My inspiration quote is: "If you can't fly, then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl. But by all means, keep moving." by Martin Luther King Jr. I have an entire notebook of quotes I've collected over the years, funny and serious.
YES...it is in the process of progress that hope lies. The fact that your forward movement is under your control, and that you don't give up regardless, gives you happiness. So long as you know you are walking up that mountain...on the correct path...you feel buoyed. Life sometimes puts boulders in that path...sometimes makes you change paths...but you control the direction of travel...ever upwards. You may have to slow down...but you don't have to walk back down or stop. Control of your destiny lies within you. When people realize that...hope is born.
Remember...the lower the lows...the higher the highs. The more you have suffered...the more you really appreciate life's pleasures.
It is in the conquering of the obstacles in life that true self knowledge, self love, and, a love of life becomes apparent.