I find that pessimists miss a critical factor a lot of times.
Optimists miss critical factors all the time also. Which leads to all sorts of problems with expectations.
I think the real answer is to be optimistic about people, but realistic about projects.
You are right about hard vs. bad, but it's also worth noting you have to be careful about pushing your own ideas of team support. When you are asking more of people (stay late) it's worth thinking about what you can give them that they want, not what you envision. And if it gets really HARD, think about how hard you can advocate for getting them something material after (promotion for performance reasons, extra time off, a situational bonus, whatever)
I think the real answer is to be optimistic about people, but realistic about projects.
You are right about hard vs. bad, but it's also worth noting you have to be careful about pushing your own ideas of team support. When you are asking more of people (stay late) it's worth thinking about what you can give them that they want, not what you envision. And if it gets really HARD, think about how hard you can advocate for getting them something material after (promotion for performance reasons, extra time off, a situational bonus, whatever)