I’m an optimist about my abilities, not the universe. I don’t expect the universe (by which I simply mean “everything that isn’t me”) to dish out the fates I want – if anything, I expect the universe to throw nothing but curve balls. But I’m very optimistic about my ability to hit them, so I remain an optimist overall.
Sometimes people, when deciding on a course of action, fall victim to the fallacy of imagining their ideal preferred result of that action. Then they’ve tricked themselves; they find themselves answering “do I want that result” instead of “should I take this action,” and those are very different questions.
Be careful about assumptions you make about the universe. You can control what you do, but rarely the universe’s response. Be prepared for curve balls.
The Opportunity Machine 