About this quote

Hope is the small, stubborn thread that lets people carry a heavy load. When money, health or freedom are gone, a tiny expectation of better keeps you moving. Ask yourself where you can make a small, believable plan and give that plan your attention. Take one concrete step, tell someone about it, and use that tiny aim to get through the next hard day.

When to use it

• After a layoff, at the kitchen table: 'I'm thinking of Samuel Johnson's line — hope is why I'll send out three resumes this week.'
• In the hospital waiting room, a son to his sister: 'Hold on to that idea about hope being necessary; it helps me sit here through the night.'
• At a local shelter, a caseworker says to a tenant: 'We can't fix everything today, but keep a small goal in mind — remember Johnson on hope.'
• After a season-ending injury, a coach to a player: 'Don't quit rehab; a little hope will make the hard work bearable.'