The headlines aren’t letting up. From climate disasters and political chaos to the creeping feeling that we’re running out of time.

But giving up isn’t the answer and blind optimism won’t save us either. In this solo episode, I break down Adaptive Hope. The flexible, grounded, and stubborn kind of hope that can actually survive in times like these.

We’ll talk about what Adaptive Hope is, why it works, and five ways you can practice it today with real-world examples you can try this week. Because hope isn’t about pretending things aren’t bad; it’s about finding ways to keep going because they are.

Academic & Research Sources:

• Bender, Darren, and Andrea Rawluk. “Adaptive Hope: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Hope and Social–Ecological Change.” Ecology and Society, vol. 28, no. 2, 2023. https://ecologyandsociety.org/vol28/iss2/art14/

• Human Flourishing Lab. The Science of Hope: A Review of the Research. 2023. https://humanflourishinglab.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/HFL-The-Science-of-Hope.pdf

• Ojala, Maria. “Hope and Climate Change: The Importance of Hope for Environmental Engagement among Young People.” Frontiers in Communication, vol. 4, 2019. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2019.00020/full

• Stanley, Skye K., et al. “Climate Distress and the Role of Social Support in Young Adults.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 14, 2023. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10446227/

• Albrecht, Glenn. “Solastalgia: The Distress Caused by Environmental Change.” Australasian Psychiatry, vol. 15, 2007. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solastalgia