LIFE PURPOSE AND THE HOPE THEORY
By: Dana Benarroch
March, 2023
This month’s focus of the Life Purpose theme is on adults and the elderly. When you have a whole life ahead of you, from the age of 22 forward, it is easier to discover the purpose of life and get energized by the enthusiasm in the process of achieving goals, than when you are older. In other words, it is easier to let yourself be energized by the passion of being who is the essential self and exercise it because there is an eagerness to see the transcendence of your own life, the footprint that you will leave.
It is different for the elderly, who have already left traces in their deeds of all colors and flavors, and who have already reached spiritual, material, family, professional, and personal peaks, from which it seems that there is nowhere to go. For many, it coincides with the retirement age, which could mean stopping work. And this is where the problems, the discouragements, and the hopelessness begin. They can feel they are no longer useful, as if their identity is over... "If I can no longer practice medicine, I am no longer a doctor, then what/who am I?"
Life Purpose invites us to consciously exercise character strengths, core values, performance strengths (talents, gifts), and passion strengths in everyday life and every activity. The Hope Theory tells us about willpower and waypower. Willpower is the will, the desire to want to live for something. Sometimes, it resembles faith. But for the elderly, it seems they do not even see or know what they want now. Waypower tells us - how am I going to achieve what I want? It refers to daily actions and human effort. But for the elderly, how can they know what to do if they don't even know what they want? Therefore, many wonder - why do I get out of bed?
How can the Hope Theory and Life Purpose help elders?
This is where the four elements of the Peak Creative Potential Zone come into play. Helping seniors re-recognize their identity (which they may not have lost) through character strengths, core values, performance strengths (talents and gifts), and passion strengths can awaken hope, joy, self-love, and some other pleasurable emotions that lead to "seeing more" possibilities, "building" a new life and finding a new purpose for getting out of the bed.
According to Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, pleasurable emotions amplify and build. When we consciously reconnect with ourselves, we feel a pleasant rebirth. At the same time, you have to consider the grief that the elderly probably goes through and give them permission to be human, to live with all the emotions. In that new rebirth, new self-discovery, we can help the elderly use their Peak Creative Potential Zone to discover what to do, the waypower.
We have many examples of older adults who have started a new chapter in their lives through new projects once a significant stage of their lives has ended. Many take advantage of their life experiences to share them, while others refocus on different activities that allow them to exercise their Creative Potential Zone in new ways.
Showing these life stories can be both: encouraging and discouraging because we show them the beautiful results that seem like strokes of luck but may require significant effort. That is why waypower is essential, as well as the importance of MVIs (Minimum Viable Interventions) and small steps.
My grandmother used to tell me, "sweetheart, be careful with that guy; go slowly because one thing leads to the other!" Helping the elderly see possible small steps that fit their strengths and biorhythms can be meaningful. To see the best is to see the possibilities.
Let's also remember the importance of integral well-being -- the purpose of life can be increased with physical exercise, adequate nutrition, meaningful learning, social relationships, and permission to be human.
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