Hopefulness (8)
I believe the answer is:
optimism
'hopefulness' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for optimism that I've seen before include "Confidence in the future" , "Glass half-full attitude" , "Looking on the bright side" , "Mind-frame that looks on the bright side" , "Confident outlook" .)