--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not interested in the past. I am…" description: "\"I am not interested in the past. I am interested in the future, for that is where I expect to spend the rest of my life.\" — Charles Kettering" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/charles-kettering-5294_future_i-am-not-interested-in-the-past-i-am-int_1137962.png" --- # I am not interested in the past. I am interested in the… ![“I am not interested in the past. I am interested in the future, for that is where I expect to spend the rest of my life.” quote by Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/charles-kettering-5294_future_i-am-not-interested-in-the-past-i-am-int_1137962.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/charles-kettering-5294_future_i-am-not-interested-in-the-past-i-am-int_1137962.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/charles-kettering-5294_future_i-am-not-interested-in-the-past-i-am-int_1137962.png) > “I am not interested in the past. I am interested in the future, for that is where I expect to spend the rest of my life.” [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote expresses a focus on the future rather than the past, viewing the future as where one will spend the rest of life. **In simple terms:** Focus on the future, not the past. Key Takeaway Prioritize future goals. Themes future focus vision Mood optimistic forward‑looking Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - long‑term projects - legacy building Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What future goals drive you? - How can past experiences inform future plans? A Different Perspective Neglecting past lessons can be risky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Future Expect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-expect-3158983/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Interested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested/) [Interested Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested-future-494841/) [Interested Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested-past-1278242/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-goal/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Not interested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-interested/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Interested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-interested-494842/) [Preparation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preparation/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not interested in the past, I'm interested in the future. Europe is past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-rees-mogg/i-m-not-interested-in-the-past-i-m-interested-in-the-future-europe-is/) [Jacob Rees-Mogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-rees-mogg/) > [A historian is interested in the past because he is interested in life... a deeply felt need to assure the continuity of human life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-davis/a-historian-is-interested-in-the-past-because-he-is-interested-in/) [Ralph Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-davis/) > [I don't look at my old work. I mean, they made nice books; the books were made without me, the one from last year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/i-don-t-look-at-my-old-work-i-mean-they-made-nice-books-the-books/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [The electorate is bored of talking about the past. They are much more interested in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/layla-moran/the-electorate-is-bored-of-talking-about-the-past-they-are-much-more/) [Layla Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/layla-moran/) > [I don't like to dwell on the past. I'm interested in Fischerandom now, I am working on a new clock, I'm trying to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-fischer/i-don-t-like-to-dwell-on-the-past-i-m-interested-in-fischerandom-now/) [Bobby Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-fischer/) > [I am not interested in the past, except as the road to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianni-versace/i-am-not-interested-in-the-past-except-as-the-road-to-the-future/) [Gianni Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianni-versace/) > [Only a good-for-nothing is not interested in his past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/only-a-good-for-nothing-is-not-interested-in-his-past/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Generally speaking, I am not interested in the future and don't believe in it. First, I guess it is true that I don't trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yohji-yamamoto/generally-speaking-i-am-not-interested-in-the-future-and-don-t/) [Yohji Yamamoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yohji-yamamoto/) > [But her brain was not interested in the future. Loaded with the past and hungry for more, it left her no room to imagine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/but-her-brain-was-not-interested-in-the-future-loaded-with-the-past/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Anyone from my past I'm interested in, I've already stalked their homes. I like to go outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/anyone-from-my-past-i-m-interested-in-i-ve-already-stalked-their/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [Many people repeat the past. I'm not interested. I prefer evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issey-miyake/many-people-repeat-the-past-i-m-not-interested-i-prefer-evolution/) [Issey Miyake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issey-miyake/) > [I've always been interested in past lives, because they're earmarks of what creates us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-past-lives-because-they-re-earmarks-of/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [“But no one is interested in the past. If they were smart, they would be, for the past tells us all we need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-littlejohn/but-no-one-is-interested-in-the-past-if-they-were-smart-they-would-be/) [Emily Littlejohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-littlejohn/) > [I am interested in the past. Perhaps one of the reasons is we cannot make, cannot change the past. I mean you can hardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-am-interested-in-the-past-perhaps-one-of-the-reasons-is-we-cannot/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [If your Present is good. Only then, others are interested in your Past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashank-rayal/if-your-present-is-good-only-then-others-are-interested-in-your-past/) [Shashank Rayal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashank-rayal/) ## More by Charles Kettering > [Research is an organized method of trying to find out what you are going to do after you cannot do what you are doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/research-is-an-organized-method-of-trying-to-find-out-what-you-are/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [The sure ways to create new ventures of discovery are to keep an open mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/the-sure-ways-to-create-new-ventures-of-discovery-are-to-keep-an-open/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [If a fellow wants to be nobody in the business world, let him neglect sending the mailman to somebody on his behalf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/if-a-fellow-wants-to-be-nobody-in-the-business-world-let-him-neglect/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/every-time-you-tear-a-leaf-off-a-calendar-you-present-a-new-place-for/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Great steps in human progress are made by things that don't work the way philosophy thought they should. If things always worked the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/great-steps-in-human-progress-are-made-by-things-that-don-t-work-the/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Education is man's going forward from cocksure ignorance to thoughtful uncertainty.Where there is an open mind there will always be a frontier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/education-is-man-s-going-forward-from-cocksure-ignorance-to/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [you must take the problem as it is, and let it be what it wants to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/you-must-take-the-problem-as-it-is-and-let-it-be-what-it-wants-to-be/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [It is man's destiny to ponder on the riddle of existence and, as a byproduct of his wonderment, to create a new life on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/it-is-man-s-destiny-to-ponder-on-the-riddle-of-existence-and-as-a/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [We must look forward to the future as that is where most of us will be spending the rest of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/we-must-look-forward-to-the-future-as-that-is-where-most-of-us-will/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [There is a great difference between knowing and understanding: you can know a lot about something and not really understand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/there-is-a-great-difference-between-knowing-and-understanding-you-can/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [If I want to stop a research program I can always do it by getting a few experts to sit in on the subject,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/if-i-want-to-stop-a-research-program-i-can-always-do-it-by-getting-a/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [There will always be a frontier where there is an open mind and a willing hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/there-will-always-be-a-frontier-where-there-is-an-open-mind-and-a/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Obsolescence is a factor which says that the new thing I bring you is worth more than the unused value of the old thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/obsolescence-is-a-factor-which-says-that-the-new-thing-i-bring-you-is/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Nothing ever built arose to touch the skies unless some man dreamed that it should, some man believed that it could, and some man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/nothing-ever-built-arose-to-touch-the-skies-unless-some-man-dreamed/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [What I believe is that, by proper effort, we make the future almost anything we want to make it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/what-i-believe-is-that-by-proper-effort-we-make-the-future-almost/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) [Explore all 102 Charles Kettering quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) ## 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. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/) [Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/) > [A strong, durable Puerto Rican economy will leave the island better prepared to handle future natural disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/a-strong-durable-puerto-rican-economy-will-leave-the-island-better/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I'm just always looking forwards. 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": "I am not interested in the past. 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