The Hope Meter is a powerful yet simple tool, much like other significant instruments. When used correctly, it holds a great deal of power. It provides a snapshot of how hopeful someone is about their tomorrow at any given moment. 

The use of “tomorrow” in this writing can refer to the literal next day or represent the future in general. How hopeful are you today? We’ve heard that hope is not a strategy.  And while I agree with this, hope is what fuels vision and strategy.  To the degree we lack hope, strategy tends to feel irrelevant at an emotional level.  

It is crucial to consider the impact of lacking hope in your life. Without hope for the future, everything that comes your way can undermine your sense of purpose and can overwhelm you with stress and fear. Your ability to cope well with what life throws at you may diminish rapidly if you lack hope for tomorrow. Lack of hope colors everything in a negative shade.  

On the other hand, if we have hope for tomorrow, we can handle numerous challenges and even negative experiences without being derailed. We will face adversity at varying levels of intensity when we are attempting anything important. Hope gives us the strength to endure and to overcome.

Here’s how the Hope Meter works. Sit down with someone and engage in a conversation. Ask them, “How hopeful are you today about your tomorrow? Where is your needle on the hope meter?” 

Their response can be categorized as green, yellow, or red. The purpose is to gauge their current state, whether they are ecstatic, excited, overall energized (green), or feeling somewhat stuck, frustrated, and struggling (yellow). If their needle falls into the red at 40 or below, it indicates burnout, misery, defeat, depression, or even complete hopelessness. 

We are likely familiar with the significant impact that hope and hopelessness can have on our lives. If you want to quickly assess someone’s hope level, whether you are coaching, leading, working with them, or even within your own family or team, utilize the Hope Meter. Ask them where they currently stand and what’s going on in their lives. 

This tool provides a way to open up important conversations with people we lead and opens the opportunity to care for them by listening.  Sometimes people just need to know they are not alone.  Sometimes when people are able to share where they are struggling, it can diffuse some pressure and lighten the load one is carrying.  And, of course, it can open up our understanding of how we may provide support to help them.

Now, let’s turn to you. How hopeful are you today about your tomorrow? Where does your needle fall and why? What circumstances are causing you to struggle or feel stuck? What needs to happen for you to move into the green zone? This tool is best used in relationship to others.  I would encourage you to find someone to create conversation around this.  How could you use this in your team? Your marriage? With your children? I’d love to hear any feedback for how you’ve been able to effectively employ this tool.