--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But that's just it; I can either focus on…" description: "\"“But that's just it; I can either focus on what I have lost, or what I have gained, and I choose the latter.”\" — Angie Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/angie-smith-45260_focus_but-that-s-just-it-i-can-either-focus-on_2325379.jpg" --- # But that's just it; I can either focus on what I have… ![“But that's just it; I can either focus on what I have lost, or what I have gained, and I choose the latter.” quote by Angie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/angie-smith-45260_focus_but-that-s-just-it-i-can-either-focus-on_2325379.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/angie-smith-45260_focus_but-that-s-just-it-i-can-either-focus-on_2325379.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/angie-smith-45260_focus_but-that-s-just-it-i-can-either-focus-on_2325379.jpg) > ““But that's just it; I can either focus on what I have lost, or what I have gained, and I choose the latter.”” [Angie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She decides to focus on gains rather than losses, adopting a positive outlook. **In simple terms:** Focus on what you have gained. Key Takeaway Choose gratitude over regret. Themes gratitude mindset loss vs gain Mood hopeful pragmatic Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career setbacks - personal growth - financial loss - relationship breakup Key Concepts positive psychology choice theory Questions to Reflect On - What can you learn from what you lost? - How does focusing on gains affect future decisions? A Different Perspective Optimism can blind you to real problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Saddness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saddness/) ## Related quotes > [If you focus too much on who you have lost, you'll push away everyone that's left!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-focus-too-much-on-who-you-have-lost-you-ll-push-away-everyone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had totally lost my way. I lost focus. I lost myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britney-spears/i-had-totally-lost-my-way-i-lost-focus-i-lost-myself/) [Britney Spears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britney-spears/) > [I Lost You But I Gained Him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma/i-lost-you-but-i-gained-him/) [Emma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma/) > [Something's lost, but something's gained, in living everyday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/something-s-lost-but-something-s-gained-in-living-everyday/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Those who in fact risk all for God will find that they have both lost all and gained all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/those-who-in-fact-risk-all-for-god-will-find-that-they-have-both-lost/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [“We cried because we had lost something and gained something else. And because it hurt both losing and gaining. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-shot-you-all-right-he-said-and-you-lost-something-but-you-gained/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You have not actually lost what you have not gained in the first place!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-have-not-actually-lost-what-you-have-not-gained-in-the-first-place/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As it turned out, Welcome was where I lost everything, and gained everything. Welcome was the place where my life was guided from one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/as-it-turned-out-welcome-was-where-i-lost-everything-and-gained/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [I've lost, but I also gained a lot. I'm a creative person, and no one can take that away from me. I've been told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galliano/i-ve-lost-but-i-also-gained-a-lot-i-m-a-creative-person-and-no-one/) [John Galliano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galliano/) > [“Without the pain there would not be art, the patterns are the pieces of me i've lost and gained along the way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/without-the-pain-there-would-not-be-art-the-patterns-are-the-pieces/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [“everyone wants happiness no one wants pain but you can't have a rainbow without any rain”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-wants-happiness-no-one-wants-pain-but-you-can-t-have-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You dont know how I feel so dont tell me that I feel a certain way because your not me and you dont know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-dont-know-how-i-feel-so-dont-tell-me-that-i-feel-a-certain-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Illusion" A man wants to be free flying in the emptiness of the universe He thinks he means something in the endlessness of nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asper-blurry/illusion-a-man-wants-to-be-free-flying-in-the-emptiness-of-the/) [Asper Blurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asper-blurry/) ## More by Angie Smith > [“What He has chosen not to reveal to me is inconsequential when compared to what He has promised me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-smith/what-he-has-chosen-not-to-reveal-to-me-is-inconsequential-when/) [Angie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-smith/) > [“Be in constant communication with Him so that when times get hard, you will have relationship instead of requests.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-smith/be-in-constant-communication-with-him-so-that-when-times-get-hard-you/) [Angie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-smith/) > [“...what I mean is that we simply may not have the same meaning as God for the word 'failure.' To me, failure means it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-smith/what-i-mean-is-that-we-simply-may-not-have-the-same-meaning-as-god/) [Angie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-smith/) > [“Sometimes the fear of failure steals the beauty we were meant to create.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-smith/sometimes-the-fear-of-failure-steals-the-beauty-we-were-meant-to/) [Angie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-smith/) > [“Salvation isn’t about sets of words. It’s an attitude of the heart. The words have no power in and of themselves; it’s not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-smith/salvation-isn-t-about-sets-of-words-it-s-an-attitude-of-the-heart-the/) [Angie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-smith/) > [“There will be the IV poles, the divorce papers, the sound of dirt hitting a casket. 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I actually discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/music-is-a-job-but-i-figured-out-ways-to-get-my-mind-into-a-place/) [Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/) > [“If you're focused, you can't get bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/if-you-re-focused-you-can-t-get-bored/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [There are more important things to focus on in life than how you look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arden-cho/there-are-more-important-things-to-focus-on-in-life-than-how-you-look/) [Arden Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arden-cho/) > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [“This is Galileo,” said Aristotle. “He advocates understanding the world through observation and experiment. 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Everything else will take care of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grigor-dimitrov/all-i-m-focused-on-is-playing-my-game-everything-else-will-take-care/) [Grigor Dimitrov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grigor-dimitrov/) > [Focus on being productive instead of busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/focus-on-being-productive-instead-of-busy/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) [Browse all 11,734 Focus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But that's just it; I can either focus on what I have lost, or what I have gained, and I choose the latter.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Angie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-smith/but-that-s-just-it-i-can-either-focus-on-what-i-have-lost-or-what-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Focus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-smith/but-that-s-just-it-i-can-either-focus-on-what-i-have-lost-or-what-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/angie-smith-45260_focus_but-that-s-just-it-i-can-either-focus-on_2325379.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/angie-smith-45260_focus_but-that-s-just-it-i-can-either-focus-on_2325379.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/angie-smith-45260_focus_but-that-s-just-it-i-can-either-focus-on_2325379.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But that's just it; I can either focus on what I have lost, or what I have gained, and I choose the latter.” — Angie Smith", "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": "Angie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But that's just it; I can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-smith/but-that-s-just-it-i-can-either-focus-on-what-i-have-lost-or-what-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-smith/but-that-s-just-it-i-can-either-focus-on-what-i-have-lost-or-what-i/#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 } } ] } ```