--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't look forward and backward at…" description: "\"You can't look forward and backward at the same time…...so I choose to look forward.\" — Buck Brannaman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/buck-brannaman-3938_backward_you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward-at-t_2594525.png" --- # You can't look forward and backward at the same time…...so… ![“You can't look forward and backward at the same time…...so I choose to look forward.” quote by Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/buck-brannaman-3938_backward_you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward-at-t_2594525.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/buck-brannaman-3938_backward_you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward-at-t_2594525.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/buck-brannaman-3938_backward_you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward-at-t_2594525.png) > “You can't look forward and backward at the same time…...so I choose to look forward.” [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing focus over indecision; moving ahead requires letting go of past and future anxieties. **In simple terms:** Focus forward, ignore past and future doubts. Key Takeaway Commit to present direction. Themes focus determination growth Mood hopeful determined Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - personal relationships - sports training - creative projects Key Concepts mindfulness choice direction Questions to Reflect On - What does looking forward mean for you now? - How can you release past regrets? A Different Perspective Future uncertainty can paralyze if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Backward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backward/) [Backward Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backward-time-551606/) [Forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forward/) [Forward Backward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forward-backward-551605/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Look forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-forward/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Time Choose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-choose-519526/) ## Related quotes > [You can't look forward and backward at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-young/you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward-at-the-same-time/) [Coleman Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-young/) > [You can't look forward and backward...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-young/you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward/) [Coleman Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-young/) > [Always look forward never backward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-look-forward-never-backward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Look not back. No, not even if you see the dearest and nearest cry. Look not back, but forward. We cannot stop. If we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/look-not-back-no-not-even-if-you-see-the-dearest-and-nearest-cry-look/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Things will change if you look forward not backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/things-will-change-if-you-look-forward-not-backward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is a curious phenomenon: as we advance, we reach backward in time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-graham/it-is-a-curious-phenomenon-as-we-advance-we-reach-backward-in-time/) [Wade Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-graham/) > [Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight, Make me a child again just for to-night!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chase-allen/backward-turn-backward-o-time-in-your-flight-make-me-a-child-again/) [Elizabeth Chase Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chase-allen/) > [Vaccinated Time Travel: To fantasize about traveling backward in time, but only with proper vaccinations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/vaccinated-time-travel-to-fantasize-about-traveling-backward-in-time/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [I practice going backward all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stipe-miocic/i-practice-going-backward-all-the-time/) [Stipe Miocic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stipe-miocic/) > [Paradoxically, only journeying backward in time and reentering the home we once knew allows us to go forward to the home we've always wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/paradoxically-only-journeying-backward-in-time-and-reentering-the/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If you have a wormhole, then you can turn them into time machines for going backward in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/if-you-have-a-wormhole-then-you-can-turn-them-into-time-machines-for/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [Of course the orders all converge backward in time, to different degrees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/of-course-the-orders-all-converge-backward-in-time-to-different/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forward ever, backward never.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-bishop/forward-ever-backward-never/) [Maurice Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-bishop/) > [I want Europe to go forward, not backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-timmermans/i-want-europe-to-go-forward-not-backward/) [Frans Timmermans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-timmermans/) > [I try to avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-try-to-avoid-looking-forward-or-backward-and-try-to-keep-looking/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) ## More by Buck Brannaman > [You want your kids to feel happy and good about themselves. The rest they'll work out on their own. You never know what your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/you-want-your-kids-to-feel-happy-and-good-about-themselves-the-rest/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [In life, we don't know why things happen. I believe God is not responsible for the bad things that happen to you. Sometimes I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/in-life-we-don-t-know-why-things-happen-i-believe-god-is-not/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [All your horse looks for is the thing that matters most, peace and contentment. Give it to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/all-your-horse-looks-for-is-the-thing-that-matters-most-peace-and/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [Think of the horse as your partner.and it's all one great dance. That's not to say it's always going to be easy or you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/think-of-the-horse-as-your-partner-and-it-s-all-one-great-dance-that/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [Everything you do with a horse is a dance,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/everything-you-do-with-a-horse-is-a-dance/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [Once I get the horse where he’s responding and working for ya and has a good frame of mind and a good attitude, it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/once-i-get-the-horse-where-he-s-responding-and-working-for-ya-and-has/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [By the time you’ve had a relationship with a horse for a while, there are characteristics in the way the horse behaves with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/by-the-time-you-ve-had-a-relationship-with-a-horse-for-a-while-there/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [Horses are consistent and logical. The horse will do what is easiest for him. If you make it easy for him to buck you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/horses-are-consistent-and-logical-the-horse-will-do-what-is-easiest/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [I’m not trying to turn you into cowboys, I’m just trying to get you better coordinated, get your horse used to things, get your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/i-m-not-trying-to-turn-you-into-cowboys-i-m-just-trying-to-get-you/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [Theoretically, the human is supposed to be the smart one. Well, if we are, then we need to be able to adjust to fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/theoretically-the-human-is-supposed-to-be-the-smart-one-well-if-we/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [It's a process and it's a matter of understanding the horse and through any of these little projects you have a beginning, a middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/it-s-a-process-and-it-s-a-matter-of-understanding-the-horse-and/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [Gentle in what you do, Firm in how you do it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/gentle-in-what-you-do-firm-in-how-you-do-it/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [I often tell people in the clinics, the human possesses the one thing that means more to the horse than anything in the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/i-often-tell-people-in-the-clinics-the-human-possesses-the-one-thing/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [Horses don’t think the same as humans. Something that’s most unique about the horse, that I love, is not what he possesses but what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/horses-don-t-think-the-same-as-humans-something-that-s-most-unique/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [I often tell people that I truly want the horse to be my feet and legs. I want to be an extension of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/i-often-tell-people-that-i-truly-want-the-horse-to-be-my-feet-and/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) [Explore all 119 Buck Brannaman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) ## More Backward quotes > [I hate looking backward, but every once in a while it sneaks up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-lancaster/i-hate-looking-backward-but-every-once-in-a-while-it-sneaks-up-on-you/) [Burt Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-lancaster/) > [“Thus the thoughtless drift backward toward slavery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-g-woodson/thus-the-thoughtless-drift-backward-toward-slavery/) [Carter G. Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-g-woodson/) > [“Whoever said that the past isn’t dead had it backward. It’s the future that’s already dead, already played out. This whole night has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/whoever-said-that-the-past-isn-t-dead-had-it-backward-it-s-the-future/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honestly-if-you-were-any-slower-you-d-be-going-backward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I learn things in a backward way. I learn all those limitations, and slowly my brain soaks them up, and if things go right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-odenkirk/i-learn-things-in-a-backward-way-i-learn-all-those-limitations-and/) [Bob Odenkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-odenkirk/) > [“It took us a while to discover that we do effectively think, but that we more readily narrate backward in order to give ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-took-us-a-while-to-discover-that-we-do-effectively-think-but-that/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Our habit of wishing backward from what is to what might have been is the soft but persistent tapping that cracks the crystal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/our-habit-of-wishing-backward-from-what-is-to-what-might-have-been-is/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The thing I love most about my job is watching people age backward, becoming more lively and energetic as they free themselves from situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/the-thing-i-love-most-about-my-job-is-watching-people-age-backward/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“Dreaming her way backward in time, resurrecting images, the young girl realized, with wonder, that the absent are always present, that you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/dreaming-her-way-backward-in-time-resurrecting-images-the-young-girl/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Us ballplayers do things backward. First we play, then we retire and go to work. —CHARLIE GEHRINGER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-wilde/us-ballplayers-do-things-backward-first-we-play-then-we-retire-and-go-2/) [Lori Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-wilde/) > [This was the Darker Life, where every truth was written backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/this-was-the-darker-life-where-every-truth-was-written-backward/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!I am so weary of toil and of tears,-Toil without recompense, tears all in vain!Take them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chase-allen/backward-flow-backward-o-tide-of-the-years-i-am-so-weary-of-toil-and/) [Elizabeth Chase Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chase-allen/) > [I loved you backward and forward in time. I loved you beyond boundaries of time and space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/i-loved-you-backward-and-forward-in-time-i-loved-you-beyond/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead; that is where your future lies. Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/nobody-gets-to-live-life-backward-look-ahead-that-is-where-your/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [“Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward." from CUTTING FOR STONE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) [Browse all 340 Backward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backward/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't look forward and backward at the same time…...so I choose to look forward.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Buck Brannaman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward-at-the-same-time-so-i-choose-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Backward" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward-at-the-same-time-so-i-choose-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/buck-brannaman-3938_backward_you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward-at-t_2594525.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/buck-brannaman-3938_backward_you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward-at-t_2594525.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/buck-brannaman-3938_backward_you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward-at-t_2594525.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't look forward and backward at the same time…...so I choose to look forward.” — Buck Brannaman", "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": "Buck Brannaman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can't look forward and backward...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward-at-the-same-time-so-i-choose-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/you-can-t-look-forward-and-backward-at-the-same-time-so-i-choose-to/#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 } } ] } ```