“Through my work with John, I realized that how we think about the future—how we hope—determines how well we live our lives. John’s transformations, from thriving to suffering and back to thriving, were simple and compelling. When he had clear hopes for the future, his life was good. When John had a sudden break with the future, he felt his life was not worth living. As John reconnected to a meaningful future, his life became good again, and he was excited about it. And his health mysteriously stabilized.

Since the day I have met John, I have studied hope, both in my clinical work and in my research. Every client that followed John benefited from what he taught me— that our relationship with the future determines how well we live today. I asked my clients new and different questions, starting with ‘How hopeful are you about your future?’ I changed the way I opened my first session with them. ‘How can I help you today?’ became ‘If therapy is successful now, what will your life look like in five years?’ I didn’t see clients as broken in the way I once had; I wasn’t trying to fix them anymore. I was doing everything I could to help them be better students, partners, or patients so that they could realize bigger goals in their lives.”

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