Stuff happens. Just this last week a good friend shared that her cancer had returned. Another friend has been unemployed for months and is uncertain about if or when another job will show up. And let’s not even start talking about the people touched by the tragedy in Washington D.C. or the floods in Colorado. And what about the rest of the world? Unfortunately, no matter who we are, at some point stuff happens. The question then remains—what happens next? Fortunately, some people seem to bounce back and stay focused and positive about the future regardless of the situation. While many words describe such a person, recent research suggests that anyone who keeps going with a positive attitude, no matter how uncertain their future might appear, is considered a high-hope individual. So if stuff can and will happen to each of us, learning why hope matters and how we too might be one of the highly hopeful is certainly SMART information. [Read more…]