--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you are young, you always expect…" description: "\"When you are young, you always expect that the world is going to end. And then you get older and the world still chugs along and you are forced to re-e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/douglas-coupland-305_apocalypse_when-you-are-young-you-always-expect-tha_1693163.jpg" --- # When you are young, you always expect that the world is… ![“When you are young, you always expect that the world is going to end. And then you get older and the world still chugs along and you are forced to re-evaluate your stance on the apocalypse as well as your own relationship to time and death. You realize that the world will indeed continue, with or…” quote by Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/douglas-coupland-305_apocalypse_when-you-are-young-you-always-expect-tha_1693163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/douglas-coupland-305_apocalypse_when-you-are-young-you-always-expect-tha_1693163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/douglas-coupland-305_apocalypse_when-you-are-young-you-always-expect-tha_1693163.jpg) > “When you are young, you always expect that the world is going to end. And then you get older and the world still chugs along and you are forced to re-evaluate your stance on the apocalypse as well as your own relationship to time and death. You realize that the world will indeed continue, with or without you, and the pictures you see in your head. So you try to understand the pictures instead.” [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youthful fear of apocalypse fades as maturity reveals life's continuity and personal mortality, prompting a shift from external dread to internal reflection. **In simple terms:** Realizing the world continues, you focus on understanding your inner visions. Key Takeaway Accept life's permanence, explore personal meaning. Themes mortality time self‑reflection existence Mood contemplative melancholic hopeful Type philosophical reflective literary When to use this quote - coming of age - grief counseling - philosophical journaling - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism psychology narrative continuity Questions to Reflect On - How does personal aging change your view of global threats? - What inner pictures guide your actions now? A Different Perspective The quote may overlook those whose lives are directly threatened by global crises. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apocalypse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apocalypse/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Time And Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-and-death/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [There aren't twelve-hundred people in the world who understand pictures. The others pretend and don't care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/there-aren-t-twelve-hundred-people-in-the-world-who-understand/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [I understand my own pictures best six months after I have done them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/i-understand-my-own-pictures-best-six-months-after-i-have-done-them/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [In the end, as you get older and older, your life is your life, and you are alone with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-berliawsky-nevelson/in-the-end-as-you-get-older-and-older-your-life-is-your-life-and-you/) [Louise Berliawsky Nevelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-berliawsky-nevelson/) > [In the end, we get older, we kill everyone who loves us through the worries we give them, through the troubled tenderness we inspire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/in-the-end-we-get-older-we-kill-everyone-who-loves-us-through-the/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [“As James Gustave Speth wrote in his book A Bridge at the Edge of the World, if we continue business as usual, the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-christina-wood/as-james-gustave-speth-wrote-in-his-book-a-bridge-at-the-edge-of-the/) [Mary Christina Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-christina-wood/) > [The world will continue to try & tell you who you are...until you stand up & show the world exactly who you're gonna be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-will-continue-to-try-tell-you-who-you-are-until-you-stand/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no appeal from the ways of the world, which must continue on its own terms or take us all down with it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-van-doren/there-is-no-appeal-from-the-ways-of-the-world-which-must-continue-on/) [Mark Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-van-doren/) > [Regardless of politics, our world will continue to change rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/regardless-of-politics-our-world-will-continue-to-change-rapidly/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [Without perestroika, the cold war simply would not have ended. But the world could not continue developing as it had, with the stark menace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/without-perestroika-the-cold-war-simply-would-not-have-ended-but-the/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [Well, hip-hop is what makes the world go around. You could take anything off the face of the world and the world will continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/well-hip-hop-is-what-makes-the-world-go-around-you-could-take/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [The world will continue only as long as we maintain our humanity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786-barb-d/the-world-will-continue-only-as-long-as-we-maintain-our-humanity/) Mak\_786 Barb\_D > [The world cannot continue to wage war like physical giants and to seek peace like intellectual pygmies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-o-connor/the-world-cannot-continue-to-wage-war-like-physical-giants-and-to/) Basil O'Connor > [They try to engage the world as much as they can and we will continue until they leave our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/they-try-to-engage-the-world-as-much-as-they-can-and-we-will-continue/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [This World will always continue to be a mixture of Good and Evil. Our duty is to sympathize with the weak and to Love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/this-world-will-always-continue-to-be-a-mixture-of-good-and-evil-our/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [If everyone in the world sat quietly at the same time, closed their eyes and concentrated as hard as they could on peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/if-everyone-in-the-world-sat-quietly-at-the-same-time-closed-their/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) ## More by Douglas Coupland > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [A man in a bookstore buys a book on loneliness and every woman in the store hits on him. A woman buys a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/a-man-in-a-bookstore-buys-a-book-on-loneliness-and-every-woman-in-the/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [The future and eternity are two entirely different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/the-future-and-eternity-are-two-entirely-different-things/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Do you remember how you felt at seventeen? I do and I don't (...) Imagine you came from outer space and someone showed you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/do-you-remember-how-you-felt-at-seventeen-i-do-and-i-don-t-imagine/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [You can't fake competence, creativity, or sexual arousal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-can-t-fake-competence-creativity-or-sexual-arousal/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“But Dag, for all of his efforts, might as well have been talking to a cat. Our parents’ generation seems neither able nor interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/but-dag-for-all-of-his-efforts-might-as-well-have-been-talking-to-a/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Negative? Moi? I think realistic might be a better word. You mean to tell me we can drive all the way here from L.A.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/negative-moi-i-think-realistic-might-be-a-better-word-you-mean-to/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [It was pivotal in making you but you don't remember it. Or do you? Do we understand the events that make us who we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/it-was-pivotal-in-making-you-but-you-don-t-remember-it-or-do-you-do/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Your ability to rationalize your own bad deeds makes you believe that the whole world is as amoral as you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/your-ability-to-rationalize-your-own-bad-deeds-makes-you-believe-that/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“I like to go beach-combing, and I like to find interestingly shaped rocks. When I really get into the groove I start finding beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-like-to-go-beach-combing-and-i-like-to-find-interestingly-shaped/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“You know, Dag and Claire smile a lot, as do many people I know. But I always wondered if there is something either mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-know-dag-and-claire-smile-a-lot-as-do-many-people-i-know-but-i/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Brain research tells us that only twenty percent of human beings have a sense of irony, which means that eighty percent of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/brain-research-tells-us-that-only-twenty-percent-of-human-beings-have/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [I keep vampire hours, going to bed at 2 A.M. and waking up at about 10:30-11 A.M.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-keep-vampire-hours-going-to-bed-at-2-a-m-and-waking-up-at-about-10/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Anna-Louise leans over and whispers in my ear. "This is so surreal," she says, "I think I'm turning into a melting clock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/anna-louise-leans-over-and-whispers-in-my-ear-this-is-so-surreal-she/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [When you grow up these days, you're told you're going to have four or five different careers during your lifetime. But what they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/when-you-grow-up-these-days-you-re-told-you-re-going-to-have-four-or/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) [Explore all 704 Douglas Coupland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) ## More Apocalypse quotes > [People always wonder when the world is going to end. I believe that the world will end when everyone stops loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-fickes/people-always-wonder-when-the-world-is-going-to-end-i-believe-that/) [Nichole Fickes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-fickes/) > [A South Korean inventor has finally created the robot that mankind has been waiting for. Scientists who have been worried about the robot apocalypse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pesca/a-south-korean-inventor-has-finally-created-the-robot-that-mankind/) [Mike Pesca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pesca/) > [The end of the world begins the moment you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-end-of-the-world-begins-the-moment-you-die/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [If it makes you feel any better, this isn't my first apocalypse. There is hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/if-it-makes-you-feel-any-better-this-isn-t-my-first-apocalypse-there/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [“The world did not end with a bang, nor did it end with a whimper. It was more of a chomp. And a slurp.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rudolph/the-world-did-not-end-with-a-bang-nor-did-it-end-with-a-whimper-it/) J. Rudolph > [Nuclear apocalypse-who do you need? Actors are probably not top of the list. What can I do for you? I can pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-bale/nuclear-apocalypse-who-do-you-need-actors-are-probably-not-top-of-the/) [Christian Bale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-bale/) > [“It was a comfortable, familiar apocalypse,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-barnes/it-was-a-comfortable-familiar-apocalypse/) [Adrian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-barnes/) > [In the New Testament alone there are Gospels, acts, epistles, and an apocalypse. Gospels contain literary forms like miracles, parables, pronouncements, proverbs, farewell discourses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-blomberg/in-the-new-testament-alone-there-are-gospels-acts-epistles-and-an/) [Craig Blomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-blomberg/) > [The day came. The wrath descended. Sin, guilt, and retribution? The manic psychoses of those entities we referred to as states, institutions, systems -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-day-came-the-wrath-descended-sin-guilt-and-retribution-the-manic/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [The awkward moment when you predict the end of the world and nothing happens :P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-awkward-moment-when-you-predict-the-end-of-the-world-and-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I once fed a dog-fight operator to the dogs he had abused for so long, and do you want to know something? It felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-nye/i-once-fed-a-dog-fight-operator-to-the-dogs-he-had-abused-for-so-long/) [Cedric Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-nye/) > [“You and I are victims of the same disease. We're fighting the same war, just different battles in different theaters, and it's way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/you-and-i-are-victims-of-the-same-disease-we-re-fighting-the-same-war/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [I've been around long enough now and have learned to be flexible enough to know that every movie isn't going to be Apocalypse Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-fishburne/i-ve-been-around-long-enough-now-and-have-learned-to-be-flexible/) [Laurence Fishburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-fishburne/) [Browse all 820 Apocalypse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apocalypse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you are young, you always expect that the world is going to end. 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