Hope is an emotional belief in the possibility of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances within one's personal life. Hope implies a certain amount of perseverance — i.e., believing that something is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary. Beyond the basic definition, usage of the term hope follows some basic patterns which distinguish its usage from related terms:

• Hope is subordinate to faith, in that while hope is emotional, faith carries a divinely-inspired and informed form of positive belief. Hope is typically contrasted with despair, and because despair connotes an ignorance of religious faith, hope likewise carries a connotation being aware of spiritual truth. (In some religions, despair itself is considered to be a sin - See also Hope (virtue)).
• Hope is more emotional and less intellectual than optimism, which refers to an a positive attitude, as based on rationality. But hope and optimism both can be based in unrealistic belief, or fantasy.
• 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.

Examples of hopes include hoping to get rich, hoping for someone to be cured of a disease, hoping to be done with a term paper, or hoping that a person has reciprocal feelings of love. An example of false hope would be hoping for the ability to fly.

Hope was personified in Greek mythology as Elpis. When Pandora opened Pandora's Box, she let out all the evils except one: Hope. Apparently the Greeks considered Hope to be as dangerous as all the world's evils. But without hope to accompany all their troubles, humanity was filled with despair. It was a great relief when Pandora revisited her box and let out hope as well.

Bibliography

• Hein, David. "Regrets Only: A Theology of Remorse." The Anglican 33, no. 4 (October 2004): 5-6.

Emotion

Hoffnung | Espero | 希望 | תקווה | Nadzieja (socjologia) | Надежда | Toivo