Allegory of hope; Oil on canvas, Francesco Guardi, 1747
Hope is the emotional state, the opposite of which is despair, which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life.[1] It is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or "feel[ing] that something desired may happen".[2] Other definitions are "to cherish a desire with anticipation"; "to desire with expectation of obtainment"; or "to expect with confidence".[3] In the English language the word can be used as either a noun or a verb, although hope as a concept has a similar meaning in either use.[4]
In psychology
One psychologist argues that hope "...comes into play when our circumstances are dire", when "things are not going well or at least there’s considerable uncertainty about how things will turn out". She states that "[h]ope literally opens us up...[and] removes the blinders of fear and despair and allows us to see the big picture [, thus allowing us to] become creative" and have "[b]elief in [a] better future".[5]
"Psychologist, C.R. Snyder and his colleagues say that hope is cultivated when we have a goal in mind, determination that a goal can be reached, and a plan on how to reach those goals".[6] Hopeful people are "like the little engine that could, [because] they keep telling themselves "I think I can, I think I can".[7]
Hope is distinct from positive thinking, which refers to a therapeutic or systematic process used in psychology for reversing pessimism. The term "false hope" refers to a hope based entirely around a fantasy or an extremely unlikely outcome.
