“I have hoped as many hopes and dreamed so many dreams, seen them swept aside by weather, blown away by men, washed away in my own mistakes. I used to wonder if it wouldn't be better just to haul off and quit hoping.”
About this quote
Repeated disappointments wear anyone down, and that exhaustion can make stopping feel like the sensible choice. Ask yourself what you're actually losing: is it the whole goal, or a part that needs rebuilding? Write down the mistakes you made and one tiny change you can try next time. If the same pattern keeps breaking you, change the plan; if outside forces keep taking your work, change how you protect it.
When to use it
- After three rejected grant applications in a row, a nonprofit director says to her board, "I used to wonder if it wouldn't be better just to quit hoping."
- After a marriage counseling session that seemed to backslide, a parent tells a friend, "Guthrie's line about wondering whether to stop hoping keeps running through my head."
- After a second season-ending injury, a player tells his trainer, "I've dreamed and dreamed, then watched it blow away — I used to wonder if quitting was smarter."
- After losing most of his savings in a bad investment, an entrepreneur admits to a partner, "I've hoped and failed enough that I used to think maybe I should just stop hoping."