--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While there is a chance of the world…" description: "\"While there is a chance of the world getting through its troubles, I hold that a reasonable man has to behave as though he were sure of it. If at the e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/746/h-g-wells-1122_behave_while-there-is-a-chance-of-the-world-get_444436.jpg" --- # While there is a chance of the world getting through its… ![“While there is a chance of the world getting through its troubles, I hold that a reasonable man has to behave as though he were sure of it. If at the end your cheerfulness in not justified, at any rate you will have been cheerful.” quote by H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/746/h-g-wells-1122_behave_while-there-is-a-chance-of-the-world-get_444436.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/746/h-g-wells-1122_behave_while-there-is-a-chance-of-the-world-get_444436.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/746/h-g-wells-1122_behave_while-there-is-a-chance-of-the-world-get_444436.jpg) > “While there is a chance of the world getting through its troubles, I hold that a reasonable man has to behave as though he were sure of it. If at the end your cheerfulness in not justified, at any rate you will have been cheerful.” [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Optimism is a choice; act as if success is certain, even if doubts remain. **In simple terms:** Choose optimism. Key Takeaway Be cheerfully hopeful. Themes optimism resilience mindset Mood hopeful determined Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - personal setbacks - team leadership - public speaking Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - When is optimism reckless? - How does hope affect outcomes? A Different Perspective Optimism may ignore real risks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behave/) [Behave Sure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behave-sure-3891235/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Cheerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerful/) [Cheerfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerfulness/) [Cheerfulness Justified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerfulness-justified-3891233/) [End Cheerfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-cheerfulness-3891234/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Justified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justified/) [Rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rate/) [Reasonable man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasonable-man/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Never trust a man whom you know to have acted like a scoundrel to others, whatever friendliness he may profess to feel towards yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-day/never-trust-a-man-whom-you-know-to-have-acted-like-a-scoundrel-to/) [Charlie Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-day/) > [Armament should be an illegality everywhere, and some sort of international force should patrol a treaty-bound world. Partial armament is one of those absurdities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/armament-should-be-an-illegality-everywhere-and-some-sort-of/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [Even if we can't be happy, we must always be cheerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-kristol/even-if-we-can-t-be-happy-we-must-always-be-cheerful/) [Irving Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-kristol/) > [In doing one's work primarily for God, the fear of undue restriction is put, sooner or later, out of the question. He pays me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-king/in-doing-one-s-work-primarily-for-god-the-fear-of-undue-restriction/) [Basil King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-king/) > [The sovereign voluntary path to cheerfulness, if our spontaneous cheerfulness be lost, is to sit up cheerfully, to look round cheerfully, and to act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-sovereign-voluntary-path-to-cheerfulness-if-our-spontaneous/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [A cheerful, intelligent face is the end of culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-cheerful-intelligent-face-is-the-end-of-culture/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is one thing that is really cheerful in the world, it is cheerfulness. I have noticed it often. And I have noticed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-there-is-one-thing-that-is-really-cheerful-in-the-world-it-is/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Words can mean different things to different people. It is important to understand what people mean when they use a certain word. Let's make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/words-can-mean-different-things-to-different-people-it-is-important/) [Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/) > [I can't be happy every day but I can be cheerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-sills/i-can-t-be-happy-every-day-but-i-can-be-cheerful/) [Beverly Sills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-sills/) > [“To stay cheerful when involved in a gloomy and exceedingly responsible business is no inconsiderable art: yet what could be more necessary than cheerfulness?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederich-nietzsche/to-stay-cheerful-when-involved-in-a-gloomy-and-exceedingly/) [Frederich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederich-nietzsche/) > [Cheerful looks make every dish a feast, and it is that which crowns a welcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/cheerful-looks-make-every-dish-a-feast-and-it-is-that-which-crowns-a/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [A cheerful temper, joined with innocence will make beauty attractive, knowledge delightful, and wit good-natured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/a-cheerful-temper-joined-with-innocence-will-make-beauty-attractive/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The cheerful live longest in years, and afterwards in our regards. Cheerfulness is the off-shoot of goodness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-cheerful-live-longest-in-years-and-afterwards-in-our-regards/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The people that humanity needs most are those who manage to be cheerful even on a frightening dark street, because high morale is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-people-that-humanity-needs-most-are-those-who-manage-to-be/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) ## More by H. G. Wells > [... life falls into place only with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/life-falls-into-place-only-with-god/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [Fools make researches and wise men exploit them - that is our earthly way of dealing with the question, and we thank Heaven for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/fools-make-researches-and-wise-men-exploit-them-that-is-our-earthly/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [The true sweetness of chess, if it ever can be sweet, is to see a victory snatched, by some happy impertinence, out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-true-sweetness-of-chess-if-it-ever-can-be-sweet-is-to-see-a/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [A priest is a man vowed, trained, and consecrated, a man belonging to a special corps, and necessarily with an intense esprit de corps.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/a-priest-is-a-man-vowed-trained-and-consecrated-a-man-belonging-to-a/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [The man who raises a fist has run out of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-man-who-raises-a-fist-has-run-out-of-ideas/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [The choice is: the Universe...or nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-choice-is-the-universe-or-nothing/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [ The crisis \[the Great Depression\] discovered a great man in Franklin Roosevelt...None too soon he has carried America forward to the second stage of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-crisis-the-great-depression-discovered-a-great-man-in-franklin/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [Non-violence is the policy of the vegetable kingdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/non-violence-is-the-policy-of-the-vegetable-kingdom/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [For all my desire to be interesting, I have to confess that for most things and people I don't give a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/for-all-my-desire-to-be-interesting-i-have-to-confess-that-for-most/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [The Jews looked for a special savior, a messiah, who was to redeem mankind by the agreeable process of restoring the fabulous glories of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-jews-looked-for-a-special-savior-a-messiah-who-was-to-redeem/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [“And I have by me, for my comfort, two strange white flowers—shrivelled now, and brown and flat and brittle—to witness that even when mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/and-i-have-by-me-for-my-comfort-two-strange-white-flowers-shrivelled/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [ \[A novel by Henry James\] is like a church lit but without a congregation to distract you, with every light and line focused on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/a-novel-by-henry-james-is-like-a-church-lit-but-without-a/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [In England we have come to rely upon a comfortable time-lag of fifty years or a century intervening between the perception that something ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/in-england-we-have-come-to-rely-upon-a-comfortable-time-lag-of-fifty/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [We must end war before war ends us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/we-must-end-war-before-war-ends-us/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [What good is religion if it collapses under calamity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/what-good-is-religion-if-it-collapses-under-calamity/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) [Explore all 280 H. G. Wells quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) ## More Behave quotes > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [You can behave as badly as you like in America. Nobody notices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/you-can-behave-as-badly-as-you-like-in-america-nobody-notices/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Then Olympus it is. But do try to behave. I know it’s hard for you, but… (Delphine) I won’t piss on the floor. (Jericho)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/then-olympus-it-is-but-do-try-to-behave-i-know-it-s-hard-for-you-but/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [Why does man behave like perfect idiot? This is the problem I wish to deal with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-szent-gyorgyi/why-does-man-behave-like-perfect-idiot-this-is-the-problem-i-wish-to/) [Albert Szent-Gyorgyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-szent-gyorgyi/) > [This is a time in my life where I'm gonna behave like an elegant human being. Or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/this-is-a-time-in-my-life-where-i-m-gonna-behave-like-an-elegant/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [Most people, even in simple risky situations, don't behave the way the theory of utility would have them behave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-raiffa/most-people-even-in-simple-risky-situations-don-t-behave-the-way-the/) [Howard Raiffa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-raiffa/) > [As a club, we have an educational purpose: to give back to those people who love Arsenal so that they learn moral values from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arsene-wenger/as-a-club-we-have-an-educational-purpose-to-give-back-to-those-people/) [Arsene Wenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arsene-wenger/) > [What astonishes many of us is not so much that human nature is fundamentally corrupt; we are astonished rather that it does not behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-irving-seiden/what-astonishes-many-of-us-is-not-so-much-that-human-nature-is/) [Morton Irving Seiden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-irving-seiden/) > [Do we behave out of fear of punishment, or out of the demands of our heart? For me, it is the latter, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-we-behave-out-of-fear-of-punishment-or-out-of-the-demands-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you are in hard labor, remember that the length of labor is usually proportional to the number of people around. Avoid the presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-odent/when-you-are-in-hard-labor-remember-that-the-length-of-labor-is/) [Michel Odent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-odent/) > [The superpowers often behave like two heavily armed blind men feeling their way around a room, each believing himself in mortal peril from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-superpowers-often-behave-like-two-heavily-armed-blind-men-feeling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For political and bureaucratic reasons, governments at all levels are telling far less to the public than to insiders about how to prepare for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/for-political-and-bureaucratic-reasons-governments-at-all-levels-are/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) [Browse all 1,587 Behave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behave/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "While there is a chance of the world getting through its troubles, I hold that a reasonable man has to behave as though he were sure of it. 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