--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That is to say that despair does not seem…" description: "\"That is to say that despair does not seem to be in any way potentially to be productive.\" — Jonathon Keats" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/jonathon-keats-10822_despair_that-is-to-say-that-despair-does-not-see_1029339.jpg" --- # That is to say that despair does not seem to be in any way… ![“That is to say that despair does not seem to be in any way potentially to be productive.” quote by Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/jonathon-keats-10822_despair_that-is-to-say-that-despair-does-not-see_1029339.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/jonathon-keats-10822_despair_that-is-to-say-that-despair-does-not-see_1029339.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/jonathon-keats-10822_despair_that-is-to-say-that-despair-does-not-see_1029339.jpg) > “That is to say that despair does not seem to be in any way potentially to be productive.” [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Despair rarely leads to productive outcomes. **In simple terms:** Despair is unproductive. Key Takeaway Seek constructive coping. Themes psychology emotion productivity Mood thoughtful hopeful Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - creative work - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism mental health motivation Questions to Reflect On - What transforms despair into action? - How can you channel negative feelings? A Different Perspective Despair can inspire art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Despair Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-does-1357491/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Potentially Productive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/potentially-productive-2341902/) [Productive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productive/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Say Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-despair-2341903/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I was in Mexico City. It's a very pleasant city in many ways. It's vibrant, lively, pretty exciting society, but also depressing in other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-was-in-mexico-city-it-s-a-very-pleasant-city-in-many-ways-it-s/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“They say despair is a terrible thing, but hope is worse: it keeps you shackled for ever, like a dog in a wheel, always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-maitland/they-say-despair-is-a-terrible-thing-but-hope-is-worse-it-keeps-you/) [Karen Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-maitland/) > [To those who can hear me, I say - do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/to-those-who-can-hear-me-i-say-do-not-despair-the-misery-that-is-now/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [There are circumstances in which despair does not imply inactivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/there-are-circumstances-in-which-despair-does-not-imply-inactivity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [To the extent that I had come to understand that despair does not necessarily result in annihilation, that one can go on as usual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/to-the-extent-that-i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-does-not/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [But however close we sometimes seem to that dark and final abyss, let no man of peace and freedom despair. For he does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/but-however-close-we-sometimes-seem-to-that-dark-and-final-abyss-let/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“I had come to understand that despair does not necessarily result in annihilation, that one can go on as usual despite of it...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/i-had-come-to-understand-that-despair-does-not-necessarily-result-in/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [Employees cannot become more productive in every sense of the word unless they are provided with continuous on-the-job training.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-balestrero/employees-cannot-become-more-productive-in-every-sense-of-the-word/) [Gregory Balestrero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-balestrero/) > [I find I am most productive with at least six hours of sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandana-dayani/i-find-i-am-most-productive-with-at-least-six-hours-of-sleep/) [Mandana Dayani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandana-dayani/) > [I'm at my most productive before I even have my first cup of coffee. I only get slower and stupider as the day progresses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/i-m-at-my-most-productive-before-i-even-have-my-first-cup-of-coffee-i/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [“Life is too short to waste being a productive member of society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/life-is-too-short-to-waste-being-a-productive-member-of-society/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [There exists above the "productive" man a yet higher species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/there-exists-above-the-productive-man-a-yet-higher-species/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Everyday, all day I have to be productive. And when I ain't productive, I get concerned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-jeezy/everyday-all-day-i-have-to-be-productive-and-when-i-ain-t-productive/) [Young Jeezy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-jeezy/) > [Focus on being productive instead of busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/focus-on-being-productive-instead-of-busy/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) > [One of my most productive days was throwing away 1,000 lines of code.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-thompson/one-of-my-most-productive-days-was-throwing-away-1-000-lines-of-code/) [Ken Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-thompson/) ## More by Jonathon Keats > [ \[Buckminster\] Fuller was an independent operator coming up with these madcap ways of combining things with absolutely no strings attached and the fact that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/buckminster-fuller-was-an-independent-operator-coming-up-with-these/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [ We clearly recognize the need for something that is what \[Buckminster Fuller\] represents and therefore it becomes really useful and really interesting to look… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/we-clearly-recognize-the-need-for-something-that-is-what-buckminster/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [I think that I feel that I have no choice but to operate under the illusion, which may be a delusion, that we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-think-that-i-feel-that-i-have-no-choice-but-to-operate-under-the/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [ \[Buckminster\] Fuller said that everything at the time was basically a horse and buggy in the form of an automobile and it had that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/buckminster-fuller-said-that-everything-at-the-time-was-basically-a/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [I don't think that I am hopeful because I have some data that you don't, that I am going to share with you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-don-t-think-that-i-am-hopeful-because-i-have-some-data-that-you-don/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [I would argue that search has made the world a better place. It has done so for reasons that arbitrarily could completely change that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-would-argue-that-search-has-made-the-world-a-better-place-it-has/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [ Architects in urban planning are talking about this but they're not talking about it yet I don't think at that level that \[Buckminster\] Fuller… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/architects-in-urban-planning-are-talking-about-this-but-they-re-not/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [ I would certainly never want to inflict anything on the world exactly as \[Buckminster Fuller\] envisioned it because there is a technocratic worldview that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-would-certainly-never-want-to-inflict-anything-on-the-world-exactly/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [You have those who have been living and breathing Buckminster Fuller ever since he converted them to his cult and to be honest, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/you-have-those-who-have-been-living-and-breathing-buckminster-fuller/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [ There were other auto manufacturers that were confabulating as much as \[Buckminster Fuller\] was, making claims about how cars resembled this or that aspect… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/there-were-other-auto-manufacturers-that-were-confabulating-as-much/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [On the other hand, the way in which that car fit into this whole very roundabout way of attempting to solve the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/on-the-other-hand-the-way-in-which-that-car-fit-into-this-whole-very/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [I do not think that technology is our salvation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-do-not-think-that-technology-is-our-salvation/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [ Where Google and \[Buckminster\] Fuller overlap are in the potential for putting together disparate technologies in ways that can lead to something that might… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/where-google-and-buckminster-fuller-overlap-are-in-the-potential-for/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [I set my life since then attempting to figure out how to do that, basically how to have a sort of public discourse in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-set-my-life-since-then-attempting-to-figure-out-how-to-do-that/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [I was totally taken in and totally taken by that myth starting in 1999, rather carelessly writing about this archive and starting to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-was-totally-taken-in-and-totally-taken-by-that-myth-starting-in/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) [Explore all 63 Jonathon Keats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) ## More Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) [Louaiq8](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louaiq8/) > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That is to say that despair does not seem to be in any way potentially to be productive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathon Keats" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/that-is-to-say-that-despair-does-not-seem-to-be-in-any-way/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Despair" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/that-is-to-say-that-despair-does-not-seem-to-be-in-any-way/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/jonathon-keats-10822_despair_that-is-to-say-that-despair-does-not-see_1029339.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/jonathon-keats-10822_despair_that-is-to-say-that-despair-does-not-see_1029339.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/jonathon-keats-10822_despair_that-is-to-say-that-despair-does-not-see_1029339.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That is to say that despair does not seem to be in any way potentially to be productive.” — Jonathon Keats", "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": "Jonathon Keats", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That is to say that despair...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/that-is-to-say-that-despair-does-not-seem-to-be-in-any-way/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/that-is-to-say-that-despair-does-not-seem-to-be-in-any-way/#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 } } ] } ```