---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's only when you're forbidden to talk…"
description: "\"It's only when you're forbidden to talk about the future that you suddenly realize how much the future normally occupies the present.\" — Erica Jong"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/erica-jong-445_forbidden_it-s-only-when-you-re-forbidden-to-talk_1963219.jpg"
---

#  It's only when you're forbidden to talk about the future…

![“It's only when you're forbidden to talk about the future that you suddenly realize how much the future normally occupies the present.” quote by Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/erica-jong-445_forbidden_it-s-only-when-you-re-forbidden-to-talk_1963219.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/erica-jong-445_forbidden_it-s-only-when-you-re-forbidden-to-talk_1963219.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/erica-jong-445_forbidden_it-s-only-when-you-re-forbidden-to-talk_1963219.jpg)

> “It's only when you're forbidden to talk about the future that you suddenly realize how much the future normally occupies the present.”

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

When restrictions silence future talk, we notice how much we normally let future thoughts shape present actions.

**In simple terms:** Future talk is usually present; silence reveals it.

Key Takeaway

Notice how future expectations influence today.

Themes

psychology future awareness

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal planning
- creative work
- decision making
- stress management

Key Concepts

existentialism mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- How does talking about future change your present behavior?
- What future ideas are you suppressing?

A Different Perspective

If you never discuss the future, you may miss opportunities to shape it.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Forbidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forbidden/) [Future Normally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-normally-3253247/) [Future Suddenly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-suddenly-914115/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Realize Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-future-729745/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Suddenly Realize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suddenly-realize-545999/) [Talk Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-future-608832/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [Turning 60 had an impact on my heart and soul, I must say, because you're dealing with time: past, present, and future. You suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/turning-60-had-an-impact-on-my-heart-and-soul-i-must-say-because-you/)

[Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/)

> [Gift of time in me enclosed the future suddenly exposed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/gift-of-time-in-me-enclosed-the-future-suddenly-exposed/)

[Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/)

> [His whole future seemed suddenly to be unrolled before him; and passing down its endless emptiness he saw the dwindling figure of a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/his-whole-future-seemed-suddenly-to-be-unrolled-before-him-and/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [For many of us, we set out thinking there will be time in the future, and then suddenly we find ourselves at a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/for-many-of-us-we-set-out-thinking-there-will-be-time-in-the-future/)

[Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/)

> [The future had suddenly become unknowable: anything could happen: the train of my life had jumped the rails and headed off across the fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-future-had-suddenly-become-unknowable-anything-could-happen-the/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [“It is in adolescence that most of us grasp that life--our own life--is a problem to be solved, that a set of personal unknowns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sven-birkerts/it-is-in-adolescence-that-most-of-us-grasp-that-life-our-own-life-is/)

[Sven Birkerts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sven-birkerts/)

> [i realize that the future, though invisible, has weight. We are in the gravitational pull of past and future. It takes huge energy -speed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-realize-that-the-future-though-invisible-has-weight-we-are-in-the/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“(People do this a lot. They don’t seem to realize that the future is just like now, but in a little while, so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/people-do-this-a-lot-they-don-t-seem-to-realize-that-the-future-is/)

[Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/)

> [ We \[must\] realize that our future lies chiefly in our own hands. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-robeson/we-must-realize-that-our-future-lies-chiefly-in-our-own-hands/)

[Paul Robeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-robeson/)

> [When you feel far from God and far from everything that you wanted to be for Him, realize that you still have your whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-evert/when-you-feel-far-from-god-and-far-from-everything-that-you-wanted-to/)

[Jason Evert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-evert/)

> [Never realize if you don't realize in the beginning .. never regret if you want any thing in beginning.. but if you want this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bina-lamichhane/never-realize-if-you-don-t-realize-in-the-beginning-never-regret-if/)

[Bina Lamichhane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bina-lamichhane/)

> [We need to make sure that our policymakers and politicians realize that we are the future of the country, not only by words. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/choi-si-won/we-need-to-make-sure-that-our-policymakers-and-politicians-realize/)

[Choi Si-won](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/choi-si-won/)

> [Takes a long time to happen so fast... To realize that your future is somebody else's past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/takes-a-long-time-to-happen-so-fast-to-realize-that-your-future-is/)

[Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/)

> [You can't even kill yourself if it isn't your time to go. People have no control whatsoever over what happens to them, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-havens/you-can-t-even-kill-yourself-if-it-isn-t-your-time-to-go-people-have/)

[Richie Havens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-havens/)

> [Look at a child and realize that their future is in your hands. It's not just those who will be here fifty years from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/look-at-a-child-and-realize-that-their-future-is-in-your-hands-it-s/)

[Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/)

## More by Erica Jong

> [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [Will you ever? I dont think you will ever fully understand how you've touched my life and made me who I am.I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/will-you-ever-i-dont-think-you-will-ever-fully-understand-how-you-ve/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [Give advice to your children while they're young enough to believe you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/give-advice-to-your-children-while-they-re-young-enough-to-believe/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [Perhaps all artists were, in a sense, housewives: tenders of the earth household.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/perhaps-all-artists-were-in-a-sense-housewives-tenders-of-the-earth/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [I have lived my life according to this principle: If I'm afraid of it, then I must do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-have-lived-my-life-according-to-this-principle-if-i-m-afraid-of-it/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [I thought to spend my declining years writing poetry and teaching - but that won't pay the Bergdorf's bill. I think I'll move to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-thought-to-spend-my-declining-years-writing-poetry-and-teaching-but/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [“Naomi Wolf dares to explode the myth of 'victim feminism' and pleads for allowing women to be as full of good and bad desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/naomi-wolf-dares-to-explode-the-myth-of-victim-feminism-and-pleads/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [I knew I was in England by the smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-knew-i-was-in-england-by-the-smell/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [The Lives of Great Men are more oft' at variance with their profess'd Phillosophies than consistent with 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-lives-of-great-men-are-more-oft-at-variance-with-their-profess-d/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [Women's books are kind of discriminated against. If a man writes a book about his family stories, people think of it as literature. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/women-s-books-are-kind-of-discriminated-against-if-a-man-writes-a/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [Many, many people have done a lot more sexual experimentation than I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/many-many-people-have-done-a-lot-more-sexual-experimentation-than-i/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [“Is life much too long for an immortal?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/is-life-much-too-long-for-an-immortal/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [Don't ye know that ev'ry Soul on Earth feels itself to be an Orphan?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/don-t-ye-know-that-ev-ry-soul-on-earth-feels-itself-to-be-an-orphan/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [Critics write out of intellectual exercise, not poets. Poets write straight from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/critics-write-out-of-intellectual-exercise-not-poets-poets-write/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [Once I worshipped Keats for dying young. Now I think it's braver to die old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/once-i-worshipped-keats-for-dying-young-now-i-think-it-s-braver-to/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

[Explore all 542 Erica Jong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

## More Forbidden quotes

> [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/)

[Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/)

> [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The Church is the house of God. It is forbidden for men to enter with bare arms or in shorts. It is forbidden for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/the-church-is-the-house-of-god-it-is-forbidden-for-men-to-enter-with/)

[Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/)

> [It is shorter to state the things forbidden than the things permitted; precisely because most things are permitted and only a few things forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/it-is-shorter-to-state-the-things-forbidden-than-the-things-permitted/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [“a hot dog shop where ketchup was forbidden,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-wise/a-hot-dog-shop-where-ketchup-was-forbidden/)

[A.R. Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-wise/)

> [Knowledge forbidden? Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envy them that? Can it be sin to know, Can it be death? And do they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/knowledge-forbidden-suspicious-reasonless-why-should-their-lord-envy/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [If it's not forbidden, then it's allowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/if-it-s-not-forbidden-then-it-s-allowed/)

[Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/)

> [The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-only-way-to-get-rid-of-a-temptation-is-to-yield-to-it-resist-it/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Men cannot labor on always. They must have intervals of relaxation. They cannot sleep through these intervals. What are they to do? Why, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orville-dewey/men-cannot-labor-on-always-they-must-have-intervals-of-relaxation/)

[Orville Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orville-dewey/)

> [“Let us not neglect the forbidden. Let us not sophisticate ourselves out of the cheap thrill and chill of it: the story told for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/let-us-not-neglect-the-forbidden-let-us-not-sophisticate-ourselves/)

[Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/)

> [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/)

[Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/)

> [I remember being in a comic shop with my son, with my ten year-old son and he put his hand over my eyes. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-mouly/i-remember-being-in-a-comic-shop-with-my-son-with-my-ten-year-old-son/)

[Francoise Mouly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-mouly/)

> [science progresses by trial and error, and when it is forbidden to admit error there can be no progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/science-progresses-by-trial-and-error-and-when-it-is-forbidden-to/)

[Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/)

> [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/)

[Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/)

> [In the state of nature, wrong-doing is impossible; or, if anyone does wrong, it is to himself, not to another. For no one by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/in-the-state-of-nature-wrong-doing-is-impossible-or-if-anyone-does/)

[Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/)

[Browse all 620 Forbidden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forbidden/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It's only when you're forbidden to talk about the future that you suddenly realize how much the future normally occupies the present.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Erica Jong"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-s-only-when-you-re-forbidden-to-talk-about-the-future-that-you/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Forbidden"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-s-only-when-you-re-forbidden-to-talk-about-the-future-that-you/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/erica-jong-445_forbidden_it-s-only-when-you-re-forbidden-to-talk_1963219.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/erica-jong-445_forbidden_it-s-only-when-you-re-forbidden-to-talk_1963219.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/erica-jong-445_forbidden_it-s-only-when-you-re-forbidden-to-talk_1963219.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It's only when you're forbidden to talk about the future that you suddenly realize how much the future…” — Erica Jong",
                "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": "Erica Jong",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It's only when you're forbidden to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-s-only-when-you-re-forbidden-to-talk-about-the-future-that-you/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-s-only-when-you-re-forbidden-to-talk-about-the-future-that-you/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
