When I read Mark Vernon i feel an enormous sense of relief – someone else has found the words to say for me. This article especially.
Hope is a central virtue in much self-help. It’s a key strength in the science of happiness too, defined as being optimistic and having a positive attitude towards the future. It helps maintain your cheer in the here and now. But this conception of hope, though comforting, is almost entirely wrong.
I’ve always thought that the enemy of hope is optimism. It won’t all turn out OK, but knowing that means we just might survive it.
