--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I try, in the present, to not exalt the…" description: "\"I try, in the present, to not exalt the past because I think that's such a way of diminishing the present. And it's hard to live like that.\" — Carrie B..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/carrie-brownstein-1580_diminishing_i-try-in-the-present-to-not-exalt-the-pa_2195410.png" --- # I try, in the present, to not exalt the past because I… ![“I try, in the present, to not exalt the past because I think that's such a way of diminishing the present. And it's hard to live like that.” quote by Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/carrie-brownstein-1580_diminishing_i-try-in-the-present-to-not-exalt-the-pa_2195410.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/carrie-brownstein-1580_diminishing_i-try-in-the-present-to-not-exalt-the-pa_2195410.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/carrie-brownstein-1580_diminishing_i-try-in-the-present-to-not-exalt-the-pa_2195410.png) > “I try, in the present, to not exalt the past because I think that's such a way of diminishing the present. And it's hard to live like that.” [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker struggles to avoid glorifying the past, recognizing that doing so diminishes the present, and finds it challenging to live without this tendency. **In simple terms:** Avoiding past glorification helps honor the present. Key Takeaway Stay present, limit past nostalgia. Themes mindfulness time self‑reflection Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical personal growth When to use this quote - daily meditation - creative work - relationship building Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does reminiscing affect your current actions? - What practices keep you grounded? A Different Perspective Balancing memory and present can be difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diminishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diminishing/) [Diminishing Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diminishing-present-4798908/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-think/) [Present Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-hard-4798909/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Diminishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-diminishing-1295668/) ## Related quotes > [Everybody will always find some way of diminishing your work, but it's all a lie!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleve-jones/everybody-will-always-find-some-way-of-diminishing-your-work-but-it-s/) [Cleve Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleve-jones/) > [I think in the past I think I probably was a little too diverse, probably went from one spectrum to the complete opposite and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-almond/i-think-in-the-past-i-think-i-probably-was-a-little-too-diverse/) [Marc Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-almond/) > [“Today, I will try to remember to regret the past. I will think of how many mistakes I have made throughout my life. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-hall/today-i-will-try-to-remember-to-regret-the-past-i-will-think-of-how/) [John S. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-hall/) > [The one wholly true thought one can hold about the past is that it is not here. To think about it at all is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/the-one-wholly-true-thought-one-can-hold-about-the-past-is-that-it-is/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [You write a song about how you think at the time, and then gradually you drift away from that, and when it's far enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/you-write-a-song-about-how-you-think-at-the-time-and-then-gradually/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [“Every waking second is a chance to look past who you think you are right through to who you truly are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ann-kipfer/every-waking-second-is-a-chance-to-look-past-who-you-think-you-are/) [Barbara Ann Kipfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ann-kipfer/) > [No one can change the past. Whatever we think we are right now is the reflection of whatever we did yesterday, but we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola-http-wwwamoreloveforlifecom/no-one-can-change-the-past-whatever-we-think-we-are-right-now-is-the/) [Kemmy Nola Http://wwwamoreloveforlifecom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola-http-wwwamoreloveforlifecom/) > [While writing books about the past, I think about the present. 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If you think about it, many wise decisions you have made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/all-forms-of-learning-rely-on-your-ability-to-continually-reference/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [I've regretted things in my past, but when I think of all the things that made me me, the past is the reason and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-regretted-things-in-my-past-but-when-i-think-of-all-the-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I try to not look back at the past, I think of it as a toilet that flushes...do I really want to go there?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-try-to-not-look-back-at-the-past-i-think-of-it-as-a-toilet-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The past is never where you think you left it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-past-is-never-where-you-think-you-left-it/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [When I look back at the past and think of all the time I squandered in error and idleness,... then my heart bleeds. Life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/when-i-look-back-at-the-past-and-think-of-all-the-time-i-squandered/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [For so long, I was ashamed of my past, and I think that crippled me a lot in having confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/for-so-long-i-was-ashamed-of-my-past-and-i-think-that-crippled-me-a/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) ## More by Carrie Brownstein > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Much of the music I remember from camp was unofficial: the songs a counselor would play for us on acoustic guitar or that an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/much-of-the-music-i-remember-from-camp-was-unofficial-the-songs-a/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Rihanna has guts and she always seems to be singing from someplace honest, dark and fierce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/rihanna-has-guts-and-she-always-seems-to-be-singing-from-someplace/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I think there's a lot of wonderful comics that leave you hanging in a state of apprehension or anxiety before alleviating that tension with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-think-there-s-a-lot-of-wonderful-comics-that-leave-you-hanging-in-a/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Well, in some ways I had sort of the opposite experience of other people that are sort of dreaming of being in a rock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/well-in-some-ways-i-had-sort-of-the-opposite-experience-of-other/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [There was a clarity to the Nineties. It was pre-9/11, before that anxiety kicked in that exists right now about the financial crisis or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/there-was-a-clarity-to-the-nineties-it-was-pre-9-11-before-that/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I think people would describe a lot of Sleater-Kinney as unsettling. And I don't think our best moments have sonic assonance to them. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-think-people-would-describe-a-lot-of-sleater-kinney-as-unsettling/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I'm always trying to encourage people not to limit themselves in the same way that many of our parents stayed with one job forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-m-always-trying-to-encourage-people-not-to-limit-themselves-in-the/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [The game Rock Band has been haunting me like a bad ring tone. It gets stuck in my head and momentarily effaces all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/the-game-rock-band-has-been-haunting-me-like-a-bad-ring-tone-it-gets/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I've mostly been focusing on writing, and I've really enjoyed not playing music. It will always be part of my life, but I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-ve-mostly-been-focusing-on-writing-and-i-ve-really-enjoyed-not/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [To me, curiosity is married to optimism. And that's where a lot of my motivation comes from. A lot of my way out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/to-me-curiosity-is-married-to-optimism-and-that-s-where-a-lot-of-my/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [ \[I hate\] the ways that people want their special needs to be met, whether it's their food allergies or their special lotions or shoes.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-hate-the-ways-that-people-want-their-special-needs-to-be-met/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [No matter what people are struggling with, or based on whatever. Sexuality, ethnicity, economic status, size. I don't wish smallness for anyone. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/no-matter-what-people-are-struggling-with-or-based-on-whatever/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I would not call myself an optimist, even though I would aspire to be. I am innately a skeptic. There's kind of an incessant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-would-not-call-myself-an-optimist-even-though-i-would-aspire-to-be/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I always find that nostalgia is sort of like memory without the pain. And that's why it feels so good to kind of bask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-always-find-that-nostalgia-is-sort-of-like-memory-without-the-pain/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Explore all 226 Carrie Brownstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) ## More Diminishing quotes > [One cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/one-cannot-deny-the-humanity-of-another-without-diminishing-one-s-own/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [“Outer happiness has Diminishing Marginal Utility; the more it grows, the satisfaction decreases. Resort to inner happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/outer-happiness-has-diminishing-marginal-utility-the-more-it-grows/) [Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/) > [“But in a few years more perhaps there may be; for, deep within us as the ghost instinct lurks, I seem to see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/but-in-a-few-years-more-perhaps-there-may-be-for-deep-within-us-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Everybody will always find some way of diminishing your work, but it's all a lie!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleve-jones/everybody-will-always-find-some-way-of-diminishing-your-work-but-it-s/) [Cleve Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleve-jones/) > [I was living in London and I thought, 'There's nothing here for me anymore.' I don't want to become this actor who's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-cox/i-was-living-in-london-and-i-thought-there-s-nothing-here-for-me/) [Brian Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-cox/) > [I believe that the market is slowly waking up to the fact that the Federal Reserve is a clueless organization. They have no idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-faber/i-believe-that-the-market-is-slowly-waking-up-to-the-fact-that-the/) [Marc Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-faber/) > [“The law of diminishing intent says that the longer you delay doing something, the less probability you have of actually doing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hyatt/the-law-of-diminishing-intent-says-that-the-longer-you-delay-doing/) [Michael Hyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hyatt/) > [Love in its early stages rarely maintains a level, it always seems to be growing or diminishing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libbie-block/love-in-its-early-stages-rarely-maintains-a-level-it-always-seems-to/) [Libbie Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libbie-block/) > [Horror and panic themselves are forms of violence, and diminishing them, restricting their dimensions, is itself a civilizing act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/horror-and-panic-themselves-are-forms-of-violence-and-diminishing/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The U.S. should be equally responsible for diminishing the cocaine market within the United States as it is in fighting the drug elsewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/the-u-s-should-be-equally-responsible-for-diminishing-the-cocaine/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [There are some persons we could not cut down to size without diminishing ourselvesas well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-some-persons-we-could-not-cut-down-to-size-without/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In diminishing his own preoccupation with himself, Lewis’s humility enabled him to see what was really valuable,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-diminishing-his-own-preoccupation-with-himself-lewis-s-humility/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [During Governor Jennifer Granholm's administration, Michigan has experienced job losses, declining personal incomes, diminishing home values, and the highest unemployment rate in the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walberg/during-governor-jennifer-granholm-s-administration-michigan-has/) [Tim Walberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walberg/) > [As a result of World War II, European artists migrated to America, enlarging the scene and diminishing Paris as the center. America was beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-glimcher/as-a-result-of-world-war-ii-european-artists-migrated-to-america/) [Arne Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-glimcher/) > [“Diminishing returns is the outcome of restriction”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/diminishing-returns-is-the-outcome-of-restriction/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) [Browse all 81 Diminishing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diminishing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I try, in the present, to not exalt the past because I think that's such a way of diminishing the present. 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