Cautiously Optimistic?

I recently heard someone say they were “cautiously optimistic” about a project they were working on. The phrase reverberated inside my skull followed by a big fat question mark. How can someone be cautiously optimistic? Caution defeats the purpose of optimism. To me, cautiously optimistic is oxymoronic. You’re either optimistic or you’re not. Cautious optimism reeks of a halfhearted attempt and those never get you very far. Halfhearted attempts only generate halfhearted results at best. I do understand that people fear failure and disappointment. I do too. But I don’t let that fear rob me of hope. When I do something, I hope with every fiber of my being that it will be a success. If it doesn’t work out, sure, the disappointment stings worse than Tabasco that has accidentally squirted up my nose (it happens). However, I’ve quite recently learned that trying and failing is better than never having tried at all. Even the most successful people fail sometimes, just look at Richard Branson. When disappointment burns you, it’s okay to nurse your wounds for a while but then you have to try again. If you don’t try to get what you want in the most optimistic way, you won’t get it. And we all want something, don't we?Keep Trying!