Hope Can Be More Powerful Than Mindfulness

In difficult times, a forward-looking mindset may be especially helpful

In troubling times, how do we move forward? What mindsets help us bounce back from adversity?

When the world ground to a halt because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, few industries felt the impact quite like the performing arts. Venues shuttered and crowds dispersed. Musicians, actors and production crews faced an unprecedented challenge: they needed to stay resilient despite the fact that their livelihood had vanished overnight.

Along with my colleagues at Clemson University and North Carolina State University, I wanted to explore what helps people persevere through such moments, so we partnered with MusiCares, a nonprofit that supports music industry professionals, to study how artists maintained their resilience during the pandemic’s darkest days. We were particularly interested in two mental approaches: mindfulness (being present and aware in the moment) and hopefulness (believing in and working toward a better future). In psychology, these concepts can be used to describe a general state of being, one that reflects both personality (some people are naturally more mindful or hopeful) and actions, such as regularly practicing meditation to improve one’s focus on the present. Many researchers also view mindfulness as a metacognitive process, that is, something that enables people to consciously monitor and modulate their attention, emotions and behaviors to attend to the current moment in an open and curious, nonjudgmental way. Hope, meanwhile, functions as a future-oriented state that helps people to reflect on one’s perceived ability to generate pathways around challenges.

Mindfulness—a buzzword in wellness circles—might seem to be the obvious key to weathering a storm such as the pandemic. After all, staying grounded in the present moment seems like a good way to avoid spiraling into anxiety about an uncertain future. But our research tells a different, somewhat surprising story. Although mindfulness is a powerful tool for well-being, it does have limitations—and learning to cultivate a hopeful mindset is another critical strategy.

Our study followed 247 performers for 18 months, much of which was spent in lockdown. We asked them about their mindset and well-being at different stages of the pandemic. As part of this effort, we gathered data through questionnaires that we sent out in 2021. People told us about their early experiences of the pandemic and their level of work-related tension and resilience. We also asked them about how much they agreed with various statements related to mindfulness or hopefulness in relation to the pandemic specifically. A higher state-of-mindfulness score suggested someone working to maintain awareness of their experiences in a nonjudgmental way, and a higher hopefulness state indicated someone who was actively envisioning potential solutions to pandemic-related obstacles. This allowed us to assess people’s mental strategies and better understand how each approach had helped people navigate the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19.

We found, unsurprisingly, that these artists were indeed adversely affected by COVID-19’s challenges. More intriguingly, we did not find evidence that mindfulness was particularly helpful to them as a pandemic coping strategy. Although it wasn’t harmful, it also didn’t significantly help artists bounce back or stay engaged with their work during this prolonged period of stress.

Instead hope was the real superstar. Those who maintained a hopeful outlook reported higher levels of work-related resilience and engagement, even as their industry remained in limbo. They were also more likely to experience positive emotions, which in turn boosted their ability to cope with the ongoing crisis. Hopefulness also contributed to their ability to stay productive by exploring new ways to deliver their craft, such as virtual performances and online collaborations.

A few things may help to explain this finding. First, mindfulness requires effort. And in periods of substantial or prolonged stress, people may lack the mental energy to effectively engage in self-calming techniques. In line with that, one study found that people struggle with mindfulness techniques when they lack quality sleep.

Another factor to consider is what researchers call the “mindfulness paradox.” Although being present and aware can be incredibly helpful in many situations, it may actually backfire during extended periods of adversity. When your present reality is bleak and shows no signs of immediate improvement, too much focus on the “now” might leave you feeling stuck or overwhelmed. If you’re constantly aware of how bad things are, without any belief that they can get better, it’s hard to find the motivation to keep going.

This doesn’t mean mindfulness is pointless—it just might not be the best tool for every situation. When researchers pooled together data from 23 other studies of mindfulness in the workplace, they discovered that even though this mindset helped people with anxiety and distress in general, it did not have clear benefits for problems such as job-related burnout.

Meanwhile, when you’re facing a prolonged, difficult situation—whether it’s unemployment, a health crisis or any other major life challenge—actively working to maintain hope can be a powerful coping strategy. Much as people are encouraged to practice mindfulness, they can also benefit from cultivating hope. This doesn’t mean indulging in blind optimism but rather having belief that things can improve, coupled with the motivation to work toward that improvement.

To put this into practice, try journaling about what you’d most like to do in the future. To combine thinking with action, connect with others to share those hopes and create a strategy, setting small, achievable goals to move you toward a better future. All of these practices can give you something to focus on beyond your current circumstances.

Our study found that hope worked in part by increasing positive emotions, which in turn boosted resilience. That means that harnessing the power of positive emotions—by making time to engage in activities you enjoy, connect with loved ones or practice gratitude—can be essential to our tool kit for trying times.

The key takeaway here isn’t that mindfulness is useless or that hope is a magic bullet. Different strategies work for different challenges. And particularly in dark times, when the present feels unbearable and the future uncertain, cultivating hope can give us the push we need to keep going. It provides a light at the end of the tunnel, even when we can’t see the full path forward.

As we navigate uncertainty and face new challenges, we can take a cue from the resilient artists in our study. By nurturing hope, setting our sights on a better future and taking small steps to get there, we can find the strength to persevere through even the toughest of times. And who knows? We might just emerge on the other side stronger and more resilient than ever before.

Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper that you would like to write about for Mind Matters? Please send suggestions to Scientific American’s Mind Matters editor Daisy Yuhas at dyuhas@sciam.com.

This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.