--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So he must use what time he has creating…" description: "\"“So he must use what time he has creating now for the future and utilize the past only to help the future, not as a razor strop for guilts and fears th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/charles-mingus-13816_fear_so-he-must-use-what-time-he-has-creating_2095397.jpg" --- # So he must use what time he has creating now for the… ![“So he must use what time he has creating now for the future and utilize the past only to help the future, not as a razor strop for guilts and fears that inhibit his very being. Or like it said at the end of a labor song I liked a lot when I was a kid: what I mean is, take it easy, but take it.” quote by Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/charles-mingus-13816_fear_so-he-must-use-what-time-he-has-creating_2095397.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/charles-mingus-13816_fear_so-he-must-use-what-time-he-has-creating_2095397.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/charles-mingus-13816_fear_so-he-must-use-what-time-he-has-creating_2095397.jpg) > ““So he must use what time he has creating now for the future and utilize the past only to help the future, not as a razor strop for guilts and fears that inhibit his very being. Or like it said at the end of a labor song I liked a lot when I was a kid: what I mean is, take it easy, but take it.”” [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing present action with future goals, using past experiences constructively, not as self‑criticism **In simple terms:** Use the present to build the future, learn from the past without guilt Key Takeaway Act now, plan ahead, release past guilt Themes productivity future‑orientation self‑compassion Mood reflective motivational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - artistic creation - overcoming regret Key Concepts mindfulness temporal perspective creative process Questions to Reflect On - How can you transform past regrets into useful lessons? - What small step can you take today for tomorrow’s benefit? A Different Perspective Past can still dominate thoughts, causing paralysis ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [God spent extra time creating you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/god-spent-extra-time-creating-you/) [KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/) > [I want to invest time in creating moments for myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/partynextdoor/i-want-to-invest-time-in-creating-moments-for-myself/) PartyNextDoor > [Don't spend all of your time trying to FIND yourself. Spend your time CREATING yourself into a person that you'll be proud of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/don-t-spend-all-of-your-time-trying-to-find-yourself-spend-your-time/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I care about the diversity of the mindset of the people creating our future, and the windows through which we see it, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baratunde-thurston/i-care-about-the-diversity-of-the-mindset-of-the-people-creating-our/) [Baratunde Thurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baratunde-thurston/) > [In the United States, nobody needs to remind people of their own role or their own power in creating the future they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianna-angelopoulos-daskalaki/in-the-united-states-nobody-needs-to-remind-people-of-their-own-role/) [Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianna-angelopoulos-daskalaki/) > [The thoughts you choose to think and believe right now are creating your future. These thoughts form your experiences, tomorrow, next week, and next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/the-thoughts-you-choose-to-think-and-believe-right-now-are-creating/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [Today, no leader can afford to be indifferent to the challenge of engaging employees in the work of creating the future. Engagement may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/today-no-leader-can-afford-to-be-indifferent-to-the-challenge-of/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) > [We are creating the future. It is not determined. If we get our act together and solve our current problems, we could have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-are-creating-the-future-it-is-not-determined-if-we-get-our-act/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [What you are thinking now is creating your future life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/what-you-are-thinking-now-is-creating-your-future-life/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [It is only by acknowledging that you have created everything up until now that you can take charge of creating the future you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/it-is-only-by-acknowledging-that-you-have-created-everything-up-until/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [Discipline has within it the potential for creating future miracles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/discipline-has-within-it-the-potential-for-creating-future-miracles/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“My journey was never just about survival; it was about creating a future where no one has to endure the same suffering”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hagir-elsheikh/my-journey-was-never-just-about-survival-it-was-about-creating-a/) [Hagir Elsheikh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hagir-elsheikh/) > [I had a great time creating the future on 'Minority Report,' and it's a future that is coming true faster than any of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-had-a-great-time-creating-the-future-on-minority-report-and-it-s-a/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [When you dream you are creating the future, your inner world. By the time you finish this book, you will have a deeper understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/when-you-dream-you-are-creating-the-future-your-inner-world-by-the/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [Your current thoughts are creating your future life. What you think about the most or focus on the most will appear as your life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/your-current-thoughts-are-creating-your-future-life-what-you-think/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) ## More by Charles Mingus > [Tastes are created by the business interests. How else can you explain the popularity of Al Hirt?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/tastes-are-created-by-the-business-interests-how-else-can-you-explain/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [Whatever coast he's on, a man should be himself. I don't write in any particular idiom, I write Charles Mingus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/whatever-coast-he-s-on-a-man-should-be-himself-i-don-t-write-in-any/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [If someone has been escaping reality, I don't expect him to dig my music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/if-someone-has-been-escaping-reality-i-don-t-expect-him-to-dig-my/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [Everything I do is Mingus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/everything-i-do-is-mingus/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [I've got a feeling that, if it's so easy for you, the struggle and the initiative are not as strong as they are for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/i-ve-got-a-feeling-that-if-it-s-so-easy-for-you-the-struggle-and-the/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [I never heard my music played the way I heard it in my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/i-never-heard-my-music-played-the-way-i-heard-it-in-my-head/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [That sound in tune to you? Sounds sharp to me. Sounds like I'm playing sharp all the time. My singing teacher told us you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/that-sound-in-tune-to-you-sounds-sharp-to-me-sounds-like-i-m-playing/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [Our nights didn't begin until after noon. Because in the old days, you'd start Birdland at 8:30 or 9 pm and play until 4…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/our-nights-didn-t-begin-until-after-noon-because-in-the-old-days-you/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [My son's a painter. All through school his teachers tell him he's a genius. I tell him to paint me an apple that looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/my-son-s-a-painter-all-through-school-his-teachers-tell-him-he-s-a/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [“Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/anyone-can-make-the-simple-complicated-creativity-is-making-the/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [I always wanted to be a spontaneous composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-spontaneous-composer/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [I always thought that no matter what kind of work people did, they should involve themselves totally with all the discrimination they ran into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/i-always-thought-that-no-matter-what-kind-of-work-people-did-they/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [I was born swinging and clapped my hands in church as a little boy, but I've grown up and I like to do things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/i-was-born-swinging-and-clapped-my-hands-in-church-as-a-little-boy/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [“Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can play weird-- that's easy. What's hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/creativity-is-more-than-just-being-different-anybody-can-play-weird/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [Let my children have music! Let them hear live music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/let-my-children-have-music-let-them-hear-live-music/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) [Explore all 49 Charles Mingus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) ## More Fear quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) Nagisa Tatsumi > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“Snip off the little worries and expressions of worry” like little branches atop a tall tree.28 If you are truly worried, sharing your concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/snip-off-the-little-worries-and-expressions-of-worry-like-little/) [Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/) > [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) [Browse all 35,569 Fear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So he must use what time he has creating now for the future and utilize the past only to help the future, not as a razor strop for guilts and fears that inhibit his very being. Or like it said at the end of a labor song I liked a lot when I was a kid: what I mean is, take it easy, but take it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Mingus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/so-he-must-use-what-time-he-has-creating-now-for-the-future-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fear" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/so-he-must-use-what-time-he-has-creating-now-for-the-future-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/charles-mingus-13816_fear_so-he-must-use-what-time-he-has-creating_2095397.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/charles-mingus-13816_fear_so-he-must-use-what-time-he-has-creating_2095397.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/charles-mingus-13816_fear_so-he-must-use-what-time-he-has-creating_2095397.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So he must use what time he has creating now for the future and utilize the past only to help the future…” — Charles Mingus", "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": "Charles Mingus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“So he must use what time...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/so-he-must-use-what-time-he-has-creating-now-for-the-future-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/so-he-must-use-what-time-he-has-creating-now-for-the-future-and/#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 } } ] } ```