What is the next good thing after hope?

Faith, then Charity, then Wisdom (including right action as wise dominion).  These all may progress concurrently, as they are harmonious and mutually reinforcing.

Acceptance.

Hope for the best. If what you hoped for does not materialize, accept it and move on from there. Better to move on with your life than stuck in your disappointment.

exercizes that allow you to kiss your own butt

Faith, The minimum length of an answer is 15 characters

Happiness. 

Hope is a positive expectation. Its contrary is dread. Both hope and dread have their results when they are fulfilled.

Hopes fulfillment is happiness. Dreads fulfillment is misery.

Both the expectation and fulfillment have degrees in which one can think of either as (hope>outcome) "good" "better" "best", and as (dread>outcome) "bad" "worse" "worst".

Choosing the best and avoiding the negative at all costs, is the highest form of rational living.

Sometimes we can have hope followed by misery, it is than when the actions leading to hope FAIL. When hoping for the best, fails, error occurs. Since we are not perfect beings, all hopes do not reach their manifestations as happiness.

Low expectations

Love (charity) 

1 Corinthians 13:13

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.  

The path of Harmonization .

action, and it's even better than hope