--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have a responsibility to your future…" description: "\"“You have a responsibility to your future self, who is someone you might not even know, might not even understand yet. Because until you die, that futu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/david-levithan-67_future_you-have-a-responsibility-to-your-future_2615464.jpg" --- # You have a responsibility to your future self, who is… ![“You have a responsibility to your future self, who is someone you might not even know, might not even understand yet. Because until you die, that future self has as much of a life as you do. [...] Your life is not disposable.” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/david-levithan-67_future_you-have-a-responsibility-to-your-future_2615464.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/david-levithan-67_future_you-have-a-responsibility-to-your-future_2615464.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/david-levithan-67_future_you-have-a-responsibility-to-your-future_2615464.jpg) > ““You have a responsibility to your future self, who is someone you might not even know, might not even understand yet. Because until you die, that future self has as much of a life as you do. \[...\] Your life is not disposable.”” [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Future self is an unknown partner whose well‑being depends on present choices. **In simple terms:** Treat future self with care. Key Takeaway Make decisions that honor your future self. Themes self‑care future planning responsibility identity Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - health decisions - financial investing Key Concepts Temporal ethics psychology personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What habits protect your future self? - How do you balance present pleasure with future needs? A Different Perspective Future outcomes are uncertain, making foresight challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Future self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-self/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Responsibility Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility-future-819636/) [Self Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-life-1046647/) ## Related quotes > [“Our lives were short, and we never would have wanted them to be shorter. Sometimes perspective comes far too late. 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Not just responsibility for our individual futures but also for that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyanda-lynn-haupt/hope-is-that-virtue-by-which-we-take-responsibility-for-the-future/) [Lyanda Lynn Haupt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyanda-lynn-haupt/) > [Designers have a responsibility to show the future as they want it to be - or at least as it can be, not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/designers-have-a-responsibility-to-show-the-future-as-they-want-it-to/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [Everyone has a common, yet unique, responsibility to the future: to make the most of today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/everyone-has-a-common-yet-unique-responsibility-to-the-future-to-make/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [If we don't take responsibility for each other, it seems to me the future is going to be even bleaker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/if-we-don-t-take-responsibility-for-each-other-it-seems-to-me-the/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [Because of my intense hopes for the youth of China, I feel very keenly my responsibility for their future success or failure. 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They have got to step up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sessions/iraq-assumes-responsibility-for-its-own-future-they-have-got-to-step/) [Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sessions/) > [India is known for much development that has happened since our independence, but at the same time, we have also failed on many levels.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-r-narayana-murthy/india-is-known-for-much-development-that-has-happened-since-our/) [N. R. Narayana Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-r-narayana-murthy/) ## More by David Levithan > [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Patrick: Is she worth the trouble? Cameron: I thought she was- Patrick: Either she is, or she isn't. 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But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“When you break someone's heart, you also break yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-break-someone-s-heart-you-also-break-yours/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Because toward the end all the words started leaving. Except for the ones that had to lock up at the end of the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/because-toward-the-end-all-the-words-started-leaving-except-for-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Saving others is always more important than saving yourself. It has to be, or none of us would do any good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/saving-others-is-always-more-important-than-saving-yourself-it-has-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) [Explore all 1,648 David Levithan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## 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": "“You have a responsibility to your future self, who is someone you might not even know, might not even understand yet. Because until you die, that future self has as much of a life as you do. 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