
I used to hate uncertainty. Whenever things felt hard, I’d assume they’d always be this hard. Like something in my brain just decided: this is how it is now. Forever.
But one therapist, one sentence, one metaphor about tenuousness changed how I see it. This episode is about that shift—and how we can train ourselves to make it.
Because hope isn’t about blind optimism. It’s about having a goal, believing you can get there, and finding a way forward—even if the path keeps changing. And if you know how to use it, you’ll get results.
In Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Chan Hellman, we talk about what it actually looks like to use hope as a tool when everything feels like it’s falling apart.
We talk about:
✅ A small decision Chan made during the pandemic that changed everything
✅ The reality of fear-based goals and how to flip them
✅ Why one of the most hopeful systems Chan has studied isn’t a person—it’s a bureaucracy
✅ The unexpected way hope spreads through movements, teams, and recovery groups
✅ What happened when Chan tracked down the teacher who unknowingly saved his life
And then I break it all down in this week’s How-To segment, including:
→ How to use the GAP formula to fix stuck projects, relationship tension, or anything that feels off
→ The three questions to test if your goal is actually working for you
→ Why relationships don’t fail from lack of effort—they fail from missing roadmaps
→ And how to spot a pathways problem in disguise (plus what founders and high-performers tend to get wrong)
This one left me thinking a lot about how we set goals, how we show up for each other, and what kind of future we actually believe we’re allowed to imagine.
— Molly
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Connect with Chan
00:00 Navigating Uncertainty: A Personal Reflection
05:05 Understanding Hope: A Framework for Change
06:58 Using Hope as a Tool: Personal Stories and Strategies
10:38 The Role of Goals in Restoring Hope
15:25 Fear and Hope: Coexisting Forces
19:06 Collective Hope: Building Community Resilience
24:00 Building a Hope-Centered Organization
26:57 The Power of Hope in Mental Health
30:01 Hope as a Framework for Overcoming Obstacles
33:00 Cultivating Personal Hope in Challenging Times
35:59 The Role of Relationships in Nurturing Hope
37:00 The How-To: The GAP Analysis
“Hope is a science.
Hope can be measured.
Hope can be learned.”
— Dr. Chan Hellman, Ep. 2