High fit

Brightness controls whether you see the hopeful side or the dark side of a situation. Tim and Carrie League deliberately chose a hopeful frame — if we fail, we go back to engineering and research, no big deal — rather than dwelling on what could go wrong. This wasn't naivety; they fully acknowledged failure was likely. But the overall light they shone on the situation was warm enough to keep them moving. That choice of frame determined how they experienced the whole Bakersfield chapter.