As human beings and creative writers, we sometimes have a tumultuous relationship with hope. Hope keeps us going. We hope someone will understand what we’re trying to say with our writing. We hope the world will be a better place for our children. But when times get tough, hope can also feel like cold comfort.
Why have hope? we ask ourselves. What good will it do me if I know I can’t succeed? Sometimes when the task ahead seems truly impossible, hope seems futile.
But few people understand what it means to be hopeful as deeply as the man we honor every year at this time: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a pioneer of the civil rights movement. King’s dream was simple, but achieving it meant overcoming countless barriers and complexities. In many ways, hope was the driving force behind his remarkable achievements.
Here are a few words of wisdom from Dr. King about hope, motivation, and achieving goals.
Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.
Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.
Whatever your life’s work is, do it well.
Read more quotations from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Whatever your hopes and goals, we look to the true story of Dr. King for inspiration. His words and insights continue to motivate us—and we hope they’ll inspire you too. Your writing can make a difference; believe that it can.
Photo by Duke Yearlook
QUESTION: Which quotations by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. do you find most inspirational?
“Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness” – this a striking warning and the perfect, psychological insight, as we sometimes tend to change that bitterness into the sweetness, which hinderns from the progress.
Never thought that pen , paper and creativity can bring hope and change to the world