Hope as the Warrior Emotion: Part 1

Have you ever been accused of “being too hopeful” —as if being hopeful is naive or foolish?

In our cynical world, hope is often dismissed as passive wishful thinking or blind optimism. We've been taught that "hope is not a strategy" and that "realistic" people prepare for the worst while hoping for the best (with emphasis on the preparing, not the hoping).

But what if we've fundamentally misunderstood hope?

Musician Nick Cave offers a perspective that stopped me in my tracks:

Unlike cynicism, hopefulness is hard-earned, makes demands upon us, and can often feel like the most indefensible and lonely place on Earth. Hopefulness is not a neutral position. It is adversarial. It is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism.

This framing transforms everything. Hope isn't gentle surrender—it's fierce resistance.

True hope doesn't ignore problems or challenges. Instead, it acknowledges them fully while refusing to grant them permanence or ultimate authority. It's the deliberate choice to see beyond current circumstances without denying their reality.

Look around your workplace – cynicism has become the default position in many organizations. And often with good reason: broken promises, failed initiatives, superficial positivity that ignores real problems.

Yet amid legitimate disappointments, warrior hope stands in stark contrast from toxic positivity. It doesn't deny what's broken; it simply refuses to believe that brokenness gets the final word. It's the courage to say "nevertheless" when all evidence points to impossibility.

During your darkest moments—whether personal crisis, organizational challenge, or societal turmoil—hope becomes an act of defiance. It's your refusal to let cynicism have the final word.

This warrior perspective helps explain why gratitude and hope work so powerfully together. Gratitude isn't just warm appreciation; it's evidence-gathering that builds your case against despair. Each moment of gratitude becomes ammunition in hope's arsenal.

Personal Invitation + Application

What happens when you reframe hope this way in your own life?

Where might you need to adopt this warrior stance rather than surrendering to the "realistic" voice of cynicism?

Maybe next week, I'll upack specific practices for developing this adversarial hope and the surprising science behind why it works.

Until then, I'd love to hear: Where have you witnessed or practiced this warrior form of hope?

Here's me riffing on Hope as the Warrior Emotion on a Hope Daily Pulse. I'm creating new shorts every day for 21 days. Please watch for these here on LinkedIn.

Here's where you can watch Nick Cave unpack "The Warrior Emotion" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

I'M GRATEFUL FOR YOU... and for HOPE!