Made for Resilience and Happiness: Effective Coping with Covid-19 According to Viktor E. Frankl and Paul T. P. Wong by Dr. Paul T. P. Wong - HTML preview

Chapter 5 | Lesson on Belief and Hope

We need hope as much as we need light in the darkest night. We need hope as much as we need air to stay alive.

Therefore, choose to believe in hope. As long as there is hope, everything is possible:

• Hope drives away fear and anxiety.
• Hope rises above despair and depression.
• Hope overcomes all obstacles and enemies.
• Hope enables you to endure hardships and pain.
• Hope opens your eyes to discover that there is something in life that is worth fighting for.
• Hope awakens your soul to see the beauty, goodness and truth in cruel world.
• Hope always says Yes to life and No to death.

Science has shown that optimism is the most powerful motivation for us to move forward and maintain our mental health.

The important role of hope in maintaining one’s wellbeing and health has been well documented (Snyder, 2000). It is difficult to conceive how we can maintain hope and confidence in the face of bleak prospects without faith, be it religious faith, trust in others, or self- confidence. In short, one cannot survive without faith or belief.

Once you lose faith in yourself or in humanity, you will be overwhelmed by waves of hopelessness and helplessness, which will make you more vulnerable to depression or suicide. Faith enables you to attempt the impossible and take the first step to embark on a long and dangerous journey. A person of faith is a person of unshakable confidence and unwavering determination. .

Tolstoy wrote: “Faith is the sense of life, that sense by virtue of which man does not destroy himself, but continues to live on. It is the force whereby we live.” Therefore, do not lose faith in your own agency, in humanity, or in God. As long as you keep the faith and believe in hope, you will be unstoppable. Yes, everything is possible with faith and hope.

We need all kinds of hope to fully benefit from its power.

Please complete the following Hope Checklist with a Yes or No answer and briefly write down the reason for your answer:

Hope Checklist

 The Life Attitudes Scale

Leung, M., Steinfort, T., Vroon, E. J., & Wong, P. T. P. (2002) Please indicate the degree which each item reflects your attitude toward life.

Note: The Life attitudes scale is called Life Attitude Scale during administration.

 Faith Checklist

 Viktor Frankl, the Prophet of Hope

Viktor Frankl, one of the most influential psychotherapists of the last century, continues to appeal to the new generation. His prophetic voice still relevant in the age of COVID-19.

The horror of Nazi death camps allowed Viktor Frankl (1985) to discover the power of tragic optimism (TO). He defined TO as “an optimism in the face of tragedy” (p.162). He made a compelling case that we can ‘say yes to life’ in spite of all the tragic aspects of human existence.

After surviving the Holocaust. Frankl (1985) eloquently discussed the critical nature of attitude toward suffering. He would not endorse positive illusions or Pollyanarish optimism. To him, an optimistic attitude was literally a defiant stance to be embraced in the face of terror:

“He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp. Dostoevsky said once ‘There is one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings.’ These words frequently came to my mind after I became acquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering and death, bore witness to the fact that the last inner freedom cannot be lost. It can be said that they were worthy of their sufferings; the way they bore their suffering was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom – which can not be taken away – that makes life meaningful and purposeful.” (Frankl, 1985, p. 87)

I consider Frankl as a prophet of hope. The following passages from my chapter on Frankl (Wong, 2007) explains how TO is important for resilience and mature happiness:

"Unlike other kinds of hopes, TO cannot be crushed by adversities or catastrophes, because like true gold, it is purified in the crucible of suffering and rooted in an abiding inner value. Frankl (1985) aptly added: “The consciousness of one’s inner value is anchored in higher, more spiritual things, and cannot be shaken by camp life” (p. 83).

Components of Tragic Optimism

Based on Frankl’s writings, I have identified five essential components that comprise TO:

(a) Affirmation of the meaning and value of life, regardless of circumstances, (b) Acceptance of what cannot be changed, (c) Self-transcendence in serving a higher purpose, (d) Faith or trust in God and others, (e) Courage to face adversity. These components can also be found in the clinical literature on trauma as well as the larger literature of humanities.

Gabriel Marcel once said that “The only genuine hope is hope in what does not depend on ourselves, hope springing from humility and not from pride.” Frankl has personally demonstrated that we can restore hope in hopeless situations through surrendering to the calling of meaning.

 I have defined and refined the components of TO and demonstrated empirically the dialectic/paradoxical nature of TO: In our state of despair and helplessness, we discover the power of meaning and faith; in our brokenness, we hear the calling to bring healing to others; in our suffering, we encounter joy and serenity; and in our fears and vulnerability, we discover the defiant, heroic courage.

The theory and research on tragic optimism answer many of the issues raised by Peterson (2000) and suggest a new direction for optimism research as well as for positive psychology. TO is in the vanguard of developing a mature positive psychology for all humanity, including the millions who are suffering and dying each day.

Future directions in TO research should include implementing TO in developing countries (Wong, 2003), studying the defiant human spirit and courage (Wong, 1995), and applying TO in working with trauma victims and dying patients.

Since TO serves as a prototype of mature positive psychology for the suffering masses, it warrants a closer look at the contribution of tragic optimism to mature happiness and personal growth in the midst of adversities and traumas.”