--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s hard to imagine yourself in the…" description: "\"“It’s hard to imagine yourself in the future. It’s why people do so many dumb things, because they’re mired in the moment. Smoking, drinking, making di..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/anna-quindlen-467_future_it-s-hard-to-imagine-yourself-in-the-fut_2498304.png" --- # It’s hard to imagine yourself in the future. It’s why… ![“It’s hard to imagine yourself in the future. It’s why people do so many dumb things, because they’re mired in the moment. Smoking, drinking, making disastrous marriages, putting off medical tests. The reason we’ve made a mess of the planet is that being its stewards required us to imagine not our…” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/anna-quindlen-467_future_it-s-hard-to-imagine-yourself-in-the-fut_2498304.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/anna-quindlen-467_future_it-s-hard-to-imagine-yourself-in-the-fut_2498304.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c3/anna-quindlen-467_future_it-s-hard-to-imagine-yourself-in-the-fut_2498304.png) > ““It’s hard to imagine yourself in the future. It’s why people do so many dumb things, because they’re mired in the moment. Smoking, drinking, making disastrous marriages, putting off medical tests. The reason we’ve made a mess of the planet is that being its stewards required us to imagine not our own futures but those four or five generations removed.”” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People focus on immediate pleasures, neglecting long‑term consequences, which harms personal health and the planet across generations. **In simple terms:** Short‑term thinking harms health and the environment. Key Takeaway Consider long‑term impacts before acting. Themes future environment health shorttermism generational responsibility Mood contemplative urgent hopeful Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - personal health decisions - financial planning - environmental policy - family planning Key Concepts intergenerational ethics behavioral economics sustainability Questions to Reflect On - What future scenarios do you avoid thinking about? - How can you balance present joy with future stewardship? A Different Perspective Immediate gratification can be hard to resist despite known risks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Future People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-people-501657/) [Futures Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/futures-generations-1034951/) [Imagine Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-future/) [Imagine Futures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-futures-1034950/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When people walk away let them. 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In the future it could be about people you know less but are more important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-milner/facebook-now-is-mostly-about-people-you-know-in-the-future-it-could/) [Yuri Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-milner/) > [We are building towards the future where people need not own their own cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavish-aggarwal/we-are-building-towards-the-future-where-people-need-not-own-their/) [Bhavish Aggarwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavish-aggarwal/) > [I've tended to find that myths of the near future give people the ability to really kind of explore the present, so say for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-spooky/i-ve-tended-to-find-that-myths-of-the-near-future-give-people-the/) [DJ Spooky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-spooky/) > [Live in the moment, day by day, and don't stress about the future. People are so caught up in looking into the future, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-ushkowitz/live-in-the-moment-day-by-day-and-don-t-stress-about-the-future/) [Jenna Ushkowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-ushkowitz/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. 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In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. 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"It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More Future quotes > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. 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I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [Football is my passion, and who knows where I will play in the future - you cannot foresee that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edinson-cavani/football-is-my-passion-and-who-knows-where-i-will-play-in-the-future/) [Edinson Cavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edinson-cavani/) > [When I was 17, I broke up with my future wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-allen/when-i-was-17-i-broke-up-with-my-future-wife/) [Kris Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-allen/) > [I think everybody in the future has stopped talking to each other and we all just use emojis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/i-think-everybody-in-the-future-has-stopped-talking-to-each-other-and/) [Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/) > [When you continue to dwell on the past, there's no chance for a future. History repeats itself, thus, it's ok to LOOK back at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-continue-to-dwell-on-the-past-there-s-no-chance-for-a-future/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am no different from a lot of people. I am concerned for the future of my children and concerned for the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-am-no-different-from-a-lot-of-people-i-am-concerned-for-the-future/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [Starting a new job can be nerve-racking , but it's also exciting. You're embarking on a new future, positioning yourself to write a fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adena-friedman/starting-a-new-job-can-be-nerve-racking-but-it-s-also-exciting-you-re/) [Adena Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adena-friedman/) [Browse all 12,349 Future quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It’s hard to imagine yourself in the future. It’s why people do so many dumb things, because they’re mired in the moment. Smoking, drinking, making disastrous marriages, putting off medical tests. 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