I'm a lover of words myself and if I come across a new one I always note it.
I think you might be a hoptimist, someone who anticipates disaster but stays hopeful it’ll build character. Some people let hardship reveal their weakness, while others use it to reveal their strength.
I'm a fan if Hop-derivatives, so it's easy to identify with that. Though your definition is also very solid. I'll add that word into my vocabulary :-)