You can reject false hope so aggressively that genuine possibility begins looking suspicious.

Having been burned by wishful thinking, it is natural to develop an allergy to hope. But the defense does not discriminate: it flags the real opportunity as readily as the fantasy, since both arrive as something good that might happen. You end up protected from disappointment and unable to recognize a genuine opening when it appears.

When something promising shows up and your first move is to dismiss it, slow down and examine it as you would an ordinary claim. What is the actual evidence. Applying the same standard in both directions is the whole difference between judgment and a reflex.