--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You're not supposed to look back, you're…" description: "\"You're not supposed to look back, you're supposed to keep going.\" — Alice Sebold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/alice-sebold-999_look_you-re-not-supposed-to-look-back-you-re_3074497.jpg" --- # You're not supposed to look back, you're supposed to keep… ![“You're not supposed to look back, you're supposed to keep going.” quote by Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/alice-sebold-999_look_you-re-not-supposed-to-look-back-you-re_3074497.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/alice-sebold-999_look_you-re-not-supposed-to-look-back-you-re_3074497.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/alice-sebold-999_look_you-re-not-supposed-to-look-back-you-re_3074497.jpg) > “You're not supposed to look back, you're supposed to keep going.” [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) This quote is also attributed to [Zahid Abas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zahid-abas/) in other sources. Attributions for famous quotes are often disputed. ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One should focus on moving forward rather than dwelling on the past. **In simple terms:** Keep moving forward, not looking back. Key Takeaway Prioritize progress over nostalgia. Themes growth resilience future Mood motivational reflective Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - career advancement - personal healing - goal setting - overcoming loss Key Concepts psychology of grief forward motion Questions to Reflect On - What holds you back from moving forward? - How can past lessons be used without hindering progress? A Different Perspective Past experiences can still inform present choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Never let ANYONE tell you how you're supposed to look or how you're supposed to live your life. 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Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-duffy-stone/i-m-supposed-to-be-a-man-but-i-can-t-help-thinking-no-one-ever-showed/) Heather Duffy Stone > [“I was done with trying to fit into everyone’s preconceived box of who I was supposed to be. I was going to live my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-scardoni/i-was-done-with-trying-to-fit-into-everyone-s-preconceived-box-of-who/) [Bianca Scardoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-scardoni/) > [Life throws me into confusion. At time, I ponder whether I'm supposed to be going in or coming out. 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What am I supposed to do, put a plastic bag over my head?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-heatherton/i-can-t-help-the-way-i-look-what-am-i-supposed-to-do-put-a-plastic/) [Joey Heatherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-heatherton/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You’re not supposed to look so excited when I threaten you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurann-dohner/you-re-not-supposed-to-look-so-excited-when-i-threaten-you/) [Laurann Dohner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurann-dohner/) > [Often too many expectations are put on by society as to what we're supposed to look like and it's fed to people at an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-clare/often-too-many-expectations-are-put-on-by-society-as-to-what-we-re/) [Dustin Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-clare/) ## More by Alice Sebold > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I left my mark on that man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-left-my-mark-on-that-man/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [These things, she felt, were not to be passed around like disingenuous party favors. She kept an honor code with her journals and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/these-things-she-felt-were-not-to-be-passed-around-like-disingenuous/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I don't think ignorance is a way that you gain distance on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-don-t-think-ignorance-is-a-way-that-you-gain-distance-on-something/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I was like I was in science class: I was curious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-was-like-i-was-in-science-class-i-was-curious/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“There are secret rooms inside us,” I had said to my therapist. “A relatively benign construct,” he said, and so I did not bother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/there-are-secret-rooms-inside-us-i-had-said-to-my-therapist-a/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“This is just a temporary hell, not a permanent one”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/this-is-just-a-temporary-hell-not-a-permanent-one/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“And a soul would run by a living being, touch them softly on the shoulder or cheek, and continue on its way to heaven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/and-a-soul-would-run-by-a-living-being-touch-them-softly-on-the/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [As if in the other side of his kiss there could ve a new life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/as-if-in-the-other-side-of-his-kiss-there-could-ve-a-new-life/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“My little brother's greatest fear was that the one person who meant so much to him would go away. 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But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/ruth-hadn-t-talked-to-my-sister-since-before-my-death-and-then-it-was/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Since then I've always thought that under rape in the dictionary it should tell the truth. It is not just forcible intercourse; rape means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/since-then-i-ve-always-thought-that-under-rape-in-the-dictionary-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I live in a world where two truths coexist: where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-live-in-a-world-where-two-truths-coexist-where-both-hell-and-hope/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) [Explore all 302 Alice Sebold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## More Look quotes > [The World Is Perfect, But It Depends How You Look At.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria/the-world-is-perfect-but-it-depends-how-you-look-at/) [Maria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria/) > [Do I look like a fool to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/do-i-look-like-a-fool-to-you/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [If you want to edit your photos and make yourself look different, go for it. 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But you know there comes a time where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-funk/i-m-not-gonna-squeal-out-that-this-is-my-23rd-retirement-my-real-real/) [Terry Funk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-funk/) > [I'm very used to working with first time actors - you can just look back at 'E.T.' with Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-m-very-used-to-working-with-first-time-actors-you-can-just-look/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [That's one of my idols, I really look up to Pacquiao. This guy is everything I would want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-garcia/that-s-one-of-my-idols-i-really-look-up-to-pacquiao-this-guy-is/) [Ryan Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-garcia/) > [What I'd look for are roles in which the heroine's character has substance rather than just glamour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhika-pandit/what-i-d-look-for-are-roles-in-which-the-heroine-s-character-has/) [Radhika Pandit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhika-pandit/) > [If you look at the charts every year, there may be five or ten memorable songs from each year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-jackson/if-you-look-at-the-charts-every-year-there-may-be-five-or-ten/) [Randy Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-jackson/) > [Look at music for what it's worth around the world and not just America. 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I think it really does look so different for everyone who does it, I'm always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracie-abrams/i-don-t-know-what-successful-journaling-really-looks-like-i-think-it/) [Gracie Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracie-abrams/) Browse all 19,477 Look quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You're not supposed to look back, you're supposed to keep going.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice Sebold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/you-re-not-supposed-to-look-back-you-re-supposed-to-keep-going/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Look" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/you-re-not-supposed-to-look-back-you-re-supposed-to-keep-going/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/alice-sebold-999_look_you-re-not-supposed-to-look-back-you-re_3074497.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/alice-sebold-999_look_you-re-not-supposed-to-look-back-you-re_3074497.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/alice-sebold-999_look_you-re-not-supposed-to-look-back-you-re_3074497.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You're not supposed to look back, you're supposed to keep going.” — Alice Sebold", "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 Sebold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You're not supposed to look back,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/you-re-not-supposed-to-look-back-you-re-supposed-to-keep-going/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/you-re-not-supposed-to-look-back-you-re-supposed-to-keep-going/#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 } } ] } ```