Is it good that hope springs eternal?

27 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss's first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

Jack London received six hundred rejection slips before he sold his first story.

English crime novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books.

William Saroyan accumulated more than a thousand rejections before he had his first literary piece published. Way to not take a hint, Bill!
SOURCE

I'm sure the examples mentioned at the link above will be enough for many people to claim the answer to the question at hand is obviously yes. I would tend to agree.

With that said, the world is full of gamblers who went broke because hope springs eternal. I would suggest that people are ignoring many environmental problems out of misplaced hope. By that I mean the hope that "God" will take care of it in one way or another.

I believe people's hope concerning prayer is a good example of hope springing eternal being a negative thing. I know that when I was a Christian, prayer did nothing for me except ease my mind.

a reply to: Profusion

When you pray with hope all you get is more hope and that is hopeless. That is the way prayer works, if you pray like a poor person you will we rewarded more of the same. One needs to be be what they would like to be, that the way it works.

a reply to: Profusion

If prayer eases your mind, you should probably keep praying. Life is difficult. If something works for you, you don't have to stop just because you don't believe in God anymore. Heck, I am a Discordian... I'll say a prayer for you. And yes, hope does spring eternal. Often, it is all that we have.

I find comfort in praying, and it has helped with health related problems. I've for less so you material issues, I don't think God is worrying about the dollar. Praying is an affirmation of sorts, law of attraction?

Prayers a funny thing, most don't understand it
Jesus taught us to pray for what God wants done, not what we want done

Hence the "Thy will be done" comment in the Lords Prayer

originally posted by: Profusion
Is it good that hope springs eternal?

Seems to me that 'Hope' is like saying "and My Will B Done! Amen!"
We see what is Here! Now! and judge it as... 'insufficient/wrong/bad...' and we *vainly) have a 'better idea' that we would like to see enacted!
Immediately!
And we have our ... 'suggestion', which, if manifested, will make things 'better'.
All vanity...

The 'opposite' of Hope?
Gratitude!
One from thoughts/ego, the conditional, the other a Virtue of unconditional Love! *__-

Not judging Hope, as it seems to relieve some pain among it's practitioners, but it is a Pyrrhic victory, at best.

What are all the comments on prayer and what he provides?
If you wake up and can draw breath God has provided you with what you require to put effort into seeing your hope's come to fruitition...

Although I believe God works in mysterious ways I believe he mostly works through others... This I feel is a major contributing factor in the condition of the World today... For the world is full of not only people who are faithless but individuals unwilling to help themselves and even worse do nothing to help other's...
The old saying says it best when it comes to help from God... For God helps those who help themselves... One of the best ways you can help yourself is doing his will... Should you truly be able to say you are doing so would reap rewards without expectation... I kid you not... and these things you hope for or expect may not be what is recieved but are exactly what you need...
Hope is nothing but a desire for improvement or a desired result... Dont confuse dreaming with hope for hope will require an effort...
When you pray instead of asking or worse demanding of God try thanking him for the hope he provides you with the gifts you have been given... Like another day to strive toward achieving your hope's...
There is still hope for you...

Hope is seeking for what isn't - it denies what is.
Who can face what is?

And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. Exodus 33:20

Instead of seeking in time for comfort recognise that rest/peace/okness can only happen now. Time is now to some non existent point - the distance/space between now and the other point is the room for fear to live in.
Peace/rest/okness does not happen - it is ever present often veiled by time which is fear.
Hope is time and fear.
Where is time?

I would posit that there are two kinds of hope... Fools Hope, which is equitable to a delusion: the gambler holding out that 'the next one will be the jackpot'; and , for lack of a better word, 'Active' Hope which is when one has the desire for a certain outcome and takes meaningful steps to advance this outcome like the writers you mention. Hope is toed to Luck, who is fickle, and the Fool is the one who places hope in her. Then there's those who make their own luck, who use their hope not as he end itself but as the means to advance their ends.