Hope sounds like a good thing, but is it? Having pondered on this, I felt the need to establish exactly what hope and its purpose is, and whether it serves that purpose?
 
My dictionary defines hope as - ‘To want something to happen, usually having good reason to think that it might.’ Accepting that, the question remains ‘Is it a good thing or not?’
 
There are hundreds of ‘hope’ quotes indicating that there’s no question - it’s a good thing. I could provide you with dozens, but that would destroy my word count, so I’ll offer just two - ‘Once you choose hope, anything’s possible’. Christopher Reeve. and ‘Everything that is done in this world is done by hope.’ Martin Luther. ‘
 
That’s quite convincing, but perhaps we should revisit the dictionary definition, with special attention to a particular word – ‘usually’. Usually means ‘often but not always’, so there must be two types of ‘hope’ – one that stands alone and one that accompanies ‘a good reason for the hope.’. So, let’s consider both.
 
First, though, bear in mind that ‘expectation with evidence’ is just that – it will happen or it won’t. But hope is an emotion. Emotions are powerful and can be positive or negative. Positive ones are great for overall health, but negative ones are destructive and damaging, physically, mentally and spiritually.
 
Now let’s consider four likely scenarios –
 

1. Expectation and evidence with hope absent
2. Expectation and evidence with hope present
3. Hope without evidence
4. Hope for something highly unlikely or impossible

 
In the case of ‘A’ those who don’t use hope tend to have confidence and belief. They have an objective and a plan to achieve it. If they succeed, great. If they fail, they shrug their shoulders and move on to the next objective. They tend to learn from their mistakes and usually achieve great success in the future.
 
In the case of ‘B’, if the objective is achieved, again, great but the ‘hope’ played no part so it’s irrelevant. If the objective isn’t achieved, the expectation will fade, but being an emotion, the hope becomes a negative and may fester in the subconscious, possibly creating problems. Therefore, it would have been better had the hope not existed.
 
In the case of ‘C’, there’s consistent hope without evidence, resulting in consistent disappointment, which is very dispiriting, which in turn destroys hope. So there’s not only the problems in ‘B’, but also those created by the disappointment. Consequentially, you’re open to mental health and physical problems.
 
Scenario ‘D’ is the most problematic. If for example, you rely on a lottery ticket to solve your problems you’ll be disappointed week after week, and such reliance will likely prevent you from seeking real solutions, leading over time to a downward spiral in health and self-worth. 
 
So, in all scenarios, ‘hope’ is either unnecessary, irrelevant or potentially harmful.
 
Therefore, wise quote writers, I beg to differ.