---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: \"The good old days.\" The only good days…"
description: "\"\"The good old days.\" The only good days are ahead.\" — Alice Childress"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/alice-childress-17343_ahead_the-good-old-days-the-only-good-days-are_2997254.png"
---

#  "The good old days." The only good days are ahead.

![“"The good old days." The only good days are ahead.” quote by Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/alice-childress-17343_ahead_the-good-old-days-the-only-good-days-are_2997254.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/alice-childress-17343_ahead_the-good-old-days-the-only-good-days-are_2997254.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/alice-childress-17343_ahead_the-good-old-days-the-only-good-days-are_2997254.png)

> “"The good old days." The only good days are ahead.”

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Nostalgia for the past is misleading; optimism lies in future possibilities

**In simple terms:** The past is not the best; future holds promise

Key Takeaway

Focus on creating better future experiences

Themes

nostalgia optimism future orientation hope progress

Mood

hopeful reflective

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- career planning
- personal growth
- community development

Key Concepts

psychology time perception motivation

Questions to Reflect On

- What can we learn from past experiences?
- How to balance nostalgia with progress?

A Different Perspective

May overlook lessons from history that inform future decisions

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ahead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahead/) [Days Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days-good-747279/) [Good day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-day/) [Good days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-days/) [Good Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-old/) [Good old days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-old-days/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Old days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-days/)

## Related quotes

> [People are always asking about the good old days. I say, why don't you say the good now days?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-young/people-are-always-asking-about-the-good-old-days-i-say-why-don-t-you/)

[Robert M Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-young/)

> [XD old days = good days cx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/xd-old-days-good-days-cx/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Bad days, good days, ‘I’ll cut you if you look at me the wrong way’ days. I’ll take them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/bad-days-good-days-i-ll-cut-you-if-you-look-at-me-the-wrong-way-days/)

[Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/)

> [“The majestic architecture, the cultivated manners, the simplicity of life, the disregard for one's fellow man, the plagues, the rampant corruption, the unmitigated racism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-elliott/the-majestic-architecture-the-cultivated-manners-the-simplicity-of/)

[Chris Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-elliott/)

> [I don't like conservatives. They always talk about the good old days. I'm black, we have no good old days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alonzo-bodden/i-don-t-like-conservatives-they-always-talk-about-the-good-old-days-i/)

[Alonzo Bodden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alonzo-bodden/)

> [Whatever happened to the good old days: you know, dirty attics, tuberculosis and general all-round suffering?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-wesker/whatever-happened-to-the-good-old-days-you-know-dirty-attics/)

[Arnold Wesker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-wesker/)

> [We grew up in the good old days before kids had these damn computers and actually played outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/we-grew-up-in-the-good-old-days-before-kids-had-these-damn-computers/)

[Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/)

> [“I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-bernard/i-wish-there-was-a-way-to-know-you-re-in-the-good-old-days-before-you/)

[Andy Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-bernard/)

> [“Not worried about the decor, Brandt. Seriously. Just find us some place where no one you knew from the good old days is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-lanyon/not-worried-about-the-decor-brandt-seriously-just-find-us-some-place/)

[Josh Lanyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-lanyon/)

> [I'm not the sort to wallow in nostalgia about the good old days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-bedi/i-m-not-the-sort-to-wallow-in-nostalgia-about-the-good-old-days/)

[Kabir Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-bedi/)

> [“to a surprising conclusion about this moment in our lives. No, it’s not that there are weird freckly spots on the back of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/to-a-surprising-conclusion-about-this-moment-in-our-lives-no-it-s-not/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [The good old days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-good-old-days/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The good old days. I was there. Where was they?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moms-mabley/the-good-old-days-i-was-there-where-was-they/)

[Moms Mabley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moms-mabley/)

> [Oh, give me back the good old days of fifty years ago,“ has been the cry ever since Adam's fifty-first birthday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/oh-give-me-back-the-good-old-days-of-fifty-years-ago-has-been-the-cry/)

[Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/)

> [When people talk about the good old days, I say to people, 'It's not the days that are old, it's you that's old.' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/when-people-talk-about-the-good-old-days-i-say-to-people-it-s-not-the/)

[Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/)

## More by Alice Childress

> [Everybody's got some sin, but if it troubles your heart you're a gentle sinner, just a good soul gone wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/everybody-s-got-some-sin-but-if-it-troubles-your-heart-you-re-a/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [ “That's sin, \[...\] leavin' on a lie.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/that-s-sin-leavin-on-a-lie/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [A gift - be it a present, a kind word or a job done with care and love - explains itself!... and if receivin'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/a-gift-be-it-a-present-a-kind-word-or-a-job-done-with-care-and-love/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [I'm independent as a hog on ice and a hog on ice is dead, cold, well-preserved and don't need a mother'grabbin, thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/i-m-independent-as-a-hog-on-ice-and-a-hog-on-ice-is-dead-cold-well/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [“Sound like a promise that can never happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/sound-like-a-promise-that-can-never-happen/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [“One day I almost said it . . . after goin over the words in my mind, "Benjie, the greatest thing in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/one-day-i-almost-said-it-after-goin-over-the-words-in-my-mind-benjie/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [“Schoolteachers can be some hard-eyed people, with talkin eyes; they mouth sayin one thing and them eyes be screamin another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/schoolteachers-can-be-some-hard-eyed-people-with-talkin-eyes-they/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [I think women need kindness more than love. When one human being is kind to another, it's a very deep matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/i-think-women-need-kindness-more-than-love-when-one-human-being-is/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [I was so mad you could have boiled a pot of water on my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/i-was-so-mad-you-could-have-boiled-a-pot-of-water-on-my-head/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [Where did we get the idea of insultin' folks by pointin' out their age? ... It seems that we think youth is some special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/where-did-we-get-the-idea-of-insultin-folks-by-pointin-out-their-age/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [Some truth has no nourishment in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/some-truth-has-no-nourishment-in-it/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [I believe racism has killed more people than speed, heroin, or cancer, and will continue to kill until it is no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/i-believe-racism-has-killed-more-people-than-speed-heroin-or-cancer/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [Zis and zat' when uttered by the French is considered charming, but 'dis and dat' as an Africanism is ridiculed as gross and ugly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/zis-and-zat-when-uttered-by-the-french-is-considered-charming-but-dis/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [Life is just a short walk from the cradle to the grave - and it sure behooves us to be kind to one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/life-is-just-a-short-walk-from-the-cradle-to-the-grave-and-it-sure/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

> [That's how women are, always studyin' each other and wonderin' how they look up 'gainst the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/that-s-how-women-are-always-studyin-each-other-and-wonderin-how-they/)

[Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

[Explore all 37 Alice Childress quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/)

## More Ahead quotes

> [Anybody who thinks that they should lead the country should go ahead and put their hat in the ring. I am not among them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-schatz/anybody-who-thinks-that-they-should-lead-the-country-should-go-ahead/)

[Brian Schatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-schatz/)

> [If I have a problem with somebody, I go ahead and say what's on my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-hulkenberg/if-i-have-a-problem-with-somebody-i-go-ahead-and-say-what-s-on-my-mind/)

[Nico Hulkenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-hulkenberg/)

> [I once invested in a risky business. Quite a few people warned me not to do so, but I still went ahead and invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-rode/i-once-invested-in-a-risky-business-quite-a-few-people-warned-me-not/)

[Gautam Rode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-rode/)

> [“What lies behind us is nothing compared to what lies within us and ahead of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/what-lies-behind-us-is-nothing-compared-to-what-lies-within-us-and/)

[Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/)

> [In Life, We May Never Get The Same Opportunity Again, But There's Always Something Better Ahead...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/in-life-we-may-never-get-the-same-opportunity-again-but-there-s/)

[Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/)

> [Makeup is only fun if it's occasional and capricious - just like it's a treat to have an empty day ahead, but it wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-coren-mitchell/makeup-is-only-fun-if-it-s-occasional-and-capricious-just-like-it-s-a/)

[Victoria Coren Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-coren-mitchell/)

> [There is no such thing as disposable time if you want to stay ahead of the game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-such-thing-as-disposable-time-if-you-want-to-stay-ahead/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'm the kind of guy who comes home and checks scores for everything. I'm a sports fan in general, so I pretty much keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chadwick-boseman/i-m-the-kind-of-guy-who-comes-home-and-checks-scores-for-everything-i/)

[Chadwick Boseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chadwick-boseman/)

> [People are flying you places in business class. Everyone wants to take pictures of you and find out information about you. It's a freak-out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yolandi-visser/people-are-flying-you-places-in-business-class-everyone-wants-to-take/)

[Yolandi Visser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yolandi-visser/)

> [I wasn't putting my all into it and I was still managing to score goals, and that gave me something to dream about, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gray/i-wasn-t-putting-my-all-into-it-and-i-was-still-managing-to-score/)

[Andre Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gray/)

> [There's no limit to what you can accomplish, but there's always someone one step ahead of you, so it's a constant uphill battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-mary-stewart/there-s-no-limit-to-what-you-can-accomplish-but-there-s-always/)

[Catherine Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-mary-stewart/)

> [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/)

[Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/)

> [I don't want to look too far ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jofra-archer/i-don-t-want-to-look-too-far-ahead/)

[Jofra Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jofra-archer/)

> [“one who takes the first step always remains one step ahead”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabi-shaheen/one-who-takes-the-first-step-always-remains-one-step-ahead/)

[Rabi Shaheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabi-shaheen/)

> [I am not interested to sing in Bollywood. I sing for only those actors whom I admire. I sing free of cost for them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-honey-singh/i-am-not-interested-to-sing-in-bollywood-i-sing-for-only-those-actors/)

[Yo Yo Honey Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-honey-singh/)

[Browse all 1,773 Ahead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahead/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "\"The good old days.\" The only good days are ahead.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alice Childress"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/the-good-old-days-the-only-good-days-are-ahead/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ahead"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/the-good-old-days-the-only-good-days-are-ahead/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/alice-childress-17343_ahead_the-good-old-days-the-only-good-days-are_2997254.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/alice-childress-17343_ahead_the-good-old-days-the-only-good-days-are_2997254.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/831/alice-childress-17343_ahead_the-good-old-days-the-only-good-days-are_2997254.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“\"The good old days.\" The only good days are ahead.” — Alice Childress",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Alice Childress",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "\"The good old days.\" The only...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/the-good-old-days-the-only-good-days-are-ahead/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/the-good-old-days-the-only-good-days-are-ahead/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```