Unrealistic Hope Vs Blind Optimism

‘Hope’ and ‘Optimism’ are two commonly exchanged words, which literally send out the same meaning, but in reality THEY DON’T! Both these words have carried immense meanings with it, raising many questions like, how should we even measure it, or are optimistic people healthier, does it help when people face terminal illnesses, is hope even under the control of the will, etc.  It is very easy to maintain a hopeful and optimistic attitude; which in turn affects a person’s health, relationships, performances and academics. However, what really makes a person’s attitude so hopeful or optimistic?

Hope is a feeing of expectation or even desire for something to happen. Yes, it is absolutely good to have a positive and optimistic approach towards life, which indeed is ‘a strength’ but is this how things should be? This highly positive approach towards life can actually turn into something that can inherently betray us and fabricate and gloss over our lives.  While we may casually shrug it off, it will eat us alive like casual negativity, projection, cynicism or even autopilot pessimism. The reality will get blinded and it can be a tough battle to fight.

To make it simple, there is a massive difference between what hope and blind optimism. While unrealistic hope refers to unreasonable expectations or even irrational expectations, blind optimism is far worse causing a person to believe that they are at a lesser risk of experiencing a negative event compared to others. Such a person is not even in a situation to help themselves. 

It is really one’s ability to move past obstacles and difficulties that requires a lot of optimism. However, people use this same amount of 

‘hope’, differently: through unrealistic hope and through blind optimism. Most often, people pursue goals, which give them a deeper sense of accomplishment to help them gain hope amidst the vicissitudes of life. 

In fact optimism is the new version of "don't worry, be happy."It has even been proven by scientists that our brains are wired for optimism Its easier for our brains to register positive lessons more than negative ones; and that's because optimism is good for our health.

What people really WANT is not blind optimism but its flexible optimism where we are able to see the pessimism’s keen sense of reality whenever we need to; and not having to dwell in its dark shadows. 

Are we born to be optimistic, rather than realistic? - Tali Sharot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=16&v=B8rmi95pYL0

Tali Sharot shares new research that suggests our brains are wired to look on the bright side -- and how that can be both dangerous and beneficial.

According to many researchers, if you do not have hope, then you are more likely to employ mastery goals which means choosing simple attainable tasks that aren’t very challenging for you and do not even help you grow. 

Even if you look back at the keynote speech of Barack Obama of the 2004 Democratic National Convention for the United States Senate from Illinois, who would later go on to become the 44th President of the United States in 2009 you will see how much he emphasised on hope and not on blind optimism. According to him Obama emphasised that hope was about believing, working and then fighting for the things that matter the most.  

Finding our way back to pragmatic optimism and even to hope is one of the most difficult journeys one can take – an inward self-journey but once we find our way back, I’m sure you wont want to waste another second there!