I imagine those who know me only causally might describe me as positive or optimistic. I understand why. However, I don’t see myself that way. Both of those terms are inaccurate about me and can be harmful for us.
Working to build better tomorrows in our lives, our organizations, and our world means a clear-eyed view of the challenges we face, the belief that something better is possible, and contributing our agency toward making tomorrow better than today.
That’s not positivity or optimism. That’s hope.
By unpacking the differences between positivity, optimism, and hopeful, we can gain powerful insights into creating something better for ourselves and others.
Positivity: “Things Are Good”
Positivity has its appeal. In a world often filled with negativity—whether from the news, social media, or even the people around us—positivity can feel like a refreshing antidote. But there’s a dark side to positivity: it only recognizes the positive or the positive spin on the negative. It avoids the harsh realities, the complex challenges, or the awful circumstances we might face.
The first step toward building something better is fully engaging with the reality of what is. Ignoring, glossing over, or dismissing our difficulties is not helpful. It is toxic positivity – pretending things are good when they are not. It can be gaslighting – telling others the harm, injustice, or abuse they are facing. What is happening to them isn’t the problem; they are the problem.
“Critical thinking without hope is cynicism. Hope without critical thinking is naïveté.” -Maria Popova
Optimism: “Things Will Be Good”
Optimism, on the surface, might seem like a better alternative. It’s the belief that things will naturally get better. But, like pessimism, optimism can be fatalistic.
Pessimism says nothing we do matters because things will always be bad. Optimism, on the other hand, suggests nothing we do matters because things will eventually automatically get better anyway. Both perspectives rob us of our agency and justify disengagement—pessimism in resignation, optimism in complacency.
“Give me sober activism anytime, rather than that rose-tinted fatalism!” -Victor Frankl
Hopeful: “Good Is Possible, and I Can Make a Difference”
Hope is fundamentally different. It’s not about wishful thinking or ignoring reality. Hope recognizes the challenges we face while still believing in the possibility of something better—and, crucially, in our ability to contribute to making that possibility a reality.
As a college junior, I heard Cornel West distinguish between optimism and hope. He described hope as a spiritual leap of faith that we can join together to create a better world. He concluded with a phrase that has stayed with me ever since:
“I’m not optimistic, but I am hopeful.” -Cornell West
Shane Lopez, in his book Making Hope Happen, defines hope as the belief that tomorrow can be better than today and that we each have a role to play in making it so. I summarize it mathematically as:
Hope = Belief + Agency
Critical hope takes this further, adding a third essential element: critical analysis of reality. Critical analysis is often named explicitly as an equity lens and can be expanded to a critical analysis of reality. Critical hope acknowledges the truth of our circumstances, imagines what’s possible, and commits to the responsibility of action:
Critical Hope = Reality + Possibility + Responsibility
Cultivating Hope
Hope isn’t an emotion we passively feel or a circumstance we wait for. Hope is a practice—a discipline to cultivate in ourselves.
- When inflated by positivity or optimism, I ground myself in reality, examining the deeper truths that my experiences of privilege might obscure.
- When discouraged by pessimism or despair, I cultivate hope by imagining new possibilities and exploring where I can make a difference.
This is spiritual practice: staying connected to reality, open to possibility, and committed to taking action.
“To live with hope in times that reward cynicism is a tremendous act of courage and resistance.” -Maria Popova
How are you practicing hope?
