Optimism Is Great for Morale, Terrible for Planning

Optimism keeps you going when things are hard — but it's a terrible forecaster. Optimism bias leads us to underestimate costs, timelines, and the likelihood of things going wrong. Nearly every major project overruns its budget and deadline, and it's not because planners are incompetent — it's because human brains default to best-case thinking. Be optimistic about your goals, but plan for the realistic scenario, not the hopeful one.