Hulu's original movie "Palm Springs" is the comedy we needed this summer
Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti get stuck in an infinite wedding time loop.
- Two wedding guests discover they're trapped in an infinite time loop, waking up in Palm Springs over and over and over.
- As the reality of their situation sets in, Nyles and Sarah decide to enjoy the repetitive awakenings.
- The film is perfectly timed for a world sheltering at home during a pandemic.
Everyone remembers Bill Murray's hilarious time loop in the 1993 film Groundhog Day. While covering the infamous annual event in Punxsutawney, Murray comes to terms with waking up over and over again in the same situation. The movie is responsible for making "Groundhog Day" a metaphor for dealing with monotonous and unpleasant situations.
That's what happens when Sarah (Cristin Milioti), a maid of honor at a Palm Springs wedding, wakes up the morning after the ceremony only to discover the wedding is that day. She approaches Nyles (Andy Samberg), who she connected with the prior evening, to figure out what's happening to her.
Nyles has been in the time loop for some time. The story flips the generic romantic comedy on its head as the two figure out how to navigate this shared reality together.
Palm Springs is a perfectly timed release in a nation that feels like it's stuck in a time loop during the pandemic. In fact, the film offers another perspective from the fear portrayed in the media on a daily basis: the triumph of love during a time of immense confusion and frustration. Instead of being weighed down by the stress of the situation, the characters adapt to their circumstances while learning plenty about themselves along the way.
Palm Springs is a Hulu Original. Sign up for a free 30-day trial now. After the trial period expires, enjoy a subscription starting at only $5.99/month.
One month free trial offer valid for Hulu (ad-supported) or Hulu (No Ads) plans only. Offer valid for new and eligible returning subscribers only. After free trial ends subscription fees apply starting at $5.99/mo unless canceled. Cancel anytime. Terms apply.
Sponsored by Hulu
More From Big Think
Related Articles
Photo composite by Derek Beres, from Instagram and YouTube
Culture & Religion
- While social media is often a source of disinformation, some thought leaders are using their platforms as a force for good.
- Social networks offer an opportunity for readers to learn science-backed advice from top professionals in their fields.
- From journalists covering disinformation to a doctor giving the best physical therapy advice around, these 8 influential voices deserve wide audiences.
<p>In her 2017 book, <em>What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear</em>, NYU associate professor of medicine Danielle Offri offer startling data on communication problems between doctors and patients. For example, the total amount of time that patients get to discuss their problems? Ninety-two seconds. Patients often get interrupted within seconds of speaking, which results in non-compliance rates of up to 75 percent. Doctors shake their head in disbelief that their patients don't follow directions, yet patients rarely feel heard—an essential component of healing, as Offri writes. </p><p>One positive trend over recent years—especially since the pandemic began—is the increasing number of medical professionals using social media as an educational tool. Some take time to regularly reply to questions; others offer videos, livestreams, and studies. While nothing beats in-person conversations, watching fruitful interactions with doctors and researchers during a time when so much negativity has been pushed forward on social networks has proven valuable. </p><p>The list below is not entirely comprised of health professionals, though every person listed uses their platform as a force for good, be it by calling out abuses of power or offering science-backed tips on remaining healthy during lockdowns. The Internet isn't always the right place to source information, yet that also depends on who's providing it. These eight individuals are doing their best to make social media a place for growth, both for individuals and as a society. While platforms can often feel like a one-way bullhorn, they invite you to join a bigger conversation. </p>
Conspirituality 17: Interview with Jared Yates Sexton
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="15ef8bcd30b09c9541cc8d5d51d16893"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XpQJfxzLAik?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><h2>Imran Ahmed</h2><p>When the <em>Washington Post</em> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/01/18/ppp-loans-anti-vaccine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recently revealed</a> that over $850,000 in PPP loans were doled out to anti-vax groups by the Trump Administration, the paper had the UK'S <a href="https://www.counterhate.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Center for Countering Digital Hate</a> to thank. The organization's founder, <a href="https://twitter.com/Imi_Ahmed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Imran Ahmed</a>, was appointed to the Steering Committee of the UK Government's Commission on Countering Extremism Pilot Task Force in 2020. Early last summer, Ahmed released a report that found social media platforms earned nearly $1 billion from anti-vax groups in a year's time—and he thinks they were lowballing that sum, as <a href="https://bigthink.com/politics-current-affairs/anti-vaxx-social-media" target="_self">he told Big Think</a>. In an era of disinformation gone wild, Ahmed believes the most powerful tool we currently have at our disposal is deplatforming. His organization is working hard at exposing players worthy of such attention. </p><h2>Danielle Belardo </h2><p>There's a wave of doctors using social media to both educate the public and demystify the scientific process. Cardiologist Danielle Beldardo is one of the best, using her <a href="http://instagram.com/daniellebelardomd" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">popular Instagram feed</a> to present science-based evidence for nutrition, vaccines, and more. The Director of Cardiology and Co-Director of Research and Education at IOPBM in Newport Beach, Belardo's social media presence focuses both on combating pseudoscience as well as providing excellent nutrition advice, recipes, and tips for good heart health—and, on occasion, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKTALI-pXuB/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">epic California sunsets</a>. </p><h2>Aaron Horschig</h2><p>Dr. Aaron Horschig's runs one of Instagram's best fitness handles, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/squat_university/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Squat University</a>. A former Olympic athlete and coach, Horschig discusses technique, form, and recovery in the wide world of weightlifting, from novice to elite levels. Though you might catch a strongman squatting 600+ pounds on his feed, one of the most refreshing aspects of Horschig's messages is the simplicity of his advice: work on form, not personal records; don't fall for marketing hype, but stick to the basics: hydration, sleep, and good nutrition; and you're never too <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ_XIXXAq2V/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">young</a> or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKMOSiIAjww/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">old</a> to lift weights. His new book, <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/rebuilding-milo-the-lifter-s-guide-to-fixing-common-injuries-and-building-a-strong-foundation-for-enhancing-performance/9781628604221" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Rebuilding Milo</em></a>, further cements his role as one of the nation's top physical therapists and performance coaches. Bonus: his <a href="https://squatuniversity.com/featured-links/blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">excellent blog</a> offers deeper insights and science-backed research, such as why the popular <a href="https://squatuniversity.com/2020/03/23/dont-ice-walk-it-off/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RICE protocol should be abandoned</a>. </p><h2>Anna Merlan</h2>Vice senior staff reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/annamerlan" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Anna Merlan</a> has been covering the conspiracy theory beat for years, culminating in some of the best QAnon-related coverage around. Her 2019 book, <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/republic-of-lies-american-conspiracy-theorists-and-their-surprising-rise-to-power/9781250159052" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power</em></a>, tracked the proliferation of conspiracy theories during the Trump era well before QAnon became the juggernaut that it is. She's deftly exposed contradictions in thought processes by the ex-president's most loyal devotees. Given the continued doubling down by key players, media pundits, and a handful of congresspeople since Biden's inauguration, Merlan is going to have plenty of stories to cover for the foreseeable future.Response to January 6, 2021
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8c029dd6b71d694f1194b873285f3612"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PC8kQWR8bZE?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><h2>Heather Cox Richardson</h2><p>Boston College's history professor Heather Cox Richardson's <a href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">daily Substack posts</a> are one of the best additions to your inbox imaginable. The author of a number of books, most recently <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/how-the-south-won-the-civil-war-oligarchy-democracy-and-the-continuing-fight-for-the-soul-of-america/9780190900908" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America</em></a>, Richardson gives you a rundown of the top stories in the news alongside insights into the historical processes that created the conditions for our current predicament. If you want to grapple with our present moment in a holistic fashion, subscribe to "Letters from an American." You won't be disappointed. </p><h2>Kevin Roose</h2><p>One of the most enlightening Twitter feeds of 2020 was <a href="https://twitter.com/facebookstop10" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook's Top 10</a>, which tracks the 10 highest-performing links on the social network. Spearhead by <em>NY Times</em> tech columnist <a href="https://twitter.com/kevinroose" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kevin Roose</a>, the feed makes you reconsider the term "mainstream media." If information is judged by eyeballs—and many eyeballs continue to source news on Facebook—then Ben Shapiro, Dan Bongino, and various Trump groups are the most mainstream outlets around, as they regularly outperform the <em>NY Times</em>, NPR, CNN, and MSNBC. Roose's work covering QAnon and disinformation has also been invaluable, offering a framework for understanding the dangers of cult indoctrination. </p><h2>Jared Yates Sexton</h2><p>Howard Zinn's <em>A People's History of the United States</em> offered an honest look at America's shameful historical record. It took 40 years for another book to penetrate a nation's conscience. When political analyst and associate professor <a href="https://twitter.com/JYSexton" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jared Yates Sexton</a> published <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/american-rule-how-a-nation-conquered-the-world-but-failed-its-people/9781524745714" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>American Rule: How a Nation Conquered the World but Failed Its People</em></a>, we finally had another opportunity to reflect—and, hopefully, progress. Sexton wants to dismantle the romanticized myth of American exceptionalism and replace it with something more valuable, as he <a href="https://bigthink.com/politics-current-affairs/american-exceptionalism" target="_self">told Big Think</a> last year: "Once we disabuse ourselves of the myth of American exceptionalism, and we start looking at American history and say it's really problematic and inspirational at other times, it allows us to build something new."</p><h2>Dan Wilson</h2>Molecular biologist Dan Wilson makes visiting YouTube a necessity. His channel, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ2SN2gN1dmrFBEo6TWIzOw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Debunk the Funk with Dr. Wilson</a>, takes on quack medicine and conspiracy theorists, breaking down disinformation in digestible segments while providing you with plenty of ammunition to combat the COVID denialists in your life. While his area of expertise is how cells build ribosomes, Wilson recently offered a three-part takedown of hydroxychloroquine peddler <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_gZkk0DcLE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Simone Gold</a>, an insightful look into <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlPLtaKySqY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Christiane Northrup's COVID vaccine misinformation</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JZ_9JBoUa8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Joe Rogan's failure to fact check Alex Jones</a>.<p>--</p><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. His most recent book is</em> "<em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KRVMP2M?pf_rd_r=MDJW43337675SZ0X00FH&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy</a>."</em></p>
Keep reading
Show less
A technique to sift out the universe’s first gravitational waves
Identifying primordial ripples would be key to understanding the conditions of the early universe.
January 25, 2021
Photo by Denis Degioanni on Unsplash
Surprising Science
In the moments immediately following the Big Bang, the very first gravitational waves rang out.
<p> The product of quantum fluctuations in the new soup of primordial matter, these earliest ripples through the fabric of space-time were quickly amplified by inflationary processes that drove the universe to explosively expand.</p><p>Primordial gravitational waves, produced nearly 13.8 billion years ago, still echo through the universe today. But they are drowned out by the crackle of gravitational waves produced by more recent events, such as colliding black holes and neutron stars.</p><p>Now a team led by an MIT graduate student has developed a method to tease out the very faint signals of primordial ripples from gravitational-wave data. Their results were <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.241101" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">published</a>n December 2020 in <em>Physical Review Letters</em>.</p><p>Gravitational waves are being detected on an almost daily basis by LIGO and other gravitational-wave detectors, but primordial gravitational signals are several orders of magnitude fainter than what these detectors can register. It's expected that the next generation of detectors will be sensitive enough to pick up these earliest ripples.</p>
<p>In the next decade, as more sensitive instruments come online, the new method could be applied to dig up hidden signals of the universe's first gravitational waves. The pattern and properties of these primordial waves could then reveal clues about the early universe, such as the conditions that drove inflation.</p><p>"If the strength of the primordial signal is within the range of what next-generation detectors can detect, which it might be, then it would be a matter of more or less just turning the crank on the data, using this method we've developed," says Sylvia Biscoveanu, a graduate student in MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. "These primordial gravitational waves can then tell us about processes in the early universe that are otherwise impossible to probe."</p><p>Biscoveanu's co-authors are Colm Talbot of Caltech, and Eric Thrane and Rory Smith of Monash University.</p>
<h3>A concert hum</h3><p>The hunt for primordial gravitational waves has concentrated mainly on the cosmic microwave background, or CMB, which is thought to be radiation that is leftover from the Big Bang. Today this radiation permeates the universe as energy that is most visible in the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Scientists believe that when primordial gravitational waves rippled out, they left an imprint on the CMB, in the form of B-modes, a type of subtle polarization pattern.</p><p>Physicists have looked for signs of B-modes, most famously with the BICEP Array, a series of experiments including BICEP2, which in 2014 scientists believed had detected B-modes. The signal turned out to be due to galactic dust, however.</p><p>As scientists continue to look for primordial gravitational waves in the CMB, others are hunting the ripples directly in gravitational-wave data. The general idea has been to try and subtract away the "astrophysical foreground" — any gravitational-wave signal that arises from an astrophysical source, such as colliding black holes, neutron stars, and exploding supernovae. Only after subtracting this astrophysical foreground can physicists get an estimate of the quieter, nonastrophysical signals that may contain primordial waves.</p><p>The problem with these methods, Biscoveanu says, is that the astrophysical foreground contains weaker signals, for instance from farther-off mergers, that are too faint to discern and difficult to estimate in the final subtraction.</p><p>"The analogy I like to make is, if you're at a rock concert, the primordial background is like the hum of the lights on stage, and the astrophysical foreground is like all the conversations of all the people around you," Biscoveanu explains. "You can subtract out the individual conversations up to a certain distance, but then the ones that are really far away or really faint are still happening, but you can't distinguish them. When you go to measure how loud the stagelights are humming, you'll get this contamination from these extra conversations that you can't get rid of because you can't actually tease them out."</p>
<h3>A primordial injection</h3><p>For their new approach, the researchers relied on a model to describe the more obvious "conversations" of the astrophysical foreground. The model predicts the pattern of gravitational wave signals that would be produced by the merging of astrophysical objects of different masses and spins. The team used this model to create simulated data of gravitational wave patterns, of both strong and weak astrophysical sources such as merging black holes.</p><p>The team then tried to characterize every astrophysical signal lurking in these simulated data, for instance to identify the masses and spins of binary black holes. As is, these parameters are easier to identify for louder signals, and only weakly constrained for the softest signals. While previous methods only use a "best guess" for the parameters of each signal in order to subtract it out of the data, the new method accounts for the uncertainty in each pattern characterization, and is thus able to discern the presence of the weakest signals, even if they are not well-characterized. Biscoveanu says this ability to quantify uncertainty helps the researchers to avoid any bias in their measurement of the primordial background.</p><p>Once they identified such distinct, nonrandom patterns in gravitational-wave data, they were left with more random primordial gravitational-wave signals and instrumental noise specific to each detector.</p>
<p>Primordial gravitational waves are believed to permeate the universe as a diffuse, persistent hum, which the researchers hypothesized should look the same, and thus be correlated, in any two detectors.</p><p>In contrast, the rest of the random noise received in a detector should be specific to that detector, and uncorrelated with other detectors. For instance, noise generated from nearby traffic should be different depending on the location of a given detector. By comparing the data in two detectors after accounting for the model-dependent astrophysical sources, the parameters of the primordial background could be teased out.</p><p>The researchers tested the new method by first simulating 400 seconds of gravitational-wave data, which they scattered with wave patterns representing astrophysical sources such as merging black holes. They also injected a signal throughout the data, similar to the persistent hum of a primordial gravitational wave.</p><p>They then split this data into four-second segments and applied their method to each segment, to see if they could accurately identify any black hole mergers as well as the pattern of the wave that they injected. After analyzing each segment of data over many simulation runs, and under varying initial conditions, they were successful in extracting the buried, primordial background.</p><p>"We were able to fit both the foreground and the background at the same time, so the background signal we get isn't contaminated by the residual foreground," Biscoveanu says.</p><p>She hopes that once more sensitive, next-generation detectors come online, the new method can be used to cross-correlate and analyze data from two different detectors, to sift out the primordial signal. Then, scientists may have a useful thread they can trace back to the conditions of the early universe.</p><p>Reprinted with permission of <a target="_blank" href="http://news.mit.edu/">MIT News</a>. Read the <a target="_blank" href="https://news.mit.edu/2020/universe-first-gravitational-waves-1209" rel="noopener noreferrer">original article</a>.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
5 strategies for cultivating hope this year
An expert in positive psychology weighs in.
January 25, 2021
JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images
Personal Growth
The raging coronavirus pandemic, along with political turbulence and uncertainty, have overwhelmed many of us.
<p>From almost the start of 2020, people have been faced with bleak prospects as <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/01/07/21/global-coronavirus-deaths-hit-record-high" target="_blank">illness, death</a>, isolation and job losses became unwelcome parts of our reality. Early in the year, many of us watched in horror and despair as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/world/europe/trump-capitol-2020-election-mob.html" target="_blank">insurgents stormed the U.S. Capitol</a>.</p><p>Indeed, all through these times, both the dark and bright sides of human nature were evident as many people engaged in <a href="https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/eight_acts_of_goodness_amid_the_covid_19_outbreak" target="_blank">extraordinary compassion</a> and courage when others were <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/01/06/dc-protests-trump-rally-live-updates/" target="_blank">committing acts of violence</a>, <a href="https://carey.jhu.edu/articles/news-research/stockpiling-retail-shoppers-during-pandemic-justifiable-or-just-greedy" target="_blank">self-interest or greed</a>. </p><p>As a research scientist whose work focuses on <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12552-016-9190-9" target="_blank">positive psychology</a> among people facing challenges, I am deeply aware that if ever there were a time for a conversation about hope, it is now.</p>
<h2>Hope vs. optimism</h2><p>First, let's understand what hope is. Many people confuse optimism with hope.</p><p><a href="https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195187243.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780195187243-miscMatter-011" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Charles R. Snyder</a>, author of "<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Psychology_of_Hope.html?id=b3bz8tzBvC0C" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Psychology of Hope</a>," defined hope as the tendency to see desired goals as possible, and to approach those goals with "agency thinking," a belief that you or others have the ability to achieve the goals. He also defined hope as "pathways thinking," a focus on mapping routes and plans to achieve those goals.</p><p><a href="https://bit.ly/3ocU5HI" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Optimism is different</a>. Psychologist <a href="https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/charles-carver-1947-2019.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Charles Carver</a> defines <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.01.006" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">optimism</a> as a general expectation that good things will happen in the future. Optimists tend to seek out the positive and, at times, deny or avoid negative information. In sum, optimism is about expecting good things; hope is about how we plan and act to achieve what we want.</p><p>Here are five key strategies to cultivate hope in these trying times:</p>
<h2>1. Do something – start with goals</h2><p>Hopeful people do not wish – they imagine and act. They establish <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1448867?seq=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">clear, achievable goals</a> and make a clear plan. They believe in their agency – that is, their capacity to achieve the outcomes. They recognize that their path will be marked by stresses, roadblocks and failure. According to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.10096" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">psychologists such as Snyder and others</a>, people who are hopeful are able to "anticipate these barriers" and they "choose" the right "pathways."</p><p>Further, hopeful people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.10096" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">adapt</a>. When their hopes are thwarted, they tend to become more focused on doing things to achieve their goals.</p><p>As psychologist <a href="https://www.ippaworldcongress.org/eddie-tong" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eddie Tong</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930903138865" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">writes</a>, "hopeful people tend to think that desired goals are attainable even if personal resources are exhausted." In other words, people of hope persist even when prospects may not be so favorable.</p><p>Importantly, evidence suggests that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930903138865" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">belief that one is capable</a> of achieving one's goals may be more important for hope than knowing how to achieve those goals.</p>
<h2>2. Harness the power of uncertainty</h2><p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-016-9560-z" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Several researchers</a> have argued that, for hope to arise, individuals need to be able to perceive the "possibility of success."</p><p>Research shows that many of life's uncertainties could help people cultivate hope in difficult times. For example, a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1742395316664959" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2017 study</a> showed that parents of children diagnosed with multiple sclerosis used the fact that so little is known about the condition in childhood to fuel and sustain their sense of hope. Parents reasoned that since it is so hard to accurately diagnose childhood multiple sclerosis and prognosis is so varied, there was a chance that their children were misdiagnosed and they could recover and live normal lives.</p><p>In sum, a future that is uncertain holds lots of possibilities. As such, uncertainty is not reason for paralysis – it is a reason to hope.</p>
<h2>3. Manage your attention</h2><p>Hopeful and optimistic people show similarities and differences in the kinds of emotional stimuli they pay attention to in the world.</p><p>For example, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Lucas-JA-Kelberer-2121700237" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">psychologist</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.12.003" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lucas Kelberer and his colleagues</a> found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.12.003" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">optimists tended to seek out positive images, such as that of happy people</a>, and avoid images of people who seem depressed.</p><p>Hopeful people did not necessarily seek out emotionally positive information. However, people high on hope spent less time paying attention to emotionally <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.12.003" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sad or threatening information</a>.</p><p>In a world in which we are overwhelmed with options for what we read, watch and listen to, maintaining hope may not require us to go after positive information, but it does require that we avoid negative images and messages.</p>
<h2>4. Seek community. Don't go it alone</h2><p>Hope is hard to sustain in isolation. Research demonstrates that for people working to bring social change, particularly anti-poverty activists, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43486771" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">relationships and community</a> provided the reason for hope and ignited their conviction to keep fighting.</p><p>Connection to others allowed activists to feel a sense of accountability, to recognize that their work mattered and that they were part of something bigger than themselves.</p><p>Relationships are important, but health research also suggests that sustaining hope depends, in part, on the particular company we keep. For example, parents of chronically ill children often maintained hope by withdrawing from or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1742395316664959" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">avoiding interactions</a> with negative people who challenged their efforts to seek positive ends. We can stay hopeful if we connect with others who hold us accountable and remind us of why our struggles matter.</p>
<h2>5. Look at the evidence</h2><p>Hope also requires trust. Hopeful people stake their trust in data, particularly in the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43486771?seq=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">evidence of history</a>. Research demonstrates, for example, that anti-poverty activists drew hope from knowing that, historically, when people joined together in resistance they were able to create change.</p><p>Cultivating and sustaining hope, then, requires that we gather evidence from our own lives, history and the world at large and use that evidence to guide our plans, pathways and actions.</p><p>Hope also requires that we learn to use this data to effectively calibrate progress – no matter how small.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152523/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation"></p><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jacqueline-s-mattis-1190513" target="_blank">Jacqueline S. Mattis</a>, Dean of Faculty, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rutgers-university-newark-1985" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rutgers University - Newark</a></em></p><p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-strategies-for-cultivating-hope-this-year-152523" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">original article</a>.</p>
Keep reading
Show less
Big think's weekly newsletter.
Get smarter faster from the comfort of your inbox.
See our newsletter privacy policy here
Most Popular
Most Recent
Big think's weekly newsletter.
Get smarter faster from the comfort of your inbox.
See our newsletter privacy policy here
© Copyright 2007-2020 & BIG THINK, BIG THINK EDGE,
SMARTER FASTER trademarks owned by Freethink Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
SMARTER FASTER trademarks owned by Freethink Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
