In Reply to: I Don't Consider Hope to be a ''Bad Habit'' posted by UCLA78 on March 19, 2026 at 11:24:23
Years ago, as my dad was dying due to his metastasized melanoma, right before the end, it looked like he was feeling better. My good friend (a surgeon) at the time was telling me that he was too far gone to really turn it around. Me, despite all the years I put into medical school, fully understanding the implications of metastasized melanoma and agreeing with my friend's assessment intellectually, found myself beginning to believe despite my best judgment that maybe he was turning a corner. I suppressed all my rational evaluation of where he was and I allowed myself to start thinking maybe things were going to be alright.
That's what hope is. There are times where it makes sense, say when the outcome is not clear and turning things around does not involve a miracle. Otherwise ... it's a trick that our minds play on us so that we can go on.
I think the all that motivation, commitment, etc needs to come not from some vague belief that things can get better, but from the knowledge that life goes on after the ship finally sinks or that door is permanently shut, and that we will have to build a new life after that.