We all have hopes and dreams. Some of us just have goals that we want to achieve. However, there are people who already have plans that they are very confident about. The lines get a little blurry when it comes to these types of attitudes. Are these people just extremely optimistic or are they just extremely arrogant?
Optimism can be defined as, "hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something." This is something that often times gets praise. Why wouldn't it? Being optimistic is probably the best thing you could ever be. You don't want to be a negative Nancy! Now, what exactly is being cocky considered? The definition of cocky is, "conceited or arrogant, especially in a bold or impudent way." This is something that is definitely not praised. Their definitions at first glance seem to be completely unrelated. Yet, some people seem to get these two things confused.
You can describe an optimistic person as someone who has hope, obviously. What makes them not cocky is the fact that this is something they want to happen. They are working towards something because they want it to happen. On the other side of things, cocky people also want things to happen. The thing that differentiates cocky people from optimistic people is that they not only want something, they are already positive it's going to happen. They don't say "I want to", they say "I'm going to."
Now, you might be thinking that someone who says "I'm going to" is just a very confident person who should be praised for this amazing attitude of theirs. In some aspects, this is extremely true. When this isn't true is when someone claims they are going to do something without working towards it. By working towards it, I don't just mean doing the required things, I mean going above and beyond. We all know we need to go above and beyond these days to really achieve anything, so if someone thinks they are going to be able to do something by doing just the bare minimum, they're cocky.
A person who claims they are going to achieve something sometimes ends up coming off as cocky because quite frankly they are cocky. You cannot call yourself an optimist if you think something is going to happen when you are doing the bare minimum. You are truly just cocky. Someone needed to break the news to you, sorry. A true optimist is someone who is working towards a goal that they want to happen, they don't just assume it's going to.
