--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the central fact of our existence is that…" description: "\"“the central fact of our existence is that time is the ultimate finite resource, but the remembering self ignores that reality”\" — Daniel Kahneman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/daniel-kahneman-431_existence_the-central-fact-of-our-existence-is-tha_325108.jpg" --- # the central fact of our existence is that time is the… ![“the central fact of our existence is that time is the ultimate finite resource, but the remembering self ignores that reality” quote by Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/daniel-kahneman-431_existence_the-central-fact-of-our-existence-is-tha_325108.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/daniel-kahneman-431_existence_the-central-fact-of-our-existence-is-tha_325108.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/daniel-kahneman-431_existence_the-central-fact-of-our-existence-is-tha_325108.jpg) > ““the central fact of our existence is that time is the ultimate finite resource, but the remembering self ignores that reality”” [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We have limited time, yet our reflective mind often behaves as if it were endless, causing poor prioritization. **In simple terms:** Time is limited but we act as if it isn’t. Key Takeaway Recognize time limits and plan accordingly. Themes time management psychology self-awareness Mood reflective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal budgeting - project planning - career decisions - health goals Key Concepts finite resources remembering self cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How can you make your remembering self respect time limits? - What habits help you honor finite resources? A Different Perspective The remembering self can be trained to value time more. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“In that same lecture, Kahneman confessed that the outsize power of the remembering self mystified him. “Why do we put so much weight on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/in-that-same-lecture-kahneman-confessed-that-the-outsize-power-of-the/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [To feel beauty, to feel truth, that is self-remembering. Self-remembering is the awareness of the presence of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-collin/to-feel-beauty-to-feel-truth-that-is-self-remembering-self/) [Rodney Collin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-collin/) > [“The experiencing self does not have a voice. The remembering self is sometimes wrong, but it is the one that keeps score and governs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-experiencing-self-does-not-have-a-voice-the-remembering-self-is/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Odd as it may seem, I am my remembering self, and the experiencing self, who does my living, is like a stranger to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/odd-as-it-may-seem-i-am-my-remembering-self-and-the-experiencing-self/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Experienced happiness refers to your feelings, to how happy you are as you live your life. In contrast, the satisfaction of the remembering self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/experienced-happiness-refers-to-your-feelings-to-how-happy-you-are-as/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [The experiencing self lives in the moment; it is the one that answers the question, 'Does it hurt?' or 'What were you thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-experiencing-self-lives-in-the-moment-it-is-the-one-that-answers/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“I am my remembering self, and the experiencing self, who does my living, is like a stranger to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/i-am-my-remembering-self-and-the-experiencing-self-who-does-my-living/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“recent research that has introduced a distinction between two selves, the experiencing self and the remembering self, which do not have the same interests.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/recent-research-that-has-introduced-a-distinction-between-two-selves/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [The simple fact of existence, of being aware that you are aware; this to me is the most astounding fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hurt/the-simple-fact-of-existence-of-being-aware-that-you-are-aware-this/) [William Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hurt/) > [The basic fact of existence in life of walking around trying to feed ourselves and find friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-basic-fact-of-existence-in-life-of-walking-around-trying-to-feed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If not then you must be trying to hear us and in such cases we cannot be heard. We remain in the darkness, unseen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-williams/if-not-then-you-must-be-trying-to-hear-us-and-in-such-cases-we-cannot/) [Saul Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-williams/) > [I take it, therefore, to be a fact, that one's existence ends with death. I think it possible to show how this fact can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-ayer/i-take-it-therefore-to-be-a-fact-that-one-s-existence-ends-with-death/) [A.J. Ayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-ayer/) > [Time and space are not conditions of existence, time and space is a model for thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/time-and-space-are-not-conditions-of-existence-time-and-space-is-a/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Waves are everywhere in the existence of time, matters and beyond everything as well which is defined as an illusion. If we can convert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanveer-hossain-mullick/waves-are-everywhere-in-the-existence-of-time-matters-and-beyond/) Tanveer Hossain Mullick > [“Some scholars maintain that we cannot think of non-existence of space, even if we can leave out all objects in it; nor can we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/some-scholars-maintain-that-we-cannot-think-of-non-existence-of-space/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) ## More by Daniel Kahneman > [Economists think about what people ought to do. Psychologists watch what they actually do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/economists-think-about-what-people-ought-to-do-psychologists-watch/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“Belief in the Law of Small Numbers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/belief-in-the-law-of-small-numbers/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“People who are poor think like traders, but the dynamics are quite different. Unlike traders, the poor are not indifferent to the differences between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/people-who-are-poor-think-like-traders-but-the-dynamics-are-quite/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“Mood evidently affects the operation of System 1: when we are uncomfortable and unhappy, we lose touch with our intuition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/mood-evidently-affects-the-operation-of-system-1-when-we-are/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [The confidence that individuals have in their beliefs depends mostly on the quality of the story they can tell about what they see, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-confidence-that-individuals-have-in-their-beliefs-depends-mostly/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“So this is my aim for watercooler conversations: improve the ability to identify and understand errors of judgment and choice, in others and eventually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/so-this-is-my-aim-for-watercooler-conversations-improve-the-ability/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“For example, I recently came to doubt my long-held impression that adultery is more common among politicians than among physicians or lawyers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/for-example-i-recently-came-to-doubt-my-long-held-impression-that/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Survival prospects are poor for an animal that is not suspicious of novelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/survival-prospects-are-poor-for-an-animal-that-is-not-suspicious-of/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“the idea of money primes individualism: a reluctance to be involved with others, to depend on others, or to accept demands from others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-idea-of-money-primes-individualism-a-reluctance-to-be-involved/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Most of the moments of our life - and I calculated, you know, the psychological present is said to be about three seconds long;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/most-of-the-moments-of-our-life-and-i-calculated-you-know-the/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“knowing little makes it easier to fit everything you know into a coherent pattern.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/knowing-little-makes-it-easier-to-fit-everything-you-know-into-a/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Experts don't know exactly where the boundaries of their expertise are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/experts-don-t-know-exactly-where-the-boundaries-of-their-expertise-are/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [All of us would be better investors if we just made fewer decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/all-of-us-would-be-better-investors-if-we-just-made-fewer-decisions/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“The best we can do is a compromise: learn to recognize situations in which mistakes are likely and try harder to avoid significant mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-best-we-can-do-is-a-compromise-learn-to-recognize-situations-in/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“A happy mood loosens the control of System 2 over performance: when in a good mood, people become more intuitive and more creative but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/a-happy-mood-loosens-the-control-of-system-2-over-performance-when-in/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) [Explore all 560 Daniel Kahneman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) ## More Existence quotes > [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/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the central fact of our existence is that time is the ultimate finite resource, but the remembering self ignores that reality”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel Kahneman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-central-fact-of-our-existence-is-that-time-is-the-ultimate-finite/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Existence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-central-fact-of-our-existence-is-that-time-is-the-ultimate-finite/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/daniel-kahneman-431_existence_the-central-fact-of-our-existence-is-tha_325108.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/daniel-kahneman-431_existence_the-central-fact-of-our-existence-is-tha_325108.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/daniel-kahneman-431_existence_the-central-fact-of-our-existence-is-tha_325108.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the central fact of our existence is that time is the ultimate finite resource, but the remembering self…” — Daniel Kahneman", "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": "Daniel Kahneman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“the central fact of our existence...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-central-fact-of-our-existence-is-that-time-is-the-ultimate-finite/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-central-fact-of-our-existence-is-that-time-is-the-ultimate-finite/#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 } } ] } ```