Dave Sim said in his latest thing of his, 'when you're on the right track, you'll know it, but until you get there, you have to believe you're on the right track'. Interesting little conundrum. It's not easy.
“When I hear somebody say 'Life is hard', I am always tempted to ask 'Compared to what?'”
“And as far as false hope, there is no such thing. There is only hope or the absence of hope-nothing else.”