--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You ask yourself: where are your dreams…" description: "\"“You ask yourself: where are your dreams now? And you shake your head and say how swiftly the years fly by! And you ask yourself again: what have you d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/dostoevsky-36229_ask-yourself_you-ask-yourself-where-are-your-dreams-n_593893.jpg" --- # You ask yourself: where are your dreams now? And you shake… ![“You ask yourself: where are your dreams now? And you shake your head and say how swiftly the years fly by! And you ask yourself again: what have you done with your best years, then? Where have you buried the best days of your life? Have you lived or not? Look, you tell yourself, look how cold the…” quote by Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/dostoevsky-36229_ask-yourself_you-ask-yourself-where-are-your-dreams-n_593893.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/dostoevsky-36229_ask-yourself_you-ask-yourself-where-are-your-dreams-n_593893.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/dostoevsky-36229_ask-yourself_you-ask-yourself-where-are-your-dreams-n_593893.jpg) > ““You ask yourself: where are your dreams now? And you shake your head and say how swiftly the years fly by! And you ask yourself again: what have you done with your best years, then? Where have you buried the best days of your life? Have you lived or not? Look, you tell yourself, look how cold the world is becoming. The years will pass and after them will come grim loneliness, and old age, quaking on its stick, and after them misery and despair. Your fantasy world will grow pale, your dreams will fade and die, falling away like the yellow leaves from the trees… Ah, Nastenka! Will it not be miserable to be left alone, utterly alone, and have nothing even to regret — nothing, not a single thing… because everything I have lost was nothing, stupid, a round zero, all dreaming and no more!”” [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on aging, missed opportunities, and the emptiness of a life without meaningful dreams or regrets, warning of loneliness and despair. **In simple terms:** Aging brings regret if dreams fade. Key Takeaway Cherish and pursue meaningful goals now. Themes mortality regret loneliness meaning existential Mood melancholic reflective somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - midlife reflection - career planning - personal journaling - creative writing - counseling Key Concepts existentialism human condition temporal awareness Questions to Reflect On - What dreams have you set aside? - How can you create meaning despite aging? A Different Perspective Even with regrets, one can still find purpose and connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-day/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Fantasy world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy-world/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) ## Related quotes > [“And one asks oneself where are one's dreams. And one shakes one's head and says how rapidly the years fly by! And again one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiodor-dostoi-vski/and-one-asks-oneself-where-are-one-s-dreams-and-one-shakes-one-s-head/) [Fiódor Dostoiévski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiodor-dostoi-vski/) > [The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-labor-movement-was-the-principal-force-that-transformed-misery/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“Don't let what's happened spoil your life; it doesn't have to. If help is offered, take it if you want it. But in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james-3/don-t-let-what-s-happened-spoil-your-life-it-doesn-t-have-to-if-help/) P D James > [Dreams fade with morning light, Never a morn for thee, Dreamer of dreams, goodnight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/dreams-fade-with-morning-light-never-a-morn-for-thee-dreamer-of/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Enslaved to passing shadows. My dreams fade further away. I Begin to hear the faintest mumbles drone within my ear. These voices have replaced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jmartinez/enslaved-to-passing-shadows-my-dreams-fade-further-away-i-begin-to/) JMartinez > [“Some dreams fade away like a current in a stream. Others burn like a light that won't burn out no matter what life throws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-coner/some-dreams-fade-away-like-a-current-in-a-stream-others-burn-like-a/) Scott Coner > [As I awaken each morning, my dreams of you fade as thoughts of you flood my mind with sensual assault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-i-awaken-each-morning-my-dreams-of-you-fade-as-thoughts-of-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A dream was thinking about you until my dream came true I finally found you now I'm not letting u go because dreams can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-hood/a-dream-was-thinking-about-you-until-my-dream-came-true-i-finally/) [Courtney Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-hood/) > [Our dreams fade away when we lack the courage to make them come true..!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-dreams-fade-away-when-we-lack-the-courage-to-make-them-come-true/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Desires are stronger than dreams. Dreams fade and frizzle out with the night time but desires get stronger until they are granted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/desires-are-stronger-than-dreams-dreams-fade-and-frizzle-out-with-the/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [“Adrien Bach, main character from The Maker: You know, when you’re a kid, you think you’re going to grow up to be something special,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-moore/adrien-bach-main-character-from-the-maker-you-know-when-you-re-a-kid/) [Wes Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-moore/) > [Indian yellow, banned. Cows were poisoned with mango leaves and the colour was made from their urine. It is the bright yellow in Indian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/indian-yellow-banned-cows-were-poisoned-with-mango-leaves-and-the/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [The Revolutionary Hill Estates had not been designed to accommodate a tragedy. Even at night, as if on purpose, the development held no looming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/the-revolutionary-hill-estates-had-not-been-designed-to-accommodate-a/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [“It is a delightful thing to write, to cease to be oneself, to flow through the whole creation of which one speaks. Today, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/it-is-a-delightful-thing-to-write-to-cease-to-be-oneself-to-flow/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-had-always-heard-your-entire-life-flashes-in-front-of-your-eyes-the/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) ## More by Dostoevsky > [“Corrupt and often cruel in his lust, like some noxious insect, Fyodor Pavlovitch was sometimes, in moments of drunkenness,overcome by superstitious terror and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/corrupt-and-often-cruel-in-his-lust-like-some-noxious-insect-fyodor/) [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) > [“...if it had to be shame, then let it be shame; if it had to be disgrace, then let it be disgrace; if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/if-it-had-to-be-shame-then-let-it-be-shame-if-it-had-to-be-disgrace/) [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) > [“Two times two is four is no longer life, gentlemen, but the beginning of death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/two-times-two-is-four-is-no-longer-life-gentlemen-but-the-beginning/) [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) > [“There are some people about whom it is difficult to say anything which would describe them immediately and fully in their most typical and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/there-are-some-people-about-whom-it-is-difficult-to-say-anything/) [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) > [“Even if many really were nothing but a piano-key, even if this were proved to him by natural science and mathematics, even then he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/even-if-many-really-were-nothing-but-a-piano-key-even-if-this-were/) [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) > [“I am not a scoundrel, but I'm broadminded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/i-am-not-a-scoundrel-but-i-m-broadminded/) [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) > [“Even in the moment of the acutest spleen, I was inwardly conscious with shame that I was not only not a spiteful but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/even-in-the-moment-of-the-acutest-spleen-i-was-inwardly-conscious/) [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) > [“Is it true that in Petersburg you belonged to some secret society of bestial sensualists? Is it true that you could give lessons to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/is-it-true-that-in-petersburg-you-belonged-to-some-secret-society-of/) [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) > [“Moreover, if with the thought or the conception there is combined a strong, a passionate, desire, one will come to look upon the said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/moreover-if-with-the-thought-or-the-conception-there-is-combined-a/) [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) > [“They say the sun brings life to the universe. The sun will rise and--look at it. Isn't it dead? Everything is dead. Dead men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/they-say-the-sun-brings-life-to-the-universe-the-sun-will-rise-and/) [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) [Explore all 11 Dostoevsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/) ## More Ask yourself quotes > [“If you want to stop smoking, ask yourself, do you do it because you love nicotine, or because it provides a burst of stimulation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/if-you-want-to-stop-smoking-ask-yourself-do-you-do-it-because-you/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [Cultivate the habit of thinking ahead, and of anticipating the necessary and immediate consequences of all your actions… Likewise in your pleasures, ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/cultivate-the-habit-of-thinking-ahead-and-of-anticipating-the/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“I've written about persistence and perseverance and yet for those of us with patchwork lives (projects, earnings, caretaking, home-tending, playing, friending, loving, celebrating, hurting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/i-ve-written-about-persistence-and-perseverance-and-yet-for-those-of/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [When you experience difficulty at work or in your life, instead of looking back on it as something that was really challenging, look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-ghosn/when-you-experience-difficulty-at-work-or-in-your-life-instead-of/) [Caroline Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-ghosn/) > [“ask yourself how many people you have met who grumbled at a thing as incurable, and how many who attacked it as curable? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/ask-yourself-how-many-people-you-have-met-who-grumbled-at-a-thing-as/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“I have seen plenty of ‘Struggle minus Success’ stories where you are forced to ask yourself ‘Why to him/her?’. There are few questions unanswered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavik-sarkhedi/i-have-seen-plenty-of-struggle-minus-success-stories-where-you-are/) [Bhavik Sarkhedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavik-sarkhedi/) > [“What is true for you? What makes your heart smile? When do you feel most yourself? What do you love to do? Ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stabile/what-is-true-for-you-what-makes-your-heart-smile-when-do-you-feel/) [Scott Stabile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stabile/) > [“When a bad experience shakes your faith in humanity, hold those depressing thoughts and ask yourself. 1. How many things in life have you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drishti-bablani/when-a-bad-experience-shakes-your-faith-in-humanity-hold-those/) [Drishti Bablani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drishti-bablani/) > [“It is important you understand how fear affects you and how it drives human behavior so you can start to see situations and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-giles/it-is-important-you-understand-how-fear-affects-you-and-how-it-drives/) [Kimberly Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-giles/) > [“It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith. Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/it-is-idle-to-talk-always-of-the-alternative-of-reason-and-faith/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Picture your life exactly the way you want it and then ask yourself, am I doing the things that will take me there? Take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-cook/picture-your-life-exactly-the-way-you-want-it-and-then-ask-yourself/) [Stephanie Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-cook/) > [“Just make sure you've taken a moment or two to ask yourself if it's really a need, and to reflect on the potential benefits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-laricchia/just-make-sure-you-ve-taken-a-moment-or-two-to-ask-yourself-if-it-s/) [Pam Laricchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-laricchia/) > [“Em's the first woman I've met who seems to be...well, the answer.' 'Answer to what?' He shrugged. 'All the questions, I suppose.' Fay looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-gillard/em-s-the-first-woman-i-ve-met-who-seems-to-be-well-the-answer-answer/) [Linda Gillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-gillard/) > [“Listen to what you tell yourself about your life situation. If you find it's pessimistic or negative, ask yourself, "What's another way of thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-a-robinson/listen-to-what-you-tell-yourself-about-your-life-situation-if-you/) [Lynn A. Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-a-robinson/) > [“Often the most tricky questions are the ones we secretly know the answers of. What are you running from? What are you waiting for?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanhita-baruah/often-the-most-tricky-questions-are-the-ones-we-secretly-know-the/) [Sanhita Baruah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanhita-baruah/) Browse all 1,272 Ask yourself quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You ask yourself: where are your dreams now? And you shake your head and say how swiftly the years fly by! And you ask yourself again: what have you done with your best years, then? Where have you buried the best days of your life? Have you lived or not? Look, you tell yourself, look how cold the world is becoming. The years will pass and after them will come grim loneliness, and old age, quaking on its stick, and after them misery and despair. Your fantasy world will grow pale, your dreams will fade and die, falling away like the yellow leaves from the trees… Ah, Nastenka! Will it not be miserable to be left alone, utterly alone, and have nothing even to regret — nothing, not a single thing… because everything I have lost was nothing, stupid, a round zero, all dreaming and no more!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dostoevsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/you-ask-yourself-where-are-your-dreams-now-and-you-shake-your-head/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ask yourself" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/you-ask-yourself-where-are-your-dreams-now-and-you-shake-your-head/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/dostoevsky-36229_ask-yourself_you-ask-yourself-where-are-your-dreams-n_593893.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/dostoevsky-36229_ask-yourself_you-ask-yourself-where-are-your-dreams-n_593893.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/dostoevsky-36229_ask-yourself_you-ask-yourself-where-are-your-dreams-n_593893.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You ask yourself: where are your dreams now? And you shake your head and say how swiftly the years fly by!…” — Dostoevsky", "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": "Dostoevsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoevsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You ask yourself: where are your...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/you-ask-yourself-where-are-your-dreams-now-and-you-shake-your-head/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoevsky/you-ask-yourself-where-are-your-dreams-now-and-you-shake-your-head/#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 } } ] } ```