Which Comes First, Hope or Action?

We often talk about hope like it’s a prerequisite. As if you have to feel hopeful in order to act. But what if we’ve got it backwards?

A few days ago, I found myself asking the question: “What’s that quote about how hope doesn’t inspire action, it’s the result of it?” I was trying to remember something that felt true in my bones. Here’s one version:

“Hope doesn’t come before action. It comes from it. Hope is not a prerequisite for change. It is a byproduct of engaging in the work.”

That framing shifts everything. It doesn’t ask us to feel good or certain before we begin. It asks us to begin anyway.

Rebecca Solnit writes in Hope in the Dark:

"Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an ax you break down doors with in an emergency... Hope calls for action. Action is impossible without hope."

It sounds like a paradox. Solnit is saying action comes from hope, but also that hope comes from action. It is less about which comes first, and more about the loop between them. One feeds the other, back and forth. Sometimes we act because we have hope. But so often, we act and only afterward feel that flicker of hope return.

And then there is Mariame Kaba, who brings it home:

“Hope is a discipline.”

Not a feeling. Not a slogan. Not a Hallmark card sentiment. A discipline.

That line lives in my head, especially on the days when hope feels far away. When the headlines scream despair. When the work is slow. When the arc of the moral universe seems to stall or snap. On those days, remembering that hope is a practice—something you choose, something you return to, something you do—feels like a lifeline.

Hope is showing up. Hope is making the call. Hope is knocking the door. Hope is doing the work even when you do not know what difference it will make.

So which comes first, hope or action?

Maybe the answer is yes.

You move, and hope stirs. Hope stirs, and you move. And sometimes, when it is hard to tell which is leading which, the only thing that matters is that you are still moving.