Hope isn't wishful thinkingāit's a measurable neurological advantage that directly impacts executive performance, strategic thinking, and business results. Leaders who understand and cultivate hope as a strategic tool outperform those trapped in survival-brain patterns.
We've all faced what it feels like to have no hope in seemingly insurmountable situations. Everything feels overwhelming as waves of despair flow over you, threatening to take over your world.
But then, something shiftsāa spark of hope appears. It's small, but it's enough to make you take that first step forward. Your heart lifts, you begin to breathe and you take another step, and another.
That's the power of hope.
Hope isn't just a fleeting emotion or wishful thinking. Neuroscience reveals it's a dynamic, measurable force that profoundly influences the brain, body, and overall well-being. In the business world, hope becomes a strategic advantageāthe difference between leaders who thrive under pressure and those who get trapped in reactive survival patterns.
Conversely, the absence of hopeāmanifesting as hopelessness or despairācan derail both mental and physical health, destroying strategic thinking capacity and leadership effectiveness.
Let's dive into the science behind hope, how it impacts executive performance, and why cultivating it is a powerful competitive advantage that shifts leaders toward breakthrough results.
The word mental wellbeing combines the word āmentalā ā so to do with your mind ā with the world āwellbeingā ā how well it is doing. However, when people think about their mental wellbeing, they often associate it, or conflate it, with their mood and happiness ā how well they are feeling. But our mood or happiness is just one facet of ourĀ mental wellbeing. Whatās more, when it comes to how well our mind is doing, itās not just about how we are feeling, it also about how well we are functioning.
This more all-encompassing definition of mental wellbeing is captured nicely by the World Health Organization (WHO) who state āMental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.ā In other words, our mental wellbeing covers everything from being able to form good relationships with others; being emotionally resilient; being able to focus and make good decisions to having good energy levels.
This is also reflected in how we measure mental wellbeing in the Global Mind Project. Rather than just asking people about how happy they feel, or how satisfied they are with life, we use a tool called the MHQ assessment which asks about 47 different elements of mental wellbeing, covering our social, emotional, cognitive and physical capabilities of mind. It was developed based on a thorough analysis of 126 existing assessments of mental health and wellbeing covering 10,000 questions, to include the symptoms of 10 different mentalĀ health disorders from depression to eating disorders to PTSD, as well as positive strengths and assets.Ā
With the 47 elements assessed on a scale that reflects the impact of those capabilities to oneās life and ability to function, overall scores of mental wellbeing (MHQ scores) reflect functional productivity ā the ability to get done the things you need to get done in a day. Overall, MHQ scores have a linear relationship to productive days such that the number of productive days increase or decrease equivalently as you move up or down the MHQ scale at any point.
Thus, the MHQ also serves as a proxy for functional capacity of aĀ population and can be used to demonstrate the functional capacity of various populations from schools to companies, and countries.
Altogether, mental wellbeing as measured by the MHQ reflects theĀ composite capability of mind that enables us to navigate lifeās challenges and function productivity.
Our mental health and wellbeing is declining with each younger generation.Ā This is a new phenomenon that has emerged in the past two decades and is more prominent in developed countries.
With an unparalleled global data acquisition and analytical infrastructure Sapien labs is at the forefront of tracking this decline, identifying its root causes and accelerating the path from data to insights to real-world action.
Sapien Labs is a 501(c) (3) not for profit organization founded in 2016 with a mission to understand and enable the human mind.
Our mission is motivated by:
