What's another word for "dreaming optimistic outcomes"?

Pipe-dreaming [in] the world would result in nothing but disappointment.

pipe-dream (v.)

Intransitive. To fantasize; to make unrealistic plans; to hope for the impossible.

When I asked him what the possibility was that he would switch, as the Hart forces hope, he replied as follows: ‘They are pipe-dreaming.’

C. Porter—I'm Only wasting my time Pipe dreaming of you. OED

pipe dream (n.)

An illusory or fantastic plan, hope, or story m-w

A pipe dream is a hope or plan that you know will never really happen. Collins

She's just pipe dreaming, Hettie. And folks like you and Rocky shouldn't be talking all over town about how this is going to happen. People miss The Kismet's lights, but the theater is dead. Hope Ramsay; Last Chance Book Club (2013)

While Mine-Mill appealed to workers' appreciation of masculine toughness, USWA supporters countered with large ads urging workers to reject the irresponsible actions of the joint committee, who "after four months on strike are still pipe dreaming in Utopia." Laurie Mercier; Anaconda: Labor, Community, and Culture in Montana's Smelter City

Elaborate inspection and certification mechanisms were made acceptable on the promise of higher prices in more stable markets, but this hope was dashed by price-sensitive buyers, and higher prices became a pipe dream. Eberhard Bruenig; Conservation and Management of Tropical Rainforests