--- title: "11 Present Self Quotes by 10 authors" description: "Browse 11 Present Self quotes by 10 authors. Discover the best Present Self sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/colm-toibin-3377_confidence_it-had-been-easier-to-present-a-self-in_2385949.png" --- > [“It had been easier to present a self in full possession of pride and confidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/it-had-been-easier-to-present-a-self-in-full-possession-of-pride-and/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/colm-toibin-3377_confidence_it-had-been-easier-to-present-a-self-in_2385949.png) > [“Moreover, painful feelings can only arise and remain in our mind because of our present self-grasping.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsang-gyatso/moreover-painful-feelings-can-only-arise-and-remain-in-our-mind/) [Kelsang Gyatso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsang-gyatso/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/kelsang-gyatso-22811_psychology_moreover-painful-feelings-can-only-arise_1959582.jpg) > [In zazen, one is one's present self, what one was, and what one will be, all at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/in-zazen-one-is-one-s-present-self-what-one-was-and-what-one-will-be/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/peter-matthiessen-5795_identity_in-zazen-one-is-one-s-present-self-what_2850597.png) > [Fashion can be about escapism but I have always been interested in the aspirational side of it - wanting to present the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/fashion-can-be-about-escapism-but-i-have-always-been-interested-in/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/rick-owens-3754_always_fashion-can-be-about-escapism-but-i-have_3176479.png) > [“When your present self and your ideal self are in different time zones, figure out what’s keeping you apart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/when-your-present-self-and-your-ideal-self-are-in-different-time/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/frank-sonnenberg-2672_know-thyself_when-your-present-self-and-your-ideal-se_2380734.jpg) > [Knowing oneself is not so much a question of discovering what is present in one's self, but rather the creation of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/knowing-oneself-is-not-so-much-a-question-of-discovering-what-is/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6e/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-1255_business_knowing-oneself-is-not-so-much-a-questio_1760025.jpg) > [Let's face it: the present self is present. It's in control. It's in power right now. It has these strong, heroic arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goldstein/let-s-face-it-the-present-self-is-present-it-s-in-control-it-s-in/) [Daniel Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goldstein/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/daniel-goldstein-42176_arms_let-s-face-it-the-present-self-is-presen_1537251.jpg) > [“As the two of us—past self, my present self—hovered over her bed, I could see each cruel damage written across her skin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/as-the-two-of-us-past-self-my-present-self-hovered-over-her-bed-i/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/david-levithan-67_remembered_as-the-two-of-us-past-self-my-present-se_2584016.jpg) > [When I'm feeling sad, or lonely, and I don't know what I'm doing and I don't know where I'm going, I imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-marbles/when-i-m-feeling-sad-or-lonely-and-i-don-t-know-what-i-m-doing-and-i/) [Jenna Marbles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-marbles/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/jenna-marbles-11574_being-yourself_when-i-m-feeling-sad-or-lonely-and-i-don_650380.jpg) > [“Because if every moment of a life is present in every other, so is every old self you've ever tried to outrun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/because-if-every-moment-of-a-life-is-present-in-every-other-so-is/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city-on-fire_because-if-every-moment-of-a-life-is-pre_108520.jpg) > [Psychologists and economists love to talk about the notion of two selves: present self and future self. It's a nice way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goldstein/psychologists-and-economists-love-to-talk-about-the-notion-of-two/) [Daniel Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goldstein/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fde/daniel-goldstein-42176_about_psychologists-and-economists-love-to-tal_2264549.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-self/#itemlist", "name": "Present Self Quotes", "numberOfItems": 11, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It had been easier to present a self in full possession of pride and confidence.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Colm Tóibín" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/it-had-been-easier-to-present-a-self-in-full-possession-of-pride-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/colm-toibin-3377_confidence_it-had-been-easier-to-present-a-self-in_2385949.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/colm-toibin-3377_confidence_it-had-been-easier-to-present-a-self-in_2385949.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/colm-toibin-3377_confidence_it-had-been-easier-to-present-a-self-in_2385949.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It had been easier to present a self in full possession of pride and confidence.” — Colm Tóibín", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Moreover, painful feelings can only arise and remain in our mind because of our present self-grasping.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kelsang Gyatso" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsang-gyatso/moreover-painful-feelings-can-only-arise-and-remain-in-our-mind/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/kelsang-gyatso-22811_psychology_moreover-painful-feelings-can-only-arise_1959582.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/kelsang-gyatso-22811_psychology_moreover-painful-feelings-can-only-arise_1959582.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/kelsang-gyatso-22811_psychology_moreover-painful-feelings-can-only-arise_1959582.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Moreover, painful feelings can only arise and remain in our mind because of our present self-grasping.” — Kelsang Gyatso", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In zazen, one is one's present self, what one was, and what one will be, all at once.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Matthiessen" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/in-zazen-one-is-one-s-present-self-what-one-was-and-what-one-will-be/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/peter-matthiessen-5795_identity_in-zazen-one-is-one-s-present-self-what_2850597.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/peter-matthiessen-5795_identity_in-zazen-one-is-one-s-present-self-what_2850597.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/625/peter-matthiessen-5795_identity_in-zazen-one-is-one-s-present-self-what_2850597.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In zazen, one is one's present self, what one was, and what one will be, all at once.” — Peter Matthiessen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fashion can be about escapism but I have always been interested in the aspirational side of it - wanting to present the self you hope eventually to become.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rick Owens" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/fashion-can-be-about-escapism-but-i-have-always-been-interested-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/rick-owens-3754_always_fashion-can-be-about-escapism-but-i-have_3176479.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/rick-owens-3754_always_fashion-can-be-about-escapism-but-i-have_3176479.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/rick-owens-3754_always_fashion-can-be-about-escapism-but-i-have_3176479.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fashion can be about escapism but I have always been interested in the aspirational side of it - wanting to…” — Rick Owens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When your present self and your ideal self are in different time zones, figure out what’s keeping you apart.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank Sonnenberg" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/when-your-present-self-and-your-ideal-self-are-in-different-time/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/frank-sonnenberg-2672_know-thyself_when-your-present-self-and-your-ideal-se_2380734.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/frank-sonnenberg-2672_know-thyself_when-your-present-self-and-your-ideal-se_2380734.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/frank-sonnenberg-2672_know-thyself_when-your-present-self-and-your-ideal-se_2380734.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When your present self and your ideal self are in different time zones, figure out what’s keeping you apart.” — Frank Sonnenberg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Knowing oneself is not so much a question of discovering what is present in one's self, but rather the creation of who one wants to be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/knowing-oneself-is-not-so-much-a-question-of-discovering-what-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6e/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-1255_business_knowing-oneself-is-not-so-much-a-questio_1760025.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6e/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-1255_business_knowing-oneself-is-not-so-much-a-questio_1760025.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6e/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-1255_business_knowing-oneself-is-not-so-much-a-questio_1760025.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Knowing oneself is not so much a question of discovering what is present in one's self, but rather the…” — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let's face it: the present self is present. It's in control. It's in power right now. It has these strong, heroic arms that can lift doughnuts into your mouth. And the future self is not even around. It's off in the future. It's weak. It doesn't even have a lawyer present.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel Goldstein" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goldstein/let-s-face-it-the-present-self-is-present-it-s-in-control-it-s-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/daniel-goldstein-42176_arms_let-s-face-it-the-present-self-is-presen_1537251.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/daniel-goldstein-42176_arms_let-s-face-it-the-present-self-is-presen_1537251.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d63/daniel-goldstein-42176_arms_let-s-face-it-the-present-self-is-presen_1537251.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let's face it: the present self is present. It's in control. It's in power right now. It has these strong…” — Daniel Goldstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As the two of us—past self, my present self—hovered over her bed, I could see each cruel damage written across her skin, beneath her eyes, down into her bones. She was no longer the way she wanted to be remembered. She was already more breath than body.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Levithan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/as-the-two-of-us-past-self-my-present-self-hovered-over-her-bed-i/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/david-levithan-67_remembered_as-the-two-of-us-past-self-my-present-se_2584016.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/david-levithan-67_remembered_as-the-two-of-us-past-self-my-present-se_2584016.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/david-levithan-67_remembered_as-the-two-of-us-past-self-my-present-se_2584016.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As the two of us—past self, my present self—hovered over her bed, I could see each cruel damage written…” — David Levithan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I'm feeling sad, or lonely, and I don't know what I'm doing and I don't know where I'm going, I imagine the Cool Awesome Future Version of Myself just telling my present self, \"It's okay. You just gotta grab that giraffe by the ears and ride it on out.\"", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jenna Marbles" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-marbles/when-i-m-feeling-sad-or-lonely-and-i-don-t-know-what-i-m-doing-and-i/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/jenna-marbles-11574_being-yourself_when-i-m-feeling-sad-or-lonely-and-i-don_650380.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/jenna-marbles-11574_being-yourself_when-i-m-feeling-sad-or-lonely-and-i-don_650380.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/jenna-marbles-11574_being-yourself_when-i-m-feeling-sad-or-lonely-and-i-don_650380.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I'm feeling sad, or lonely, and I don't know what I'm doing and I don't know where I'm going, I imagine…” — Jenna Marbles", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Because if every moment of a life is present in every other, so is every old self you've ever tried to outrun. And then how to know—the present self having always felt flimsy, somehow, compared to the one so acutely alive under the kitchen table—which you, specifically, is the real one?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Garth Risk Hallberg" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/because-if-every-moment-of-a-life-is-present-in-every-other-so-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city-on-fire_because-if-every-moment-of-a-life-is-pre_108520.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city-on-fire_because-if-every-moment-of-a-life-is-pre_108520.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city-on-fire_because-if-every-moment-of-a-life-is-pre_108520.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Because if every moment of a life is present in every other, so is every old self you've ever tried to…” — Garth Risk Hallberg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Psychologists and economists love to talk about the notion of two selves: present self and future self. It's a nice way to explain the tendency to have one preference about the future, but a very different preference when the future becomes the present.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel Goldstein" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goldstein/psychologists-and-economists-love-to-talk-about-the-notion-of-two/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fde/daniel-goldstein-42176_about_psychologists-and-economists-love-to-tal_2264549.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fde/daniel-goldstein-42176_about_psychologists-and-economists-love-to-tal_2264549.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fde/daniel-goldstein-42176_about_psychologists-and-economists-love-to-tal_2264549.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Psychologists and economists love to talk about the notion of two selves: present self and future self. It's…” — Daniel Goldstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-self/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-self/", "name": "Present Self Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-self/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c4/colm-toibin-3377_confidence_it-had-been-easier-to-present-a-self-in_2385949.png" }, "description": "Browse 11 Present Self quotes by 10 authors. 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