Though we only have one word for them, there are two very different meanings of “optimism.” Cognitive optimism is a distortion of the truth. The willingness to believe a desired outcome or belief is more likely than the evidence suggests. But emotional optimism has nothing to do with specific truths or outcomes in our lives. It is the highly adaptive attitude that all will be well regardless of the outcome. We must all aim to be cognitive realists and emotional optimists.
