---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can't go back, though we're apt to…"
description: "\"“We can't go back, though we're apt to waver even as our wheels spin on.”\" — Brook Emery"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/brook-emery-97333_going-back_we-can-t-go-back-though-we-re-apt-to-wav_1936351.jpg"
---

#  We can't go back, though we're apt to waver even as our…

![“We can't go back, though we're apt to waver even as our wheels spin on.” quote by Brook Emery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/brook-emery-97333_going-back_we-can-t-go-back-though-we-re-apt-to-wav_1936351.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/brook-emery-97333_going-back_we-can-t-go-back-though-we-re-apt-to-wav_1936351.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/brook-emery-97333_going-back_we-can-t-go-back-though-we-re-apt-to-wav_1936351.jpg)

> ““We can't go back, though we're apt to waver even as our wheels spin on.””

[Brook Emery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brook-emery/)

## About This Quote

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

Indecision persists despite motion, trapping us in futile cycles.

**In simple terms:** We can’t return, yet we waver as we keep moving.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and break indecisive loops.

Themes

indecision movement paradox stagnation motivation

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

Going back:0 Poem:0 Spin:0 Waver:1 Wheels:0 Wheels Spin:0 Waver Wheels:0

When to use this quote

- career choices
- relationship decisions
- creative projects
- daily routines

Key Concepts

free will psychology habit formation

Questions to Reflect On

- What keeps you stuck while you move forward?
- How can you commit to a direction?

A Different Perspective

Wavering may stem from fear of commitment.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Going back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-back-73911/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Spin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spin/) [Waver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waver/) [Waver Wheels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waver-wheels-3059770/) [Wheels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheels/) [Wheels Spin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheels-spin-3059769/)

## Related quotes

> [“Going back to something is harder than you think." I don't suppose I could have broken my mother's heart any more if I tried.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/going-back-to-something-is-harder-than-you-think-i-don-t-suppose-i/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [“When going forward doesn't get you where you need to be, going back will at least keep you moving”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-sullivan/when-going-forward-doesn-t-get-you-where-you-need-to-be-going-back/)

[Michael J. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-sullivan/)

> [“You're only given as much as you can handle, before going back for seconds”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-stern/you-re-only-given-as-much-as-you-can-handle-before-going-back-for/)

[Josh Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-stern/)

> [“Whenever a river reaches the ocean, it waits to go back..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/whenever-a-river-reaches-the-ocean-it-waits-to-go-back/)

[Will Advise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-advise/)

> [In the end, you always go back to the people that were there in the beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-end-you-always-go-back-to-the-people-that-were-there-in-the/)

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

> [“It’s your call. You want to go back home, go ahead. But if I were you, I wouldn’t. Home is death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-abbott/it-s-your-call-you-want-to-go-back-home-go-ahead-but-if-i-were-you-i/)

[Jeff Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-abbott/)

> [“I've come to learn, and to establish mine in that same place i come from. Staying in my school place makes me always a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-michael/i-ve-come-to-learn-and-to-establish-mine-in-that-same-place-i-come/)

[sol michael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-michael/)

> [“I waver, continually fly to the summit of the mountain, but cannot stay up there for more than a moment. Others waver too, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-waver-continually-fly-to-the-summit-of-the-mountain-but-cannot-stay/)

[Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/)

> [Never ever waver. Be on record. Don't be on the wrong side of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/never-ever-waver-be-on-record-don-t-be-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/)

[Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/)

> [My confidence will never waver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jameis-winston/my-confidence-will-never-waver/)

[Jameis Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jameis-winston/)

> [Sometimes I feel 15; other times, I feel fully grown and mature and handling all my business. It can waver from day to day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fka-twigs/sometimes-i-feel-15-other-times-i-feel-fully-grown-and-mature-and/)

[FKA twigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fka-twigs/)

> [“We are more alarmed by leaders who waver than by those who screw up. (p.174)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/we-are-more-alarmed-by-leaders-who-waver-than-by-those-who-screw-up-p/)

[Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/)

> [If you're not confident in yourself, you're going to waver. I've wavered, and I've lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/if-you-re-not-confident-in-yourself-you-re-going-to-waver-i-ve/)

[Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/)

> [In a general way, I want to be a kind of flag-waver, bunting hanger-up, drum-beater, you name it, for poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-motion/in-a-general-way-i-want-to-be-a-kind-of-flag-waver-bunting-hanger-up/)

[Andrew Motion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-motion/)

> [“You waver, because you don’t really want to know … but you haven’t been a coward for some years now. So you steel yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-waver-because-you-don-t-really-want-to-know-but-you-haven-t-been/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

## More by Brook Emery

> [“Free diving is not entirely free: to go down you leave behind”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brook-emery/free-diving-is-not-entirely-free-to-go-down-you-leave-behind/)

[Brook Emery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brook-emery/)

[Explore all 2 Brook Emery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brook-emery/)

## More Going back quotes

> [“I've come to learn, and to establish mine in that same place i come from. Staying in my school place makes me always a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-michael/i-ve-come-to-learn-and-to-establish-mine-in-that-same-place-i-come/)

[sol michael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-michael/)

> [“It’s your call. You want to go back home, go ahead. But if I were you, I wouldn’t. Home is death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-abbott/it-s-your-call-you-want-to-go-back-home-go-ahead-but-if-i-were-you-i/)

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> [“Whenever a river reaches the ocean, it waits to go back..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/whenever-a-river-reaches-the-ocean-it-waits-to-go-back/)

[Will Advise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-advise/)

> [“You're only given as much as you can handle, before going back for seconds”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-stern/you-re-only-given-as-much-as-you-can-handle-before-going-back-for/)

[Josh Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-stern/)

> [“When going forward doesn't get you where you need to be, going back will at least keep you moving”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-sullivan/when-going-forward-doesn-t-get-you-where-you-need-to-be-going-back/)

[Michael J. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-sullivan/)

> [In the end, you always go back to the people that were there in the beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-end-you-always-go-back-to-the-people-that-were-there-in-the/)

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

> [“Going back to something is harder than you think." I don't suppose I could have broken my mother's heart any more if I tried.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/going-back-to-something-is-harder-than-you-think-i-don-t-suppose-i/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

[Browse all 8 Going back quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-back-73911/)

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