--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe that a person should take an…" description: "\"I believe that a person should take an affirmative outlook. There are always problems in life, old and new, uncertainties, and unexpected contingencies..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d56/paul-kurtz-19129_adversity_i-believe-that-a-person-should-take-an-a_1071899.jpg" --- # I believe that a person should take an affirmative… ![“I believe that a person should take an affirmative outlook. There are always problems in life, old and new, uncertainties, and unexpected contingencies. The optimal way to deal with this is not to give up in despair, but to move ahead using the best intelligence and resources that we have to…” quote by Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d56/paul-kurtz-19129_adversity_i-believe-that-a-person-should-take-an-a_1071899.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d56/paul-kurtz-19129_adversity_i-believe-that-a-person-should-take-an-a_1071899.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d56/paul-kurtz-19129_adversity_i-believe-that-a-person-should-take-an-a_1071899.jpg) > “I believe that a person should take an affirmative outlook. There are always problems in life, old and new, uncertainties, and unexpected contingencies. The optimal way to deal with this is not to give up in despair, but to move ahead using the best intelligence and resources that we have to overcome adversity.” [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adopt an optimistic, resourceful stance to overcome life's inevitable challenges. **In simple terms:** Stay positive and use resources to face problems. Key Takeaway Embrace proactive optimism. Themes resilience optimism problem‑solving Mood hopeful reflective Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - crisis management - goal setting - stress coping strategies Key Concepts philosophy psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What resources can you mobilize now? - How do you balance hope with realistic planning? A Different Perspective Optimism alone may ignore systemic obstacles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Affirmative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmative/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moving ahead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving-ahead/) [Not giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-giving-up/) [Old and new](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-and-new/) [Outlook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlook/) [Overcome Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcome-adversity/) [Overcoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcoming/) [Overcoming adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcoming-adversity/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problems in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems-in-life/) [Uncertainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertainty/) ## Related quotes > [“Despair will come and go but people that can overcome will last throught it. We must work with children to understand and deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/despair-will-come-and-go-but-people-that-can-overcome-will-last/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [One thing about championship teams is that they're resilient. No matter what is thrown at them, no matter how deep the hole, they find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-saban/one-thing-about-championship-teams-is-that-they-re-resilient-no/) [Nick Saban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-saban/) > [Christopher believed that to overcome any adversity, no matter how challenging, you need to go forward each day with strength, determination and compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-reeve/christopher-believed-that-to-overcome-any-adversity-no-matter-how/) [Dana Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-reeve/) > [There will be challenges in life but you shouldn't give up stay strong and soon you'll overcome all the adversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/there-will-be-challenges-in-life-but-you-shouldn-t-give-up-stay/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [I want to be a role model and I want to show kids that you can be strong and overcome adversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-creamer/i-want-to-be-a-role-model-and-i-want-to-show-kids-that-you-can-be/) [Paula Creamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-creamer/) > [I strongly believe that through dedication and perseverance, one can overcome adversity to achieve success. It is a privilege to accept membership in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginni-rometty/i-strongly-believe-that-through-dedication-and-perseverance-one-can/) [Ginni Rometty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginni-rometty/) > [The people who best use their advantages, or overcome adversity, and work honestly are those most worthy of admiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/the-people-who-best-use-their-advantages-or-overcome-adversity-and/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [“The greatest heroes in life are those that never give up on someone. They stick it out and make it work. They sacrifice things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/the-greatest-heroes-in-life-are-those-that-never-give-up-on-someone/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [You should always want your coach to be critical. It gives you an opportunity to learn and to overcome adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/you-should-always-want-your-coach-to-be-critical-it-gives-you-an/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [Dare to... Ask for what you want. Believe in your dreams. Count your blessings. Do the right thing. Enjoy the moment. Fail, and dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dare-to-ask-for-what-you-want-believe-in-your-dreams-count-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The ability to act as a role model shouldn't depend on owning a pile of trophies. Instead, we should look at role models as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paige-spiranac/the-ability-to-act-as-a-role-model-shouldn-t-depend-on-owning-a-pile/) [Paige Spiranac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paige-spiranac/) > [Throughout the journey of my life, I have maintained a strong faith in the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity. I deeply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farrah-fawcett/throughout-the-journey-of-my-life-i-have-maintained-a-strong-faith-in/) [Farrah Fawcett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farrah-fawcett/) > [Was it possible I'd labeled him incorrectly? Shallow jocksdidn't overcome adversity and accomplish the things Leif had. I'd labeled him, not even knowing him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/was-it-possible-i-d-labeled-him-incorrectly-shallow-jocksdidn-t/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [If you feel like quitting in adversity,remember quitting is sign of weakness & inviting all shorts of doomed life. So prepare yourself to overcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kumar-sinha/if-you-feel-like-quitting-in-adversity-remember-quitting-is-sign-of/) [Dr Anil Kumar Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kumar-sinha/) > [My mother is my hero just because, what life becomes about is overcoming adversity, and I watched her overcome so many things in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashad-evans/my-mother-is-my-hero-just-because-what-life-becomes-about-is/) [Rashad Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashad-evans/) ## More by Paul Kurtz > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The government doesn't have to solve everyone's problem here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/the-government-doesn-t-have-to-solve-everyone-s-problem-here/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The skeptic has no illusions about life, nor a vain belief in the promise of immortality. Since this life here and now is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/the-skeptic-has-no-illusions-about-life-nor-a-vain-belief-in-the/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [We need to be skeptical of utopianists who offer unreliable totalistic visions of other worlds and strive to take us there. We need some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/we-need-to-be-skeptical-of-utopianists-who-offer-unreliable/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [We cannot remain silent when someone of the Pope's stature and credibility confuses religious principles for science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/we-cannot-remain-silent-when-someone-of-the-pope-s-stature-and/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [UFO mythology is similar to the message of the classical religions where God sends his Angels as emissaries who offer salvation to those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/ufo-mythology-is-similar-to-the-message-of-the-classical-religions/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Only a fool of a scientist would dismiss the evidence and reports in front of him and substitute his own beliefs in their place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/only-a-fool-of-a-scientist-would-dismiss-the-evidence-and-reports-in/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Secular humanism does not have the essential attributes of a religion: belief in a deity, the wish for some sort of afterlife, sacred dogma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/secular-humanism-does-not-have-the-essential-attributes-of-a-religion/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [It is not the courage to be that we must develop as much as the courage to become. We are responsible for our destiny.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/it-is-not-the-courage-to-be-that-we-must-develop-as-much-as-the/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [As I see it, creative achievement is the very heart of the human enterprise... The destiny of man, of all men and of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/as-i-see-it-creative-achievement-is-the-very-heart-of-the-human/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Secular humanism proposes ... the complete implementation of the agenda of modernism ... what is necessary for it to occur is a ... New Enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/secular-humanism-proposes-the-complete-implementation-of-the-agenda/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Three key humanist virtues are courage, cognition, and caring - not dependence, ignorance, or insensitivity to the needs of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/three-key-humanist-virtues-are-courage-cognition-and-caring-not/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [We are not simply intellectual creatures. We wish to make love, to enjoy a gourmet dinner, to jog in the park, to cheer lustily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/we-are-not-simply-intellectual-creatures-we-wish-to-make-love-to/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Humanists hold that ethical values are relative to human experience and need not be derived from theological or metaphysical foundations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/humanists-hold-that-ethical-values-are-relative-to-human-experience/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The beginning of wisdom is the awareness that there is insufficient evidence that a god or gods have created us and the recognition that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/the-beginning-of-wisdom-is-the-awareness-that-there-is-insufficient/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) [Explore all 33 Paul Kurtz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) ## More Adversity quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Friction is necessary. Ease of life leads to complacency and the atrophy of the human will and spirit. Within our struggles lives our strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-versey/friction-is-necessary-ease-of-life-leads-to-complacency-and-the/) [Jason Versey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-versey/) > [“Every adversity is just another opportunity to excel a little more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/every-adversity-is-just-another-opportunity-to-excel-a-little-more/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Just because she doesn't talk about it, doesn't mean she isn't feeling it. She hurts, but she won't wear it on her sleeve. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) James Buckham Kennedy > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) S.E. SEVER > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,001 Adversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I believe that a person should take an affirmative outlook. There are always problems in life, old and new, uncertainties, and unexpected contingencies. 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