. It acknowledges how difficult this time is for all of us—how much energy it takes to stay grounded, to keep moving forward, and to hold onto hope in a world that often feels uncertain, overwhelming, and turbulent. What we notice, the questions we ask, and where we place our attention are powerful choices—acts that shape how we understand, how we connect, and how we move through the world with purpose and clarity. Hope is courageous, necessary, and practical.
Cultivating Strength Through Noticing, Questions, and Action
Hope lives in verbs. It begins with noticing, deepens through appreciation, and gains direction in the questions we dare to ask. Guided by language that invites possibility and honors compassion, hope becomes a steady and strong force.
You live it in moments—when you pause to notice what matters, when you reflect with curiosity, when you create a plan and take one small, thoughtful step. These daily actions—gentle yet intentional—build momentum. They reveal strength, foster connection, and illuminate a clearer path forward.
These choices also create space—conversational space—where insight can surface, recognition can spark, and next steps can begin to take form. They cultivate presence, deepen understanding, and make room for belonging.
Psychologist C. R. Snyder, a leading researcher on hope, offered a definition that continues to guide both research and practice (Snyder, Irving, & Anderson, 1991).
Hope = Agency + A Plan
This formula transforms hope from abstraction into motion.
- Agency is the belief that you can act—that you’ve already done, are doing, and will continue to do what matters.
- Planning is the ability to see or shape a path forward, even if that path is just for the next ten minutes. A plan might be as small as taking a breath, sending a message, or reaching for a glass of water.
Hope grows when we believe in our capacity to act and when we can envision meaningful steps forward. Research also shows that hope enhances emotional well-being and supports recovery, resilience, and healing, especially in the face of adversity (Long & Gallagher, 2018).
You notice. You ask. You appreciate. You plan. You connect. You act. These steps take courage. They spark change. They turn hope into something tangible. These are verbs of hope. They connect us with what matters most. They help us move forward—one small step at a time.
Noticing: The First Step Toward Hope
Noticing is a verb. It redirects your gaze. It is the conscious act of shifting from what’s missing to what’s meaningful.
Start with appreciation:
- What do you most appreciate about yourself right now?
- Who do you most appreciate?
- What do you most appreciate about them? What else?
- What would they say they most appreciate about you?
- What did you do this week that made a difference, however small?
- What moment brought you a spark of joy, strength, or connection?
- When did you offer yourself rest and forgiveness?
- What words did you say to yourself that were compassionate?
Hope Awakens Through Questioning—One That Starts with What, How, Who, When, or Where
From that place of noticing, you can ask questions that illuminate, expand, and connect.
Use five simple words—what, how, who, when, where—to begin:
- How did you persevere when things felt overwhelming?
- What did you do that gave you the strength to continue?
- Where did you find the strength to continue?
- When did you gain the strength to continue?
- Who gave you the strength to continue?
Then, ask “else” questions – what else, how else, who else, where else, and when else. These follow-up questions are based on the belief that more strength, possibility, and hope already exist within you, waiting to be recognized and discovered. They express confidence that your actions, connections, and inner resources extend beyond what’s immediately visible. They invite reflection that is thorough, compassionate, and quietly persistent.
- What else did you do that helped you hold hope?
- Who else has stood beside you, quietly believing in you?
- When else have you drawn on your strength during challenging times?
- How else have you shown up with courage, even in small ways?
- Where else do you find support, meaning, or strength that helps you keep going?
When you ask these kinds of questions—of yourself and of others—you spark more than insight. You cultivate connection. You create a shared conversational space where stories, strengths, and expanded possibilities can rise and be recognized. In these spaces, collective hope takes shape—nurtured by reflection, strengthened through empathy, and sustained by the courage to imagine a way forward together.
Scaling Hope Into Action
In solution-focused language, scaling questions transform hope into movement. The questions embed numbers and positive, action-driven verbs to activate strengths, build agency, and guide small, realistic next steps forward.
Imagine a scale where 10 is you’re doing everything you can to hold the hope right now, and 1 represents the opposite.
The number sets the stage; the questions that follow ignite momentum. They reveal strengths, spark movement, and transform hope into something you do one step at a time.
You might ask yourself:
- Suppose 10 is you are doing all you can to hold the hope, and one is the opposite—where are you right now?
- What number is good enough for you right now?
- What keeps your number from being lower? What else?
- If that number is good enough, what do you want to keep doing?
- If it’s not good enough, what is one small step you could take to raise it by one point?
- Who would notice you holding hope, and what would they see you doing?
- What number would they give you in terms of holding the hope?
- What accounts for the similarity or difference in your numbers?
- On a scale from 1 to 10, how confident are you that you can keep doing what you’re doing to hold the hope?
- On the same scale, how confident are you that you can take one small step to increase your number?
- What gives you that confidence?
How might you nurture hope today, through what you notice, appreciate, ask, and choose as your next courageous step forward?
References
Long, L. J., & Gallagher, M. W. (2018). Hope and posttraumatic stress disorder. In M. W. Gallagher & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Oxford handbook of hope (pp. 233–242). Oxford University Press.
Lutz, A. B. (2025). The solution-focused mindset for anxiety and depression: A workbook to manage emotions, harness your strengths, and feel better now. New Harbinger Publications.
Rigden, J. S. (2000). Rabi, scientist and citizen. Harvard University Press.
Snyder, C. R., Irving, L. M., & Anderson, J. R. (1991). Hope and health. In C. R. Snyder & D. R. Forsyth (Eds.), Handbook of social and clinical psychology: The health perspective (Vol. 162, pp. 285–305).
