--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you concentrate on the present, you…" description: "\"If you concentrate on the present, you eliminate what happened yesterday and any apprehension of what may happen tomorrow.\" — Denis Waitley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/denis-waitley-977_apprehension_if-you-concentrate-on-the-present-you-el_1170104.jpg" --- # If you concentrate on the present, you eliminate what… ![“If you concentrate on the present, you eliminate what happened yesterday and any apprehension of what may happen tomorrow.” quote by Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/denis-waitley-977_apprehension_if-you-concentrate-on-the-present-you-el_1170104.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/denis-waitley-977_apprehension_if-you-concentrate-on-the-present-you-el_1170104.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/denis-waitley-977_apprehension_if-you-concentrate-on-the-present-you-el_1170104.jpg) > “If you concentrate on the present, you eliminate what happened yesterday and any apprehension of what may happen tomorrow.” [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing on now frees you from past regrets and future anxieties, fostering calm. **In simple terms:** Live in the now. Key Takeaway Stay present. Themes mindfulness calm focus Mood peaceful centered Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - meditation - public speaking - decision making - creative work Key Concepts temporal awareness psychology stress reduction Questions to Reflect On - What does staying present enable you to notice? - How can you balance past learning with present focus? A Different Perspective Present focus may ignore valuable lessons from past experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apprehension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprehension/) [Apprehension Happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprehension-happen-3387814/) [Eliminate Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eliminate-happened-3387815/) [Happen Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happen-tomorrow/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Present Eliminate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-eliminate-3387813/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) [Yesterday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday/) [Yesterday Apprehension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday-apprehension-3387812/) ## Related quotes > [You live in the present and you eliminate things that don't matter. You don't carry the burden of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulette-goddard/you-live-in-the-present-and-you-eliminate-things-that-don-t-matter/) [Paulette Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulette-goddard/) > [A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/a-politician-needs-the-ability-to-foretell-what-is-going-to-happen/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Truth is that you don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a unknown journey, and nothing is guaranteed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/truth-is-that-you-don-t-know-what-is-going-to-happen-tomorrow-life-is/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Should it happen tomorrow, I would fall to my knees to give thanks to God for such a career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/placido-domingo/should-it-happen-tomorrow-i-would-fall-to-my-knees-to-give-thanks-to/) [Placido Domingo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/placido-domingo/) > [“Insurance companies sell what might happen tomorrow. Historians sell what certainly happened yesterday.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/insurance-companies-sell-what-might-happen-tomorrow-historians-sell/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [We can not predict what will happen tomorrow, but we can prepare ourselves to face it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ophelia-callens/we-can-not-predict-what-will-happen-tomorrow-but-we-can-prepare/) [Ophelia Callens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ophelia-callens/) > [We never know what is going to happen tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hulk/we-never-know-what-is-going-to-happen-tomorrow/) [Hulk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hulk/) > [The Truth Is U Don't Know What Is Going To Happen Tomorrow.. Life Is A Crazy Ride And Nothing Is Guaranteed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-u-don-t-know-what-is-going-to-happen-tomorrow-life-is-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/give-your-entire-attention-to-what-god-is-doing-right-now-and-don-t/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [I had only immediate things today, only today, not tomorrow. I don't know what will happen tomorrow. Today I can see myself like crystal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/i-had-only-immediate-things-today-only-today-not-tomorrow-i-don-t/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [You can never stop your brain from thinking about what could happen tomorrow or next week or the next hour. It is not possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wagner/you-can-never-stop-your-brain-from-thinking-about-what-could-happen/) [David Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wagner/) > [Politics is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/politics-is-the-ability-to-foretell-what-is-going-to-happen-tomorrow/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [No one can change what happened yesterday. No one know exactly what will happen tomorrow. But all of us can know what is happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/no-one-can-change-what-happened-yesterday-no-one-know-exactly-what/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Please and please don't hate any body in your life because life is something that happen when you are busy making some others plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-david/please-and-please-don-t-hate-any-body-in-your-life-because-life-is/) [Andrew David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-david/) > [“That's kind of the thing of it, isn't it? We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. After so many days of waking up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-timmins/that-s-kind-of-the-thing-of-it-isn-t-it-we-don-t-know-what-s-going-to/) [Kara Timmins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-timmins/) ## More by Denis Waitley > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Optimism boosts your energy and focuses your sights on reaching your goals, rather than wallowing in your setbacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/optimism-boosts-your-energy-and-focuses-your-sights-on-reaching-your/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [You can only do good if you feel good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/you-can-only-do-good-if-you-feel-good/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Life is self-fulfilling prophecy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/life-is-self-fulfilling-prophecy/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [There never was a winner, who wasn't a beginner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/there-never-was-a-winner-who-wasn-t-a-beginner/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [The greatest limitations you will ever face will be those you place on yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/the-greatest-limitations-you-will-ever-face-will-be-those-you-place/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [The easiest thing is to make sure you feel happy and satisfied in this moment. Setting long term goals is much more effort taking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/the-easiest-thing-is-to-make-sure-you-feel-happy-and-satisfied-in/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [You must get money to chase you, but never let it catch up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/you-must-get-money-to-chase-you-but-never-let-it-catch-up/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Contentment is for cows; a challenging purpose is for people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/contentment-is-for-cows-a-challenging-purpose-is-for-people/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [The season for enjoying the fullness of life - partaking of the harvest, sharing the harvest with others, and reinvesting and saving portions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/the-season-for-enjoying-the-fullness-of-life-partaking-of-the-harvest/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Goals are like stepping-stones to the stars. They should never be used to put a ceiling or a limit on achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/goals-are-like-stepping-stones-to-the-stars-they-should-never-be-used/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [The two greatest fear busters are knowledge and action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/the-two-greatest-fear-busters-are-knowledge-and-action/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Positive self-expectancy is the first, most outwardly identifiable quality of a top-achieving, winning human being. Positive self-expectancy is pure and simple optimism: real enthusiasm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/positive-self-expectancy-is-the-first-most-outwardly-identifiable/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [The seeds of greatness are ideas you learn from people who've been great in their service to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/the-seeds-of-greatness-are-ideas-you-learn-from-people-who-ve-been/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Discipline is doing within, while you do without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/discipline-is-doing-within-while-you-do-without/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) [Explore all 316 Denis Waitley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) ## More Apprehension quotes > [Marriages are always moving from one season to another. Sometimes we find ourselves in winter--discouraged, detached, and dissatisfied; other times we experience springtime, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/marriages-are-always-moving-from-one-season-to-another-sometimes-we/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The apprehension whether people will like it or not also doesn't bother me much. I've always done my work with a gut feeling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiku-sharda/the-apprehension-whether-people-will-like-it-or-not-also-doesn-t/) [Kiku Sharda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiku-sharda/) > [LIFE, n. A spiritual pickle preserving the body from decay. We live in daily apprehension of its loss; yet when lost it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/life-n-a-spiritual-pickle-preserving-the-body-from-decay-we-live-in/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“Man may feel like a feeble and powerless pawn, at some moment in his life. This apprehension can come out of the blue, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/man-may-feel-like-a-feeble-and-powerless-pawn-at-some-moment-in-his/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [We stand for organized terror - this should be frankly admitted. Terror is an absolute necessity during times of revolution. Our aim is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dzerzhinsky/we-stand-for-organized-terror-this-should-be-frankly-admitted-terror/) [Felix Dzerzhinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dzerzhinsky/) > [The regulation of commerce, it is true, is a new power; but that seems to be an addition which few oppose and from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-regulation-of-commerce-it-is-true-is-a-new-power-but-that-seems/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [As a father and grandfather, I have witnessed firsthand the joy of new life entering the world. I know the pain and apprehension that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/as-a-father-and-grandfather-i-have-witnessed-firsthand-the-joy-of-new/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [Lord, enlighten thou our enemies. Sharpen their wits, give acuteness to their perceptions, and consecutiveness and clearness to their reasoning powers: we are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/lord-enlighten-thou-our-enemies-sharpen-their-wits-give-acuteness-to/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [The sense of death is most in apprehension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-sense-of-death-is-most-in-apprehension/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Since philosophy is the exploration of the rational, it is for that very reason the apprehension of the present and the actual, not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/since-philosophy-is-the-exploration-of-the-rational-it-is-for-that/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Injustice is not evil in itself, but only in the fear and apprehension that one will not escape those who have been set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/injustice-is-not-evil-in-itself-but-only-in-the-fear-and-apprehension/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [The fact about himself that the liar hides is that he is attempting to lead us away from a correct apprehension of reality; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/the-fact-about-himself-that-the-liar-hides-is-that-he-is-attempting/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [“A person can hurry through or sleep walk through life, but whenever they stop to catch their breath or awaken from a long nap,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/a-person-can-hurry-through-or-sleep-walk-through-life-but-whenever/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) [Browse all 258 Apprehension quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apprehension/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you concentrate on the present, you eliminate what happened yesterday and any apprehension of what may happen tomorrow.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Denis Waitley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/if-you-concentrate-on-the-present-you-eliminate-what-happened/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apprehension" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/if-you-concentrate-on-the-present-you-eliminate-what-happened/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/denis-waitley-977_apprehension_if-you-concentrate-on-the-present-you-el_1170104.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/denis-waitley-977_apprehension_if-you-concentrate-on-the-present-you-el_1170104.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/denis-waitley-977_apprehension_if-you-concentrate-on-the-present-you-el_1170104.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you concentrate on the present, you eliminate what happened yesterday and any apprehension of what may…” — Denis Waitley", "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": "Denis Waitley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you concentrate on the present,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/if-you-concentrate-on-the-present-you-eliminate-what-happened/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/if-you-concentrate-on-the-present-you-eliminate-what-happened/#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 } } ] } ```