What is the difference between optimism and hope?

<p>This topic was suggested to me by a Quick Hits regular and I thought, “Are they different?” The thesaurus says they are synonyms. Hmmm – might not make for a very interesting conversation.</p> <p> </p> <p>But I’m game for just about anything so… We gave it a try. Turns out, it was a really good, mind twisty conversation.</p> <p> </p> <p>Rabbi Yonason Goldson compared optimism and hope to John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Paul McCartney’s “Let It Be,” arguing that one was more grounded in reality than the other.</p> <p> </p> <p>Tim Hawkes, the managing director of Unlimited Potential, offered an engineering metaphor. “I think optimism is a belief without evidence. It’s a non-vectored point, whereas hope is vectored. It has a journey. ‘I hope I will be this.’”</p> <p> </p> <p>Gary Fredericks, CEO of On Point Partners, said that optimism always stays with you. “In my business life, people ask me all the time: What are your goals? My goals are always 100%. And that’s optimism. I don’t think I’m ever going to get there, but I’m not going to quit until I get to 100%”</p> <p> </p> <p>Are hope and optimism different things to you?</p> <p>Connect with the panelists:</p> <p>Tim Hawkes: <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhawkes/'>https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhawkes/</a></p> <p>Rabbi Yonason Goldson: <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonason-goldson/'>https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonason-goldson/</a></p> <p>Gary Fredericks: <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyfredericks/'>https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyfredericks/</a></p> <p> </p> <p>Dr Robyn Odegaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynodegaard/</p> <p>Want a summary of the Quick Hits I post every week, plus the links to the LinkedIn pages of each of the panelist to show up in your in-box every week? Just let me know where to send it: https://drrobynodegaard.com/quick-hits-notifications/</p> <p> </p> <p>#QuickHits are designed to exercise your brain by letting you listen in on an unscripted conversation to get other people's thoughts on pertinent subjects. If you