Full Spectrum with Molly Kawahata
Molly Kawahata has navigated the halls of the Obama White House, a Patagonia film, and life with Bipolar II—and always wondered one thing: what do you do when the stakes are high and nothing’s clear? Part memoir, part strategy session, part existential crisis with a mic—Molly dives into unfiltered convos with founders, scientists, and wild humans to translate their experiences into real tools you can use—whether you’re building something or flat on your back rethinking everything.
Full Spectrum with Molly Kawahata
HOPE SCIENCE Pt 2—WHEN IT ALL FEELS HOPELESS: How to Flip Fear-Based Goals, the Obama Effect, How Hope Saved $61M—and Could Save Us All
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
Connect with Chan:
Website / LinkedIn / TED Talk / Book: Hope Rising
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Timestamps:
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