--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The past is done. It’s really about who…" description: "\"“The past is done. It’s really about who we are now.”\" — Curtis Bunn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/curtis-bunn-67236_past_the-past-is-done-it-s-really-about-who-w_3205517.jpg" --- # The past is done. It’s really about who we are now. ![“The past is done. It’s really about who we are now.” quote by Curtis Bunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/curtis-bunn-67236_past_the-past-is-done-it-s-really-about-who-w_3205517.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/curtis-bunn-67236_past_the-past-is-done-it-s-really-about-who-w_3205517.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/curtis-bunn-67236_past_the-past-is-done-it-s-really-about-who-w_3205517.jpg) > ““The past is done. It’s really about who we are now.”” [Curtis Bunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-bunn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The past is finished; identity is defined by present actions and choices. **In simple terms:** We are shaped by now, not yesterday. Key Takeaway Focus on present growth. Themes identity time self‑development Mood reflective motivational Type self‑help philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - relationship building - habit formation - goal setting Key Concepts Existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What present habits define you? - How can you let go of past labels? A Different Perspective Past can still influence present decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-really-278368/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I really believe that our past can really hold us back from growth, so the best thing that we can do is MOVE ON…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-harper/i-really-believe-that-our-past-can-really-hold-us-back-from-growth-so/) [Bob Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-harper/) > [“Then he said a strange thing, but to himself. 'They lived, didn't they?' And I said yes, that when one reads old letters one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/then-he-said-a-strange-thing-but-to-himself-they-lived-didn-t-they/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [A lot of times we look at the past as something that was really great, but we ignore things that have actually gotten better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-chiang/a-lot-of-times-we-look-at-the-past-as-something-that-was-really-great-2/) [Cliff Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-chiang/) > [I really want to continue what I've already started with found sounds, but start borrowing from my past as well, so that it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shura/i-really-want-to-continue-what-i-ve-already-started-with-found-sounds/) [Shura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shura/) > [If the future and the past really exist, where are they?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/if-the-future-and-the-past-really-exist-where-are-they/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Can't the past really just stay in the past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/can-t-the-past-really-just-stay-in-the-past/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [A lot of times we look at the past as something that was really great, but we ignore things that have actually gotten better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-chiang/a-lot-of-times-we-look-at-the-past-as-something-that-was-really-great/) [Cliff Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-chiang/) > [The pictures remind you of something that can never be recaptured, the time is gone, the only thing you know is the present. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/the-pictures-remind-you-of-something-that-can-never-be-recaptured-the/) [William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/) > [Nights without beginning that had no end. Talking about a past as if it'd really happened. Telling themselves that this time next year, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/nights-without-beginning-that-had-no-end-talking-about-a-past-as-if/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [Sometimes it takes looking at the past to really be able to move forward and learn from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danica-patrick/sometimes-it-takes-looking-at-the-past-to-really-be-able-to-move/) [Danica Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danica-patrick/) > [The past is really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessamyn-west/the-past-is-really-almost-as-much-a-work-of-the-imagination-as-the/) [Jessamyn West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessamyn-west/) > [I write a lot about the past because I really see things clearly in hindsight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skylar-grey/i-write-a-lot-about-the-past-because-i-really-see-things-clearly-in/) [Skylar Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skylar-grey/) > [As far as my mental approach, I really think it's just knowing that the past is really irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-arrieta/as-far-as-my-mental-approach-i-really-think-it-s-just-knowing-that/) [Jake Arrieta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-arrieta/) > [It's funny, I don't really feel that nostalgic. I only recently started putting up some photos from some of the sessions I've done over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butch-vig/it-s-funny-i-don-t-really-feel-that-nostalgic-i-only-recently-started/) [Butch Vig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butch-vig/) > [I feel like I'm part of a generation of people who are stuck in the past and are really self-absorbed. I mean, we're actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diablo-cody/i-feel-like-i-m-part-of-a-generation-of-people-who-are-stuck-in-the/) [Diablo Cody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diablo-cody/) ## More by Curtis Bunn > [“I’m as manly and macho as the next guy. And I know that shedding a tear about something does not make or break my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-bunn/i-m-as-manly-and-macho-as-the-next-guy-and-i-know-that-shedding-a/) [Curtis Bunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-bunn/) > [“Look, you can’t account for other people’s actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-bunn/look-you-can-t-account-for-other-people-s-actions/) [Curtis Bunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-bunn/) > [“Things will happen when they should happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-bunn/things-will-happen-when-they-should-happen/) [Curtis Bunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-bunn/) [Explore all 4 Curtis Bunn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-bunn/) ## More Past quotes > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [You can think about it, wonder what went wrong, over analyze the situation but the fact remains... it's the past, just let it go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/you-can-think-about-it-wonder-what-went-wrong-over-analyze-the/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [The Iranian people have a proud past. They merit a great future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/the-iranian-people-have-a-proud-past-they-merit-a-great-future/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [I used to fight with hate. There's been a lot of aggression in my past growing up and stuff. That's because I was hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-namajunas/i-used-to-fight-with-hate-there-s-been-a-lot-of-aggression-in-my-past/) [Rose Namajunas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-namajunas/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Right before the pandemic, 'Past Lives' came across to me as something to read and possibly put myself on tape for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/right-before-the-pandemic-past-lives-came-across-to-me-as-something/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [I nibbled my lower lip. "If you could see into my past just by touching my back, you'd have a hard time resisting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-nibbled-my-lower-lip-if-you-could-see-into-my-past-just-by-touching/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [Liberalism is the philosophy for our time, because it does not try to conserve every tradition of the past, because it does not apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/liberalism-is-the-philosophy-for-our-time-because-it-does-not-try-to/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [Voting Labour in the past hasn't protected Scotland against Tory governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/voting-labour-in-the-past-hasn-t-protected-scotland-against-tory/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) [Browse all 19,844 Past quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The past is done. 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