--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have hopes and make plans, and if they…" description: "\"We have hopes and make plans, and if they are dashed or waylaid, we naturally rationalize and redraw the map to locate ourselves anew. Or else we brood..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/chang-rae-lee-3318_familiar_we-have-hopes-and-make-plans-and-if-they_98599.png" --- # We have hopes and make plans, and if they are dashed or… ![“We have hopes and make plans, and if they are dashed or waylaid, we naturally rationalize and redraw the map to locate ourselves anew. Or else we brood and too firmly root. Very few can step forward again and again in what amounts to veritable leaps into the void, where there are no ready holds…” quote by Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/chang-rae-lee-3318_familiar_we-have-hopes-and-make-plans-and-if-they_98599.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/chang-rae-lee-3318_familiar_we-have-hopes-and-make-plans-and-if-they_98599.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db7/chang-rae-lee-3318_familiar_we-have-hopes-and-make-plans-and-if-they_98599.png) > “We have hopes and make plans, and if they are dashed or waylaid, we naturally rationalize and redraw the map to locate ourselves anew. Or else we brood and too firmly root. Very few can step forward again and again in what amounts to veritable leaps into the void, where there are no ready holds, where little is familiar, where you get constantly stuck in the thickets of your uncertainties and fears.” [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When plans fail, we either rationalize and adapt or become stuck in fear; only a few repeatedly venture into uncertainty, confronting the unknown despite lacking clear footholds. **In simple terms:** Adapt or stagnate when hopes crumble. Key Takeaway Courage to face the unknown. Themes resilience uncertainty growth Mood reflective determined Type motivational When to use this quote - career pivots - creative projects - personal loss recovery Key Concepts psychological flexibility Practical Applications - practice incremental risk‑taking to build confidence Questions to Reflect On - What habits help transform fear into curiosity? - When is it better to pause than to leap? A Different Perspective Constantly leaping can lead to burnout; sometimes strategic pause is wiser. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Familiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar/) [Having hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-hope/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Leap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leap/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Locate Anew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locate-anew-1203091/) [Make Plans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-plans/) [Maps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maps/) [Naturally Rationalize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturally-rationalize-1203092/) [Plans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plans/) [Plans Dashed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plans-dashed-1203093/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Step forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/step-forward/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Steps forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps-forward/) [Stuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuck/) [Uncertainties Fears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertainties-fears-1203090/) [Uncertainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertainty/) [Void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/void/) ## Related quotes > [I've never been one to make plans, because I never wanted to disappoint myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-romijn/i-ve-never-been-one-to-make-plans-because-i-never-wanted-to/) [Rebecca Romijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-romijn/) > [What you can plan is too small for you to live. What you can live wholeheartedly will make plans enough for the vitality hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/what-you-can-plan-is-too-small-for-you-to-live-what-you-can-live/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [You need to make plans for your future, so plan your own future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/you-need-to-make-plans-for-your-future-so-plan-your-own-future/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [“Do you ever feel like there are plans for you? Not ones you make, but plans for good that will come about if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-reay/do-you-ever-feel-like-there-are-plans-for-you-not-ones-you-make-but/) [Katherine Reay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-reay/) > [That awkward moment when your friends make plans right in front of you and the plans don't include you...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-awkward-moment-when-your-friends-make-plans-right-in-front-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I hate it when I make plans, get all excited, then my mom says, 'No.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-it-when-i-make-plans-get-all-excited-then-my-mom-says-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can make all the plans you want, but if you don't act on them its pointless...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-make-all-the-plans-you-want-but-if-you-don-t-act-on-them-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We can make our own plans and judge them by our narrow expectations, or we can experience life as the boundless reality of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-sprink/we-can-make-our-own-plans-and-judge-them-by-our-narrow-expectations/) [Holly Sprink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-sprink/) > [We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/we-can-make-our-plans-but-the-lord-determines-our-steps/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [In America you make your plans and then they happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-freudenberger/in-america-you-make-your-plans-and-then-they-happen/) [Nell Freudenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-freudenberger/) > [“Make plans for your new goals. And press towards achieving the goals with all your strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/make-plans-for-your-new-goals-and-press-towards-achieving-the-goals/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Reeve loved that Janie would make the plans. She’d make a list, he’d follow it, that would be that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-b-cooney/reeve-loved-that-janie-would-make-the-plans-she-d-make-a-list-he-d/) [Caroline B. Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-b-cooney/) > [“If you want God to laugh, make plans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/if-you-want-god-to-laugh-make-plans/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [“APPROACH THIS DAY WITH AWARENESS OF WHO IS BOSS. As you make plans for the day, remember that it is I who orchestrate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-young/approach-this-day-with-awareness-of-who-is-boss-as-you-make-plans-for/) [Sarah Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-young/) > [Japan is the perfect example of make plans, and watch God laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/japan-is-the-perfect-example-of-make-plans-and-watch-god-laugh/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) ## More by Chang-Rae Lee > [The truth, finally, is who can tell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/the-truth-finally-is-who-can-tell-it/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [I think my parents recognised that I'd always wanted to be a writer, and so they didn't think that this was some idle, faddish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-think-my-parents-recognised-that-i-d-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Some writers are writing one great, big book and just taking all these different avenues towards it. They might seem on the outside to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/some-writers-are-writing-one-great-big-book-and-just-taking-all-these/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [I try to be aware of what I'm concerned about, aware of how I feel about myself in the world, aware of how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-try-to-be-aware-of-what-i-m-concerned-about-aware-of-how-i-feel/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [“Behold a fire from the opposite shore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/behold-a-fire-from-the-opposite-shore/) [Chang-rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [“I would give most anything to hear my father's talk again, the crash and bang and stop of his language, always hurtling by. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-would-give-most-anything-to-hear-my-father-s-talk-again-the-crash/) [Chang-rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [I remember when I was in art classes, I hated following the assignments. And I would get in trouble for doing something totally different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-remember-when-i-was-in-art-classes-i-hated-following-the/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [The past, as you suggest, is absolutely present at all times and the present is born from the past. I wouldn't want to suggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/the-past-as-you-suggest-is-absolutely-present-at-all-times-and-the/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Most people don't think about race as much as I do. They don't have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/most-people-don-t-think-about-race-as-much-as-i-do-they-don-t-have-to/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Not to any really influential effect, but certainly there have been comments that have surprised me. It's surprising sometimes to get particular perspectives on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/not-to-any-really-influential-effect-but-certainly-there-have-been/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [My family immigrated when I was 3, and our predecessors inhabited the Korean Peninsula for as long as can be recalled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/my-family-immigrated-when-i-was-3-and-our-predecessors-inhabited-the/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [After college, I was living in New York and wrote furiously, a huge novel that I knew was a failure. I hoped that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/after-college-i-was-living-in-new-york-and-wrote-furiously-a-huge/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Usually, when you're talking about work with other writers it's because something seriously bad is going on with your work and you've absolutely thrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/usually-when-you-re-talking-about-work-with-other-writers-it-s/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [ I had a visceral connection to the period \[of Korean War\]. By visceral I suppose I mean emotional. But every fiction requires so much… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-had-a-visceral-connection-to-the-period-of-korean-war-by-visceral-i/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [They're not parallel at all. They're my concerns, but how they're expressed particularly on the page is completely divorced from who I am in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/they-re-not-parallel-at-all-they-re-my-concerns-but-how-they-re/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) [Explore all 133 Chang-Rae Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) ## More Familiar quotes > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Photography's potential as a great image-maker and communicator is really no different from the same potential in the best poetry where familiar, everyday words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-caponigro/photography-s-potential-as-a-great-image-maker-and-communicator-is/) [Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-caponigro/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [This kind of horror has become all too familiar to us. As parents, Cindy and I offer our prayers to the memory of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/this-kind-of-horror-has-become-all-too-familiar-to-us-as-parents/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [Any creative process is about being in a territory which isn't secure, isn't necessarily familiar, and isn't convenient in any sort of way. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-bier/any-creative-process-is-about-being-in-a-territory-which-isn-t-secure/) [Susanne Bier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-bier/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I don't look to play people that are familiar. I look to play people that are different, challenge, unknown, foreign, and therefore scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jessica-parker/i-don-t-look-to-play-people-that-are-familiar-i-look-to-play-people/) [Sarah Jessica Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jessica-parker/) > [My pet peeve is hearing a knock on the bathroom door followed by the familiar words, 'What are you doing in there?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-scalf-linamen/my-pet-peeve-is-hearing-a-knock-on-the-bathroom-door-followed-by-the/) [Karen Scalf Linamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-scalf-linamen/) > [The barman sidled toward them out of a back room. 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I mean, all my early acting was musical theater, and my first ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-claflin/when-i-was-in-high-school-i-was-a-bad-singer-i-mean-all-my-early/) [Sam Claflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-claflin/) > [Fella’s a genius. Best ever by a distance in my life time. Never really saw Pele… Souness, Gullit, Venables and now Rooney agree Messi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-lineker/fella-s-a-genius-best-ever-by-a-distance-in-my-life-time-never-really/) [Gary Lineker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-lineker/) > [Sometimes all it takes is a tiny shift of perspective to see something familiar in a totally new light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/sometimes-all-it-takes-is-a-tiny-shift-of-perspective-to-see/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) [Browse all 1,916 Familiar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have hopes and make plans, and if they are dashed or waylaid, we naturally rationalize and redraw the map to locate ourselves anew. Or else we brood and too firmly root. 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