Hope is a Habit of the Mind

 

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"So Methuselah's life lasted 969 years; then he died" (The Holy Bible, New International Version, 1999, Genesis 5:27). Aging is a fact of life, and human beings have two choices when it comes to maintaining our existence: we can either become immortal like the gods of ancient myth or we reproduce (de Cabo & Le Couteur, 2018). Along with getting older is physical decline, and in the acute care setting, patients admitted to the hospital who are advanced in years or at least older than sixty-five years old are at an increased risk for falling and suffering an injury such as a broken hip or worse head injury (Baker & Sudarsky, 2018). Additionally, and probably most importantly associated with aging is mental decline that can present in later years as dementia, and the often overlooked personality changes, or otherwise known as affective disorders, with aging that are common are feelings of anxiety and depression (Ouslander & Reyes, 2018). Although none of us can turn back the clock and there is no fountain of youth, we can, however, use grit to help us maintain our physical and mental health, as an aspect of resilience and keeping hope, which Thomas Aquinas reminds us is a habit of the mind (Aquinas, 1952, p. 457).

In his book Resilient, teacher and author Rick Hanson illustrates the idea of grit — being determined, resolved, and resolute despite setbacks. Furthermore, the resident academic at UC Berkley, a professor of psychology, pointedly discusses the idea of agency or autonomy, namely that individuals can make an effort to effect change and not surrender to helplessness (Hanson & Hanson, 2018). Other scholars have described this as well, noting that individuals who can identify with a purpose in life and draw on personal autonomy can bring grit to the forefront as a buffer against old age and declining mental health (Ryff & Keyes, 1995). In ways that autonomy can buffer symptoms of anxiety and depression, adults can remember to be self-guiding and practice independence where applicable.

References:

Aquinas, T. (1952). Treatise on faith, hope, and charity. In R. M. Hutchins (Ed.), Great books of the Western world (Vol. 2, pp. 380–605). Encyclopædia Britannica.

Baker, J. M. & Sudarsky, L. R. (2018). Gait disorders, Imbalance, and Falls. In J. Larry Jameson & Anthony S. Fauci & Dennis L. Kasper & Stephen L. Hauser & Dan L. Longo & Joseph Loscalzo (20th Eds., Vol. 1), Harrison's principles of internal medicine (pp. 143-147). McGraw-Hill Education. 

de Cabo, Rafael, & Le Couteur, David G. (2018). The Biology of Aging. In J. Larry Jameson & Anthony S. Fauci & Dennis L. Kasper & Stephen L. Hauser & Dan L. Longo & Joseph Loscalzo (20th Eds., Vol. 1), Harrison's principles of internal medicine (pp. 3413–3420). McGraw-Hill Education. 

Hanson, R., & Hanson, F. (2018). Resilient: How to grow an unshakable core of calm, strength, and happiness. Harmony Books.

Ouslander, J. G., & Reyes, B. (2018). Gait disorders, Imbalance, and Falls. In J. Larry Jameson & Anthony S. Fauci & Dennis L. Kasper & Stephen L. Hauser & Dan L. Longo & Joseph Loscalzo (20th Eds., Vol. 1), Harrison's principles of internal medicine (pp. 3420–3438). McGraw-Hill Education. 

Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719–727. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.69.4.719

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1999). Cornerstone Bible Publishers. (original work published 1973)

Leadership Stratification: From Warrior to Healer to Authentic Influence

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Philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes asserted that competition drives a man to succeed because man's innate desire to assert dominance over his fellow man is the precise engine that powers all his endeavors (Edwards, 1967, p. 463). If that is true and accepted, given the nature of leadership roles in both the military and the healthcare sector, the author, like many other formal leaders, recognizes, from personal experience, that a more social and less iron-fisted (Bass, 2008a, p. 278) approach proved advantageous in the civilian workforce. Because the military leadership style failed to produce follower alignment in the healthcare leadership role previously held, the experience of the military-to-civilian leadership transfer was negative.

The negative experience of leader role transfer is as scholars such as Bass (2008a) detail and explain that when a style of leadership for instance authoritarian, native of Marine Corps management is brought to a new role in the civilian sector and to the extent where the old style of leadership is distastrous and unfavorable in the new role, the greater the adverse effect will be. The leader will need to adapt and implement new ways of organizational influence to effect behavioral change and ultimately achieve the organization's goals. For the author, the latest methods had to be learned through divine wisdom, friendly counsel, ancient philosophy, guided mentorship, and comprehensive interdisciplinary literature reading and personal experience to ultimately be more of an ideal authentic team player as Bass (2008c, p. 36) illuminates the type of leader that is sold out on organizational codes of conduct and standards while aiming at and achieving with purpose what they believe are the right, honest and noble objectives to work towards.

Although it is debatable both experientially and discussed in the leadership literature of effective styles of influence over direct reports, experience comes with a premium tuition. Military-style leadership thrives in the realm of top-down authority and command and control, and methods and techniques adapted, ingrained, and proven effective in military service have become bankrupt in the civilian world of healthcare organizational leadership, becoming, for the author of this blog, painstakingly apparent ex post facto.

For example, as mentioned earlier, as Bass (2008a) indicates, and especially important for veterans, is the need for a less rigid and overbearing presence of style and more of a genial approach, understanding in the civilian workforce where people are employees and not comrades in arms and finally, when exercising direction and instruction to direct reports refrain from expecting unmitigated compliance.

One of the challenges with transitioning from the military to civilian life can be better understood from the wisdom of early-history thought thinkers, who suggest that fundamental human nature is to preserve oneself, or, if put another way, to live self-absorbed, even under the guise of altruistic intention (Edwards, 1996, p. 463). If a person is honest with themselves and considers the 16th-century thinker Thomas Hobbes, whose writings bring a fresh insight like a cool breeze on a warm summer day, one would agree with his statement that at one point in time "men lived upon gross experience" (Hobbes, 1952, p. 267); and as Thomas Aquinas contemplated centuries ago that man has a common struggle between "what I owe to myself and what I owe to others" (Edwards, 1967, p. 463). It is just the experience of learning what worked in the Marines that would not work in the hospital, and becoming cognizant of the self-centered agenda that most veterans undergo, which surpasses their previous training and education, that the author of this blog relearned to adapt, improvise, and overcome new situations.

Whereas military leadership is contrasted with healthcare organization leadership, the parallels are not few. Military training is indispensable for those who may be sent into armed conflict, and the backgrounds, principles, and ways of life it fosters are the lifeblood of today's military (Bass, 2008b). The Marines, however, increase the level of intensity, for it is well known and quite irritating to other branches of the military that the fighting spirit of a US Marine is such that they are insolently convinced that they are better than everyone else (Alexander et al., 1997). Small-unit leadership skills — like the fire team leader in a Marine squad, responsible for four team members — parallel the nurse's role as a primary care provider in the ICU, caring for two critically ill patients. 

The critical care nurse knows and practices to the full extent of their license; they incorporate at each interaction a system of patient assessments, make quick diagnoses of patients' current status, prescribe a plan to care for the patient, and implement and evaluate the effectiveness of physician-ordered medications, treatments, and therapies (Underhill et al., 1982). Healthcare literature experts also emphasize the need for a comprehensive understanding of system challenges and workflow barriers (Bernhardt & Samost, 2025) characteristic of forward-deployed military service and management of the critical hospital patient. In other words, job experience is one of many qualifiers for elevated leadership roles.

The Marine's strength lies in his ability to exercise control of the situation. Reflecting again on the insight from Hobbes —a discourse on the concept of power that men are inclined and drawn to, like iron filings to a magnet — will help shed light. The force is strong such that men use this power purposefully to acquire the means of money, status, and social influence, and to an extent makes his fellow man live in a fearful relationship to him or become totally dependent on him like a babe nursing at the breast (Hobbes, 1952, pp. 71-72). Understanding how this innate function manifests itself is not self-evident.

Most pointedly, as other scholars have documented, what became increasingly apparent through trial and error to the blog author and endorsed are skills in active listening without immediately trying to solve problems, awareness of cultural differences in leader-follower relationships, and adaptation of communication techniques that foster healthy conflict resolution (Bernhardt & Samost, 2025). However, it is not until one undergoes the struggle for influence as a leader in their social and relational connections that they learn that the actual effects of good and bad leadership styles are context-, situation-, and member-dependent.

References:

Alexander, J. H., Horan, D., & Stahl, N. (1997). A fellowship of valor: The battle history of the United States Marines. HarperCollins.

Bass, B. M. (2008a). Transfer and Succession. In The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, & Managerial Applications (4th ed., pp. 875-895). Simon & Schuster.

Bass, B. M. (2008b). Training and Development. In The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, & Managerial Applications (4th ed., pp. 1051-1122). Simon & Schuster.

Bass, B. M. (2008c). Types and Taxonomies. In The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, & Managerial Applications (4th ed., pp. 27-45). Simon & Schuster.

Bernhardt, J. M., & Samost, M. (2025). Transferable nursing skills that support nurse leader development. Nursing Management, 56(7), 44–50. https://doi.org/10.1097/nmg.0000000000000278

Hobbes, T. (1952). Leviathan. In R. M. Hutchins (Ed.), Great books of the Western world (Vol. 23, pp. 41–283). Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Edwards, P. (1967). Egoism & Altruism. In The Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Vol. 2, pp. 462–466). essay, Macmillan Company & the Free Press.

Underhill, S. L., Woods, S. L., Sivarajan, E. S., & Halpenny, C. J. (1982). Cardiac nursing. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Is there a higher criterion for life?

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There is a distinction between lived truth and theoretical knowledge. Gaining knowledge through personal experience differs significantly from reading about experiences or characteristics in journal articles and books. However, philosophical views become meaningful when applied through experience. As other scholars have noted, understanding and interpreting the experiences of elderly citizens in a nursing home are highly context-dependent (Rykkje et al., 2023). That being the case, while caring for those who are ill, do patients and caregivers experience a spiritual awakening? The lived experience of assisting others in their recovery within acute care settings fosters a recognition of the existence of a higher power.

With the understanding that helping others during their time of need, let us consider the great novelists of the 18th century, such as Leo Tolstoy, in his detailed masterpiece, War and Peace, who understood the concept of spiritual awakening. It is therefore believed, at least experientially, through helping others and seeing them cope with illness, that one becomes aware of a supernatural existence.

Although Tolstoy's great novel offers many insights into the meaning of life through its epic narrative and his profound understanding of history, the significant conflicts, especially the campaigns of the French brigand Napoleon Bonaparte and his demise and disillusionment, are particularly notable. For reference, one of the characters in Tolstoy's work, a fictional person, is portrayed as reflecting on his own thoughts about life and grappling with his internal struggles and the meaning of it all, set against the backdrop of the events leading up to the French invasion of Moscow during the War of 1812.

The fictional character Pierre Bezukhov, although imaginatively created by Tolstoy, possesses experiences that readers can readily identify with. As the story goes, during the winter of 1812, Pierre finds himself decisively staying behind in Moscow, not leaving as the French enter and begin to pillage and maraud (Adler, 1952, p. 512 ). The homes and estates are left vacant by their former inhabitants. Pierre believes, although it is not realistic and he demonstrates a hint of lunacy (Adler, 1952, p. 513), that he can, with a pistol in hand, take out Napoleon himself. As such, much of the story unfolds as Pierre is captured by French officers and taken as a Russian prisoner, suspected of being a firestarter or arsonist (Adler, 1952, p. 547). At the same time, Moscow, in the background, burns as Napoleon's army occupies the city.

Pierre, who is thought to be an arsonist, is taken alongside other Russian prisoners and lined up before a firing squad. As a chance happening, Pierre escapes death and avoids being executed by a firing squad and is apparently acquitted of taking part in torching Moscow (Adler, 1952, p. 551). He is let go, only to witness the punishment of those other individuals captured on suspicion of being arsonists by the skin of his teeth. In contrast, watching others get slain is a turning point for Pierre that Tolstoy wants the reader to be mindful of.

During these scenes in the story, Pierre meets another Russian soldier, captured and becomes a source of spiritual help to Pierre, named Platon Karataev. In one moment of the scene, Platon offers Pierre a slice of baked potato, with words of comfort and wisdom seasoned with poverty-stricken salt saved and wrapped in a cloth, which becomes the best thing Pierre has tasted in some time (Adler, 1952, p. 554). Recovering from a near-death experience, Pierre begins to change his outlook on life, and things that he formerly thought important, such as ambitions, the acquisition of wealth, prestige, and status, now hold little importance. His wild idea to slay Napoleon also loses significance. Life is now the most precious jewel he possesses.

One can make the argument that near-death experiences can help reshape one's philosophy on life as Tolstoy intended, or as scholars have noted, approaching the end of one's road in life, as is familiar with nursing home residents, where trying to understand the role of spirituality is challenging (Rykkje et al., 2023).

References:

Adler, M. J. (1952). Tolstoy. In The Great Books of the Western World. (Vol. 51). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Rykkje, L., Morland, M., Ferstad, K., & Kuven, B. M. (2023). A qualitative hermeneutical understanding of spiritual care in old age when living in a nursing home: The residents' voices. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 32(21–22), 7846–7859. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16855

Navigate the Obstacle

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Sociologists have explored and investigated the concept of middle-aged thriving and have asked the question: What does it mean to be well and, more pointedly, be well mentally (Ryff & Keyes, 1995). Criteria and points of reference for defining well-being are, by extension, measures of positive life functioning such as accepting oneself, environment of control, favorable relationships, living a goal-oriented life coupled with self-improvement and self-determination (Ryff & Keyes, 1995). Suppose the criteria mentioned earlier, such as well-being, are operationalized or realized in one's life. Would indicators such as a spirit of good cheer, peace of mind, and depression be mediated?

In their thirty-year-old study, Ryff & Keyes (1995) highlight that their research reveals strong correlations between mediating happy feelings, life satisfaction, and symptoms of depression, particularly in relation to self-acceptance and environmental control. As for the other domains, such as healthy relationships, having a purpose in life, developing oneself over the continuum of life, and being independent, these are poorly correlated with mediating a person's happiness, satisfaction with life, and depressed mood. In other words, from their study, accepting one situation in life and trying to the extent that one can exercise some form of control over the world around them correlates to positive life functioning with behaviors reflecting a joyful spirit, being contented with life, and improved mood, however it is essential to acknowledge what Ryff & Keyes (1995), concluded: that there is more to getting on with life and that being well or psychologically healthy than the pursuit of happiness and being fullfilled. Of note and to the credit of their study, one domain of well-being that was not investigated, at least in this research, was spirituality.

G.K. Chesterton wrote a biography to defend the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, best known for his novel Treasure Island. Chesterton notes that Stevenson exemplified a character who, despite living with debilitating childhood illnesses, grew up with those challenges and faced life's adversity. Consider an excerpt from his work.

Chesterton states in his 1906 publication about R. L. Stevenson's character, "Stevenson's great ethical and philosophical value lies in the fact that he realised this great paradox that life becomes more fascinating the darker it grows, that life is worth living only so far as it is difficult to live" (Chesterton & Nicoll, 1906, p. 15). How did R. L. Stevenson believe that when life becomes complicated and overwhelming, it is precisely then that it becomes truly fascinating? 

This perspective presents a thought-provoking and philosophical approach to living even today, and applies to all of humanity. Not many will argue that parents, teachers, and coaches, who have many irons in the fire, face a myriad of challenges. Still, with an approach of living with acceptance and a whole-hearted intent to practice an environment of control to the best of one's ability, most people could achieve the feeling that life is worth living, as R. L. Stevenson demonstrated.

We can also gain insight by contemplating the ancient writings found in the Old Testament texts, particularly in the book of Ecclesiastes, and investigating the spiritual component of life. The great teacher emphasizes in chapter seven in the fourtenth verse, contemplative ideas about good circumstances and less fortunate ones, discussing the fact that God has set things in motion in a persons life such that one can not determine his future and that when days are joyful be glad, and when days are cumbersome consider that God has brought this for some devine reason (The Holy Bible, New International Version, 1999, Ec. 7: 14).

References:

Chesterton, G. K., & Nicoll, W. R. (1906). The characteristics of Robert Louis Stevenson. James Pott & Co. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/robertlouissteve00chesrich/page/4/mode/2up?view=theater

Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719–727. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.69.4.719

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1999). Cornerstone Bible Publishers. (original work published 1973)