---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the things that you hope for the most are…"
description: "\"“the things that you hope for the most are the things that will destroy you in the end.”\" — John Green"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/john-green-12_hope_the-things-that-you-hope-for-the-most-ar_1672646.jpg"
---

#  the things that you hope for the most are the things that…

![“the things that you hope for the most are the things that will destroy you in the end.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/john-green-12_hope_the-things-that-you-hope-for-the-most-ar_1672646.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/john-green-12_hope_the-things-that-you-hope-for-the-most-ar_1672646.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/john-green-12_hope_the-things-that-you-hope-for-the-most-ar_1672646.jpg)

> ““the things that you hope for the most are the things that will destroy you in the end.””

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Our deepest desires often become the source of our downfall.

**In simple terms:** Wants can destroy us.

Key Takeaway

Beware of obsessive longing.

Themes

desire risk self‑sabotage growth

Mood

melancholic reflective

Type

literary inspirational

When to use this quote

- relationships
- career ambitions
- creative projects
- personal goals

Key Concepts

psychology literature existentialism

Questions to Reflect On

- What hopes have you pursued that caused pain?
- How can you pursue goals safely?

A Different Perspective

Not all hopes are harmful; balance is key.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/)

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[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [“I get it now. I get it. The things you hope for the most are the things that destroy you in the end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-get-it-now-i-get-it-the-things-you-hope-for-the-most-are-the-things/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [“The things that you hope for the most are the things that destroy you in the end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-things-that-you-hope-for-the-most-are-the-things-that-destroy-you/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [I get it. The things you hope for the most are the things that destroy you in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-get-it-the-things-you-hope-for-the-most-are-the-things-that-destroy/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [The things you hope for the most are the things that usually destroy you in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u/the-things-you-hope-for-the-most-are-the-things-that-usually-destroy/)

U

> [IL DESIRE THE THINGS WHICH WILL DESTROY ME AT THE END...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishemo/il-desire-the-things-which-will-destroy-me-at-the-end/)

[VISHEMO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishemo/)

> [I desire the things which will destroy me in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-desire-the-things-which-will-destroy-me-in-the-end/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [I desire the things that will destroy me in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-desire-the-things-that-will-destroy-me-in-the-end/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“Ah, my poor child, how far gone you are in your blindness! Why did you have me summoned?" "I had hopes, I had hopes."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/ah-my-poor-child-how-far-gone-you-are-in-your-blindness-why-did-you/)

[Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/)

> [Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. Hope is one of those things that you can't buy, but that will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/hope-is-a-good-thing-maybe-the-best-of-things-hope-is-one-of-those/)

[Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/)

> [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/)

James Nayler

> [You find that the things you let go of while following Jesus were the things that were going to destroy you in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/you-find-that-the-things-you-let-go-of-while-following-jesus-were-the/)

[Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/)

> [I believe that Providence would never have allowed us to see the victory of the Movement if it had the intention after all to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-believe-that-providence-would-never-have-allowed-us-to-see-the/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [The amazing thing is that we live our lives with the hope that things will go right, that things will happen. And all along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-nakadate/the-amazing-thing-is-that-we-live-our-lives-with-the-hope-that-things/)

[Laurel Nakadate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-nakadate/)

> [There are seven things that will destroy us, Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Religion without sacrifice, Politics without principle, Science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coldheart/there-are-seven-things-that-will-destroy-us-wealth-without-work/)

[Coldheart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coldheart/)

## More by John Green

> [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

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[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

[Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

## 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/)

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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/)

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