Hope is the state which promotes the desire of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one's life or in the world at large.^[1] Despair is often regarded^{[by whom?]} as the opposite of hope.^[2] Hope is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to something with desire and reasonable confidence" or "feel[ing] that something desired may happen".^[3] Other definitions include: "to cherish a desire with anticipation"; "to desire with expectation of obtainment"; or "to expect with confidence".^[4] In the English language the word can occur either as a noun or as a verb, although 

hope as a concept has a similar meaning in either use.^[5]

In leadership[edit]

Napoleon Bonaparte said: "A leader is a dealer in hope".^{[citation needed]}

Robert Mattox, social activist and futurist, proposes a social-change theory based on the hope phenomenon.^[6] There is significant research on the ability of leadership to effect change,^{[citation needed]} but little research exists that examines the conditions of leadership necessary to initiate and successfully lead change.

Many^[quantify] leadership theories presuppose that an individual who does the right things will be an effective leader.^{[citation needed]} Dr. Larry Stout postulates that certain conditions must exist before even the most talented leaders can lead change. Dr. Stout highlights four conditions necessary to lead change:

1. people (who)
2. place (where)
3. position (what)
4. period (when)

If a leader has a green light in all four conditions, they will be able to lead change.^[7]

Considering these leadership conditions among other macro social change-drivers, Robert Mattox proposes a change management theory. Dealers in Hope explores four leadership profiles: Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, Mike Morhaime, and the historical^{[citation needed]} figure Moses - each of who succeeded or failed to lead change based on whether or not they were a dealer in hope. Robert Mattox prescribes how a leader can lead change and shape culture within their community or organization by creating a hopescape and harnessing the hope system - illustrated using a “hope diamond” metaphor (from coal to diamond process).

In psychology[edit]

Dr. Barbara L. Fredrickson, Principal Investigator of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab and Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,^[8] argues that hope "...comes into play when our circumstances are dire", when "things are not going well or at least there’s considerable uncertainty about how things will turn out". She states that "hope literally opens us up...[and] removes the blinders of fear and despair and allows us to see the big picture [, thus allowing us to] become creative" and have "belief in [a] better future".^[9]

"Psychologist, C.R. Snyder and his colleagues say that hope is cultivated when we have a goal in mind, determination that a goal can be reached, and a plan on how to reach those goals".^[10] Hopeful people are "like the little engine that could, [because] they keep telling themselves "I think I can, I think I can".^[11]

Hope is distinct from positive thinking, which refers to a therapeutic or systematic process used in psychology for reversing pessimism. The term "false hope" refers to a hope based entirely around a fantasy or an extremely unlikely outcome.