--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hope is not a feeling of certainty that…" description: "\"Hope is not a feeling of certainty that everything ends well. Hope is just a feeling that life and work have a meaning.\" — Vaclav Havel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee4/vaclav-havel-2013_certainty_hope-is-not-a-feeling-of-certainty-that_64210.jpg" --- # Hope is not a feeling of certainty that everything ends… ![“Hope is not a feeling of certainty that everything ends well. Hope is just a feeling that life and work have a meaning.” quote by Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee4/vaclav-havel-2013_certainty_hope-is-not-a-feeling-of-certainty-that_64210.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee4/vaclav-havel-2013_certainty_hope-is-not-a-feeling-of-certainty-that_64210.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee4/vaclav-havel-2013_certainty_hope-is-not-a-feeling-of-certainty-that_64210.jpg) > “Hope is not a feeling of certainty that everything ends well. Hope is just a feeling that life and work have a meaning.” [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hope is not certainty about outcomes but a sense that one's existence and labor hold significance. **In simple terms:** Hope gives meaning despite uncertainty. Key Takeaway Hope provides purpose, not prediction. Themes meaning purpose resilience motivation existential Mood inspired reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career setbacks - personal loss - creative projects - team challenges Key Concepts meaning-making psychological endurance Practical Applications - coaching - leadership development Questions to Reflect On - How does hope differ from optimism? - What actions sustain hope in adversity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Hope is a feeling that life and work have meaning. You either have it or you don't, regardless of the state of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/hope-is-a-feeling-that-life-and-work-have-meaning-you-either-have-it/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [“Life, Jersey Girl, sometimes pauses. It stops. Sometimes we don’t even realize how everything around us is moving so quickly while we’re standing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-montes/life-jersey-girl-sometimes-pauses-it-stops-sometimes-we-don-t-even/) [E.L. Montes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-montes/) > [In the scientific world I find just that disinterested devotion to great ends that I hope will spread at last through the entire range…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/in-the-scientific-world-i-find-just-that-disinterested-devotion-to/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [Hope is not a feeling. It is not the belief that things will turn out well, but the conviction that what you are doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/hope-is-not-a-feeling-it-is-not-the-belief-that-things-will-turn-out/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [I am not an optimist, because I am not sure that everything ends well. Nor am I a pessimist, because I am not sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-not-an-optimist-because-i-am-not-sure-that-everything-ends-well/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [How to put this feeling, this certainty, into something as limited as words?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-wilks/how-to-put-this-feeling-this-certainty-into-something-as-limited-as/) [Eileen Wilks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-wilks/) > [Inspiration has become this word that people tend to talk about as something from the outside. The truth is that... it is inside, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-wanders/inspiration-has-become-this-word-that-people-tend-to-talk-about-as/) [Marcel Wanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-wanders/) > [... I feel certain that his tale is true. Feeling that certainty, I befriend him. As long as that certainty shall last, I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-feel-certain-that-his-tale-is-true-feeling-that-certainty-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/philosophy-though-unable-to-tell-us-with-certainty-what-is-the-true/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [What is hope but a feeling of optimism, a thought that says things will improve, it won't always be bleak, there's a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/what-is-hope-but-a-feeling-of-optimism-a-thought-that-says-things/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Hope ... is not a feeling; it is something you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/hope-is-not-a-feeling-it-is-something-you-do/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [Plz give me hope when I am feeling low. I need to know that u r there for me when nobody else is!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridgett/plz-give-me-hope-when-i-am-feeling-low-i-need-to-know-that-u-r-there/) [Bridgett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridgett/) > [Place no hope in the feeling of assurance, in spiritual comfort. You may well have to get along without this. Place no hope in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/place-no-hope-in-the-feeling-of-assurance-in-spiritual-comfort-you/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Do you ever get the feeling where you dont want to talk to anybody?you dont want to smile and you dont want to fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-ever-get-the-feeling-where-you-dont-want-to-talk-to-anybody/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There is something called positive thinking that people often confuse with hope. But it is different. Positive thinking is a state of mind, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevan-v-nikolic/there-is-something-called-positive-thinking-that-people-often-confuse/) [Stevan V. Nikolic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevan-v-nikolic/) ## More by Vaclav Havel > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [People who live in the post-totalitarian system know only too well that the question of whether one or several political parties are in power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian-system-know-only-too-well/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [“For by this very fact, individuals confirm the system, fulfill the system, make the system, are the system.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/for-by-this-very-fact-individuals-confirm-the-system-fulfill-the/) [Václav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [This is a confusing and uncertain period, when a thousand wise words can go completely unnoticed, and one thoughtless word can provoke an utterly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/this-is-a-confusing-and-uncertain-period-when-a-thousand-wise-words/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [If by believing you mean praying to an anthropomorphic deity who created the world and half controls it and half observes it, then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/if-by-believing-you-mean-praying-to-an-anthropomorphic-deity-who/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Human beings are compelled to live within a lie, but they can be compelled to do so only because they are in fact capable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/human-beings-are-compelled-to-live-within-a-lie-but-they-can-be/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Our country, if that is what we want, can now permanently radiate love, understanding, the power of the spirit and of ideas. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/our-country-if-that-is-what-we-want-can-now-permanently-radiate-love/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [I cannot imagine that I could strive for something if I did not carry hope in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-cannot-imagine-that-i-could-strive-for-something-if-i-did-not-carry/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [People, your Government has returned to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-your-government-has-returned-to-you/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [A person who has been seduced by the consumer value system, whose identity is dissolved in an amalgam of the accouterments trappings of mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/a-person-who-has-been-seduced-by-the-consumer-value-system-whose/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Whether all is really lost or not depends entirely on whether or not I am lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/whether-all-is-really-lost-or-not-depends-entirely-on-whether-or-not/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Sober perseverance is more effective than enthusiastic emotions, which are all too capable of being transferred, with little difficulty, to something different each day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/sober-perseverance-is-more-effective-than-enthusiastic-emotions-which/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [The exercise of power is determined by thousands of interactions between the world of the powerful and that of the powerless, all the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/the-exercise-of-power-is-determined-by-thousands-of-interactions/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [It's not true that you should first think up an idea for a better world and only then "put it into practice," but, rather,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/it-s-not-true-that-you-should-first-think-up-an-idea-for-a-better/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Modern science kills God and takes his place on the vacant throne. Science is the sole legitimate arbiter of all relavent truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/modern-science-kills-god-and-takes-his-place-on-the-vacant-throne/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) [Explore all 190 Vaclav Havel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) ## More Certainty quotes > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [In the mental disturbance and effort of writing, what sustains you is the certainty that on every page there is something left unsaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/in-the-mental-disturbance-and-effort-of-writing-what-sustains-you-is/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Of course I doubt. I do not practice a certainty. I practice a faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/of-course-i-doubt-i-do-not-practice-a-certainty-i-practice-a-faith/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [As a businessman, I know that businesses need certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-foster/as-a-businessman-i-know-that-businesses-need-certainty/) [Bill Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-foster/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [Every single person who is a member of our party deserves to have certainty. They deserve to know that my attention and focus is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annamie-paul/every-single-person-who-is-a-member-of-our-party-deserves-to-have/) [Annamie Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annamie-paul/) > [The significance and volume of repairs that are needed across the country demand that we give state and local governments the long-term certainty they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-graves/the-significance-and-volume-of-repairs-that-are-needed-across-the/) [Sam Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-graves/) > [“Death is the one great certainty in life. That’s what my dad used to say. Nothing else is certain. Not love. Not happiness. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-gray/death-is-the-one-great-certainty-in-life-that-s-what-my-dad-used-to/) [Mila Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-gray/) > [ \[I\]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-at-certainty-without-doubt-and/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [Finding someone that trusted my vision helped me find certainty in who I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/finding-someone-that-trusted-my-vision-helped-me-find-certainty-in/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) [Browse all 1,776 Certainty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hope is not a feeling of certainty that everything ends well. 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