How do we move forward in difficult times? What mentality helps us bounce back from setbacks?
When the world came to a standstill in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, few industries felt the impact as keenly as the performing arts. Venues closed and crowds dispersed. Musicians, actors and production crews faced an unprecedented challenge: remaining resilient despite their livelihoods disappearing overnight.
Together with my colleagues from Clemson University and North Carolina State University, I wanted to investigate what helps people persevere during such moments. That’s why we teamed up with MusiCares, a nonprofit that supports music industry professionals, to explore how artists are maintaining their resilience during the darkest times of the pandemic. to dawn. We were particularly interested in two mental approaches: mindfulness (being present and aware in the moment) and hope (believing in and working towards 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 aware or hopeful) and actions, such as regularly practicing meditation to focus on the to improve today. Many researchers also consider mindfulness to be a metacognitive process, that is, something that allows people to consciously monitor and modulate their attention, emotions, and behavior to attend to the present moment in an open and curious, non-judgmental way. Hope, meanwhile, functions as a forward-looking state that helps people reflect on the perceived ability to create pathways around challenges.
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Mindfulness – a buzzword in wellbeing circles – may seem like the obvious key to weathering a storm like the pandemic. After all, staying grounded in the present moment seems like a good way to avoid worrying about an uncertain future. But our research tells us something different, somewhat surprising story. While mindfulness is a powerful tool for well-being, it also has limitations – and learning to cultivate a hopeful mindset is another crucial strategy.
Our research followed 247 artists for 18 months, many of which were in lockdown. We asked them about their mindset and well-being at different stages of the pandemic. As part of this effort, we collected data through questionnaires we sent out in 2021. People told us about their early experiences of the pandemic and their levels of work-related stress and resilience. We also asked them to what extent they agreed with several statements about mindfulness or hope, specifically related to the pandemic. A higher state-of-mindfulness score indicated someone who was working to maintain awareness of their experiences in a non-judgmental way, and a higher hopeful 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.
Unsurprisingly, these artists were indeed negatively impacted by the challenges of COVID-19. Even more intriguing, we found no evidence that mindfulness was particularly helpful for them as a pandemic coping strategy. While it wasn’t harmful, it also didn’t really help artists bounce back or stay engaged with their work during this prolonged period of stress.
Instead, hope was the real superstar. Those who remained hopeful reported higher levels of work-related resilience and engagement, even as their sector remained in limbo. They were also more likely to experience positive emotions, which in turn strengthened their ability to cope with the ongoing crisis. Hope also contributed to their ability to stay productive by exploring new ways to practice their craft, such as virtual performances and online collaborations.
A few things may help explain this finding. First, mindfulness requires effort. And in periods of significant or prolonged stress, people may lack the mental energy to effectively engage in self-soothing techniques. In line with this, a study found that people struggle with mindfulness techniques when they are missing quality sleep.
Another factor to consider is what researchers call the ‘mindfulness paradox.” While being present and aware can be incredibly helpful in many situations, it can actually be counterproductive during extended periods of adversity. When your current reality is bleak and shows no signs of immediate improvement, too much focus on the “now” can leave you feeling stuck or overwhelmed. When 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 does not mean that mindfulness is pointless; it may not be the best tool for every situation. When researchers pooled data from 23 other studies on mindfulness in the workplace, they found that while this mindset helped people with anxiety and stress in general, it had no clear benefits for problems such as work-related burnout.
Meanwhile, when you face a long-term, difficult situation – whether it’s unemployment, a health crisis, or another major life challenge – you actively work to preserve hope can be a powerful coping strategy. While people are encouraged to practice mindfulness, they can also benefit from cultivating hope. This doesn’t mean giving in to blind optimism, but rather believing that things can improve, coupled with the motivation to work toward that improvement.
To put this into practice, try keeping a journal about what you would most like to do in the future. To combine thinking with action, connect with others to share that hope 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 outside of your current circumstances.
Our research found that hope worked in part by increasing positive emotions, which in turn increases resilience. This means that utilizing the power of positive emotions– making time for activities you enjoy, connecting with loved ones, or practicing gratitude – can be essential to our toolkit for difficult times.
The key takeaway here is not that mindfulness is useless or that hope is a panacea. Different strategies work for different challenges. And especially 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 light at the end of the tunnel, even if we can’t see the full path ahead.
As we navigate uncertainty and face new challenges, we can take a cue from the resilient artists in our research. By nurturing hope, setting our sights on a better future, and taking small steps to get there, we can find the strength to persevere even in the most difficult of times. And who knows? Perhaps we will emerge on the other side stronger and more resilient than ever before.
Are you a scientist specializing in neuroscience, cognitive science or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed article that you would like to write about for Mind Matters? Send suggestions to Scientific American‘s Mind Matters editor Daisy Yuhas at [email protected].
This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views of the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
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