--- title: How Hope Can Improve Life and Happiness description: Life’s not all about “improving performance” canonical: https://time.com/3923358/hope-improve-life-happiness/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-17T04:01:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:34.210Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How Hope Can Improve Your Life, Backed By Research og:description: Life’s not all about “improving performance” og:url: https://time.com/3923358/hope-improve-life-happiness/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08bd3823b41a7c52/698854c035ba6f26edc0dc41/87128881-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=477&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 477 og:image:height: 268 og:image:alt: dry-land-flower og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Hope Can Improve Your Life, Backed By Research twitter:description: Life’s not all about “improving performance” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08bd3823b41a7c52/698854c035ba6f26edc0dc41/87128881-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=477&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Hope Can Improve Your Life, Backed By Research > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=c94d7ff4-46cc-4526-b405-dfbecbf5f758&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How to Maximize Happiness With Your Spending: An Economist Explains [Watch (HLS stream): How to Maximize Happiness With Your Spending: An Economist Explains](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Ypg3UoAM.m3u8) (1:29)  _Published 2014-06-09. University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers explains how best to spend your money to maximize happiness._ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jun 17, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jun 17, 2015 4:01 AM UTC ## There’s a scientific reason to have hope Everyone says “have hope.” Is that just silly pollyanna optimism? No. Actually there’s a science to hope. Via [Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3M3UME/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B3M3UME&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Hope is “not just a feel-good emotion.” Hope is predictive. Those without hope avoid bigger challenges, quit earlier, and act helpless. Via [Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3M3UME/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B3M3UME&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Hope isn’t just wishful thinking. It’s related to positive outcomes. People who scored higher in hope had higher GPA’s and did better academically. Via [Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3M3UME/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B3M3UME&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Hope doesn’t just make you a better student, it also [makes you more creative](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/11/are-hopeful-employees-more-creative/). Via [Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3M3UME/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B3M3UME&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- As I’ve posted before, [hope predicts achievement better than intelligence, grades or personality](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/10/what-predicts-achievement-better-than-intelli/). It actually predicts law school GPA _better than the LSAT_. Via [Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3M3UME/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B3M3UME&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Okay, okay, so hope is a good thing. (For more on how to be successful and happy, click [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/).) I know what you’re asking: **_How can I be more hopeful?_** ## How you can have hope As I’ve posted before, research shows that [both hope and despair can be self-fulfilling prophecies](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/11/hope-despair-prophecies/). A simple exercise before a challenge can increase your level of hope — and your results. Via [Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3M3UME/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B3M3UME&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- So let’s break this down. Before a big challenge: 1. **Imagine your goal.** 2. **Write down anything that might stop you from achieving it.** 3. **Come up with a few contingency plans to address those obstacles.** 4. **Rule the world.** Just doing those three things can increase your level of hope and dramatically improve how well you perform. This little bit of planning not only addresses real issues, it improves your feeling of control over the situation. (For more on how to stop being lazy and get more done, click [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/).) You now have a reason to believe you’ll do well. That’s hope. ## One More Thing Life’s not all about “improving performance.” Hope also makes you happier. Via [Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B3M3UME/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B3M3UME&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Better performance, creativity _and_ happiness. Give it a shot. It can work. C’mon, have a little hope. **Join over 195,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/have-hope/)**_._** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) [6 Things The Most Productive People Do Every Day](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/most-productive-people/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) ## Transcript Other ways you can better use your money to get more happiness bang for your buck. The research seems to suggest there are ways in which you can. The first would be to say, focus on experiences rather than goods. Right now you might covet a new car, and you might think that one of your next get to sit in a fancy new sports car, that you'll be so much happier. The truth is you'll be sitting in traffic. You'll be thinking about the day you just had at work. We think about other things and the fact that you're in a shiny new car won't be that salient you won't get that much joy out of it. Think instead about a, a great vacation. You can probably remember the last great great vacation you had. And you can still enjoy dining out on those memories. And that's the sensing in which it makes sense to focus on spending. On experiences rather than things. And then there are actually techniques we can use to do a even better job of that. I remember when I went to the World Series. I didn't just go to the World Series. I bought a, a baseball cap, that always reminds me of the fact that I went to the World Series with my stepfather. That elongates the experience. Like I get to relive having been at the World Series many, many more times. And then there's research from Mike Norton at Harvard who says that, giving money can actually yield greater happiness. And it's an instinct that's within many of us. And I, the way I interpret Mike's research is don't let the inner, inner economist or the inner Grinch within you squash that impulse. 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