--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I just don't have a lick of optimism left…" description: "\"I just don't have a lick of optimism left in me.\" — Ayelet Waldman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/ayelet-waldman-3229_hope_i-just-don-t-have-a-lick-of-optimism-lef_1759798.png" --- # I just don't have a lick of optimism left in me. ![“I just don't have a lick of optimism left in me.” quote by Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/ayelet-waldman-3229_hope_i-just-don-t-have-a-lick-of-optimism-lef_1759798.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/ayelet-waldman-3229_hope_i-just-don-t-have-a-lick-of-optimism-lef_1759798.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/ayelet-waldman-3229_hope_i-just-don-t-have-a-lick-of-optimism-lef_1759798.png) > “I just don't have a lick of optimism left in me.” [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She expresses a total loss of optimism, indicating deep despair. **In simple terms:** She feels no hope left. Key Takeaway Seek small sources of hope. Themes despair mental health hope Mood somber introspective Type personal emotional When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative writing - support groups - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What could spark a glimmer of optimism? - How does hopelessness affect daily decisions? A Different Perspective Optimism may be restored through community support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Optimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimism/) [Optimist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/) ## Related quotes > [I am to positive to be doubtful too optimistic too be fearful and too determined too be defeated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-to-positive-to-be-doubtful-too-optimistic-too-be-fearful-and-too/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/i-m-a-pessimist-because-of-intelligence-but-an-optimist-because-of/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [I'm to positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful and to determinate to be defeated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-to-positive-to-be-doubtful-too-optimistic-to-be-fearful-and-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An optimist is the person who has never had any experience at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/an-optimist-is-the-person-who-has-never-had-any-experience-at-all/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Creeds matter very little... The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/creeds-matter-very-little-the-optimist-proclaims-that-we-live-in-the/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) > [Pessimists fear becoming the dupes of Hope. Optimists enjoy Hope's company, and consider being duped no great matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/pessimists-fear-becoming-the-dupes-of-hope-optimists-enjoy-hope-s/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vision involves optimism and hope. The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. The pessimist tends to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/vision-involves-optimism-and-hope-the-pessimist-sees-difficulty-in/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [But black folks have never really been optimists. We've been prisoners of hope, and hope is qualitatively different from optimism in the way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/but-black-folks-have-never-really-been-optimists-we-ve-been-prisoners/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [An optimist is a fellow who believes a housefly is looking for a way to get out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/an-optimist-is-a-fellow-who-believes-a-housefly-is-looking-for-a-way/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [In this world, the optimists have it, not because they are always right, but because they are positive. Even when they are wrong they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-landes/in-this-world-the-optimists-have-it-not-because-they-are-always-right/) [David Landes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-landes/) > [I am by nature a worried optimist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/i-am-by-nature-a-worried-optimist/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [An Optimist Is A Person Who Starts A Crossword Puzzle With A Fountain Pen...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/an-optimist-is-a-person-who-starts-a-crossword-puzzle-with-a-fountain/) Pacifiersucker > [An optimist is a man who plants two acorns and buys a hammock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-lattre-de-tassigny/an-optimist-is-a-man-who-plants-two-acorns-and-buys-a-hammock/) Jean de Lattre de Tassigny > [“The optimist and the pessimist both die in the end, but each lives is life in a completely different way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-optimist-and-the-pessimist-both-die-in-the-end-but-each-lives-is/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [An optimist in Canada is someone who think things could be worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preston-manning/an-optimist-in-canada-is-someone-who-think-things-could-be-worse/) [Preston Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preston-manning/) ## More by Ayelet Waldman > [What I do with my kids is - and I think they probably do ignore us - is No Alcohol. If they're drunk they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/what-i-do-with-my-kids-is-and-i-think-they-probably-do-ignore-us-is/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [You know, I feel like my job is to write a book. Then filmmakers come and they make a movie. And they're two really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/you-know-i-feel-like-my-job-is-to-write-a-book-then-filmmakers-come/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [I went from resenting my mother-in-law to accepting her, finally to appreciating her. What appeared to be her diffidence when I was first married,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-went-from-resenting-my-mother-in-law-to-accepting-her-finally-to/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [Courage is impulsive; it is narcissism tempered with nihilism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/courage-is-impulsive-it-is-narcissism-tempered-with-nihilism/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [Most writers spend their lives standing a little apart from the crowd, watching and listening and hoping to catch that tiny hint of despair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/most-writers-spend-their-lives-standing-a-little-apart-from-the-crowd/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [The thing about youthful offenders is that no one seems to care about them. Most people don't like adolescents - even the good ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/the-thing-about-youthful-offenders-is-that-no-one-seems-to-care-about/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [I was born in Israel, to Canadian parents. My father immigrated in 1948, part of a wave of young men and women who came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-was-born-in-israel-to-canadian-parents-my-father-immigrated-in-1948/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [Lots of medications work for a month, or a year, and then stop working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/lots-of-medications-work-for-a-month-or-a-year-and-then-stop-working/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [If you focus all of your emotional passion on your children and you neglect the relationship that brought that family into existence... eventually, things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/if-you-focus-all-of-your-emotional-passion-on-your-children-and-you/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [I think I wish I had never spanked my children, but I have. And they remember every instance like they tattooed it on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-think-i-wish-i-had-never-spanked-my-children-but-i-have-and-they/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [With prodigious bravery and eviscerating humor, Roxane Gay takes on culture and politics in Bad Feminist-and gets it right, time and time again. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/with-prodigious-bravery-and-eviscerating-humor-roxane-gay-takes-on/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [Because of my bipolar disorder, I tend to these mixed states, which are depressed but loud and agitated. So I can be terribly irritable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/because-of-my-bipolar-disorder-i-tend-to-these-mixed-states-which-are/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [It's hard to separate your remembered childhood and its emotional legacy from the childhoods that are being lived out in your house, by your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/it-s-hard-to-separate-your-remembered-childhood-and-its-emotional/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [“Even if I’m setting myself up for failure, I think it’s worth trying to be a mother who delights in who her children are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/even-if-i-m-setting-myself-up-for-failure-i-think-it-s-worth-trying/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [I hate homework. I hate it more now than I did when I was the one lugging textbooks and binders back and forth from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-hate-homework-i-hate-it-more-now-than-i-did-when-i-was-the-one/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) [Explore all 136 Ayelet Waldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) ## More Hope quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) Simone Abou Samra > [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/) Im Nothing > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I just don't have a lick of optimism left in me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ayelet Waldman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-just-don-t-have-a-lick-of-optimism-left-in-me/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hope" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-just-don-t-have-a-lick-of-optimism-left-in-me/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/ayelet-waldman-3229_hope_i-just-don-t-have-a-lick-of-optimism-lef_1759798.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/ayelet-waldman-3229_hope_i-just-don-t-have-a-lick-of-optimism-lef_1759798.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/ayelet-waldman-3229_hope_i-just-don-t-have-a-lick-of-optimism-lef_1759798.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I just don't have a lick of optimism left in me.” — Ayelet Waldman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ayelet Waldman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I just don't have a lick...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-just-don-t-have-a-lick-of-optimism-left-in-me/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-just-don-t-have-a-lick-of-optimism-left-in-me/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```