--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No good thing can last forever, because…" description: "\"“No good thing can last forever, because people are terrible and we have this feeling, we all have this feeling , that if not for that essential terrib..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/catherynne-m-valente-375_good-thing_no-good-thing-can-last-forever-because-p_1558270.jpg" --- # No good thing can last forever, because people are… ![“No good thing can last forever, because people are terrible and we have this feeling, we all have this feeling , that if not for that essential terribleness we could have gotten further by now. Done better. Done more.” quote by Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/catherynne-m-valente-375_good-thing_no-good-thing-can-last-forever-because-p_1558270.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/catherynne-m-valente-375_good-thing_no-good-thing-can-last-forever-because-p_1558270.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/catherynne-m-valente-375_good-thing_no-good-thing-can-last-forever-because-p_1558270.jpg) > ““No good thing can last forever, because people are terrible and we have this feeling, we all have this feeling , that if not for that essential terribleness we could have gotten further by now. Done better. Done more.”” [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Everything is temporary; human flaws limit progress, yet that very imperfection drives improvement and ambition. **In simple terms:** Things end because people are flawed, but flaws push us forward. Key Takeaway Embrace imperfection as a catalyst for growth. Themes impermanence human nature ambition Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal projects - career planning - creative endeavors - relationship building Key Concepts existentialism motivation self‑improvement Questions to Reflect On - How can we channel frustration into productive effort? A Different Perspective If we eliminated flaws, would we lose the drive to improve? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) ## Related quotes > [There is no beauty, if it doesn't show some of the terribleness of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/there-is-no-beauty-if-it-doesn-t-show-some-of-the-terribleness-of-life/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [Love doesn't last forever, because there is no such thing as forever. We all die, we all move on and it's the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akila-sultana/love-doesn-t-last-forever-because-there-is-no-such-thing-as-forever/) [Akila Sultana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akila-sultana/) > [There's no such thing as forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/there-s-no-such-thing-as-forever/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Robotics has been around forever, and it's been the next big thing forever, and it is so exciting and compelling that it's easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-angle/robotics-has-been-around-forever-and-it-s-been-the-next-big-thing/) [Colin Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-angle/) > [“You know the Everneath?" "Uh, yeah, I think I'm familiar with it." "Good. Because I'm going to destroy it. I'm taking the whole. Damn.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brodi-ashton/you-know-the-everneath-uh-yeah-i-think-i-m-familiar-with-it-good/) [Brodi Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brodi-ashton/) > [One thing is forever good; That one thing is Success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/one-thing-is-forever-good-that-one-thing-is-success/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life's too short. You may be on this planet for 80 years at best or who knows, but you can't just pedal around and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-trotter/life-s-too-short-you-may-be-on-this-planet-for-80-years-at-best-or/) [Charlie Trotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-trotter/) > [If a thing can't go on forever, it will eventually stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-stein/if-a-thing-can-t-go-on-forever-it-will-eventually-stop/) [Herbert Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-stein/) > [“But there is no such thing as forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-rees/but-there-is-no-such-thing-as-forever/) Tracy Rees > [Through Everything That We Done Been Through We Still Stay Together I Just Pray That We Can Make This Thing Last Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amera/through-everything-that-we-done-been-through-we-still-stay-together-i/) [Amera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amera/) > [“what is love..?? it is "A THING BEYOND FOREVER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novoneel-chakraborty/what-is-love-it-is-a-thing-beyond-forever/) [Novoneel Chakraborty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novoneel-chakraborty/) > [Betty inhales sharply, 'It's just I thought I had lost you forever.' Oh, Betty, don't you know there's no such thing as forever?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/betty-inhales-sharply-it-s-just-i-thought-i-had-lost-you-forever-oh/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Seeing people get hurt without doing anything to help them is a terrible feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spido/seeing-people-get-hurt-without-doing-anything-to-help-them-is-a/) Spido > [There are certainly moments in the story room where you watch the movie die on the table. You put A next to B, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-scanlon/there-are-certainly-moments-in-the-story-room-where-you-watch-the/) [Dan Scanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-scanlon/) > [“Knowing you’ll never have something you really want is a terrible feeling, and something I wouldn’t wish on my own worst enemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-a-valentine/knowing-you-ll-never-have-something-you-really-want-is-a-terrible/) [Michelle A. Valentine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-a-valentine/) ## More by Catherynne M. Valente > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all just keep moving, September. We keep moving until we stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-just-keep-moving-september-we-keep-moving-until-we-stop/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You couldn't ever really fix a sad story. You could only make another. And another. And another, until you found the right one at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-couldn-t-ever-really-fix-a-sad-story-you-could-only-make-another/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“He considers it for a moment and spits out the seeds, which sprout, quickly, into tiny junkblossoms sizzling with recursive algorithms. The algorithms wriggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/he-considers-it-for-a-moment-and-spits-out-the-seeds-which-sprout/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“Truly, Mallow yearned to know everything. Curiosity was part of her, like her short blond hair and bitten fingernails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/truly-mallow-yearned-to-know-everything-curiosity-was-part-of-her/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“The cicada lies in the earth for seventeen years. It is warm and dark there, it is soft and wet. Its little legs curl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/the-cicada-lies-in-the-earth-for-seventeen-years-it-is-warm-and-dark/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Her heart was bruised by the kiss, smashed and surprised and unsettled by it. September thought kisses were all nice, sweet things asked for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/her-heart-was-bruised-by-the-kiss-smashed-and-surprised-and-unsettled/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“September put her hand on the grip of the Rivet Gun. She’d only just gotten it, and she’d promised to take copious notes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/september-put-her-hand-on-the-grip-of-the-rivet-gun-she-d-only-just/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Just tell yourself a story that'll satisfy you and pretend he told it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/just-tell-yourself-a-story-that-ll-satisfy-you-and-pretend-he-told-it/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You see, the future is a kind of stew, a soup, a vichyssoise of the present and the past. That's how you get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-see-the-future-is-a-kind-of-stew-a-soup-a-vichyssoise-of-the/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Fairy tales have always been about getting through the worst of everything, the darkest and the deepest and the bloodiest of events. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/fairy-tales-have-always-been-about-getting-through-the-worst-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“There is a place, September, oh, very far from Pandemonium. A place where it is always autumn, where there is always cider and pumpkin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/there-is-a-place-september-oh-very-far-from-pandemonium-a-place-where/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“I was happy, the sun was high. I had enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-was-happy-the-sun-was-high-i-had-enough/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Who are you?" "I am Death," said the creature. "I thought that was obvious." "But you're so small!" "Only because you are small. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/who-are-you-i-am-death-said-the-creature-i-thought-that-was-obvious/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) [Explore all 621 Catherynne M. Valente quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## More Good thing quotes > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [“Of the good things they do many will pass unnoticed, or will even not be considered good at all; but they need not fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/of-the-good-things-they-do-many-will-pass-unnoticed-or-will-even-not/) [Teresa of Ávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [“At times, competition can be a good thing. But a person's value isn't something that can be ranked, is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hotaru-odagiri/at-times-competition-can-be-a-good-thing-but-a-person-s-value-isn-t/) [Hotaru Odagiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hotaru-odagiri/) > [Here are the good things about independent films: They do the more interesting, chancy scripts. They're run by love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/here-are-the-good-things-about-independent-films-they-do-the-more/) [William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/) > [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The absence of judgment becomes a catalyst and an enabler for greater injustice. Contrary to popular thought, judgment is a GOOD thing when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-chace-gordon/the-absence-of-judgment-becomes-a-catalyst-and-an-enabler-for-greater/) [J. Chace Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-chace-gordon/) > [“I took that warm feeling running through my veins as a good thing and embraced the darkness for I knew it was only temporary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cox/i-took-that-warm-feeling-running-through-my-veins-as-a-good-thing-and/) [James Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cox/) > [If good things come to those who wait then I must have something ridiculously awesome coming!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/if-good-things-come-to-those-who-wait-then-i-must-have-something/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [IVE LEARNED THE BEST WAY FOR YOU TO HAVE GOOD THINGS HAPPEN TO YOU , ALL THE TIME, IS TO DO GOOD THINGS FOR…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-paul-rose/ive-learned-the-best-way-for-you-to-have-good-things-happen-to-you/) [LEONARD PAUL ROSE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-paul-rose/) > [In my rear view mirror the sun is going down sinking behind bridges in the road and I think of all the good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/in-my-rear-view-mirror-the-sun-is-going-down-sinking-behind-bridges/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [“These are all good things, I said. But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [Good things come to those who hustle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-noll/good-things-come-to-those-who-hustle/) [Chuck Noll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-noll/) > [Too many good things all seem the same after a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/too-many-good-things-all-seem-the-same-after-a-while/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) Browse all 6,343 Good thing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“No good thing can last forever, because people are terrible and we have this feeling, we all have this feeling , that if not for that essential terribleness we could have gotten further by now. Done better. 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