--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many people see happiness only in their…" description: "\"Many people see happiness only in their future.\" — François Lelord" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/fran-ois-lelord-15255_future_many-people-see-happiness-only-in-their_66289.png" --- # Many people see happiness only in their future. ![“Many people see happiness only in their future.” quote by François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/fran-ois-lelord-15255_future_many-people-see-happiness-only-in-their_66289.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/fran-ois-lelord-15255_future_many-people-see-happiness-only-in-their_66289.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/fran-ois-lelord-15255_future_many-people-see-happiness-only-in-their_66289.png) > “Many people see happiness only in their future.” [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often view happiness as a distant goal, overlooking present moments. **In simple terms:** Happiness seen as future‑oriented Key Takeaway Focus on present joy Themes future orientation mindfulness expectation psychology well‑being Mood hopeful reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - long‑term relationships - personal development - health goals Key Concepts temporal bias contentment goal setting Practical Applications - coaching - mental‑health workshops Questions to Reflect On - What present you miss by postponing happiness? - How can you cultivate joy now? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-future-883215/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-happiness-403622/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Birds fly with their wings, people with their happiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/birds-fly-with-their-wings-people-with-their-happiness/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [We need fundamental change. In the past, national development led to people's happiness but now the link between national growth and improvement in people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-geun-hye/we-need-fundamental-change-in-the-past-national-development-led-to/) [Park Geun-hye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-geun-hye/) > [Stress is actually the number one thing that blocks people from their happiness and well-being and from getting what they want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-bernstein/stress-is-actually-the-number-one-thing-that-blocks-people-from-their/) [Gabrielle Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-bernstein/) > [Happiness is not a future event.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-fortenberry/happiness-is-not-a-future-event/) [Joe Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-fortenberry/) > [Try saying this silently to everyone and everything you see for thirty days and see what happens to your own soul: I wish you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/try-saying-this-silently-to-everyone-and-everything-you-see-for/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [I don't want to put happiness off to the future, because you never know what life will bring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-connelly/i-don-t-want-to-put-happiness-off-to-the-future-because-you-never/) [Jennifer Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-connelly/) > [Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/never-in-peace-or-war-commit-your-virtue-or-your-happiness-to-the/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Par toi tout le bonheur que m'offre l'avenir Est dans mon souvenir. Through you, all the happiness that the future offers Is in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marceline-desbordes-valmore/par-toi-tout-le-bonheur-que-m-offre-l-avenir-est-dans-mon-souvenir/) [Marceline Desbordes-Valmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marceline-desbordes-valmore/) > [No one thought of anything but themselves. My happiness, my future was the only thing you heard. Real love is to offer your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ajvide-lindqvist/no-one-thought-of-anything-but-themselves-my-happiness-my-future-was/) [John Ajvide Lindqvist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ajvide-lindqvist/) > [Pain what we feel right now is part of the happiness in the future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pain-what-we-feel-right-now-is-part-of-the-happiness-in-the-future/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Then he thought himself unhappy, but happiness was all in the future; now he felt that the best happiness was already in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/then-he-thought-himself-unhappy-but-happiness-was-all-in-the-future/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Keeping baggage from the past will leave no room for happiness in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-l-misner/keeping-baggage-from-the-past-will-leave-no-room-for-happiness-in-the/) [Wayne L Misner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-l-misner/) > [“Happiness is not something you will miraculously find one day in the distant future. Happiness is something that you develope over time, with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-paul-vosburg/happiness-is-not-something-you-will-miraculously-find-one-day-in-the/) [David Paul Vosburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-paul-vosburg/) > [you cannot let the pain of the past destroy the happiness of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracie-peterson/you-cannot-let-the-pain-of-the-past-destroy-the-happiness-of-the/) [Tracie Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracie-peterson/) > [The necessary thing for anyone to be happy and contented as long as he lives is working for the ones who will come after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mustafa-kemal-ataturk/the-necessary-thing-for-anyone-to-be-happy-and-contented-as-long-as/) [Mustafa Kemal Ataturk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mustafa-kemal-ataturk/) ## More by François Lelord > [“And since he was seeing more and more people who were unhappy for no apparent reason, he was becoming more and more tired, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/and-since-he-was-seeing-more-and-more-people-who-were-unhappy-for-no/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“Exciting happiness is joy, celebration, travelling, being in bed with a woman you desire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/exciting-happiness-is-joy-celebration-travelling-being-in-bed-with-a/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“He had realised that it was Clara he loved, and that he loved her in many different ways. (Because there are even more ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/he-had-realised-that-it-was-clara-he-loved-and-that-he-loved-her-in/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [The basic mistake people make is to think that happiness is the goal!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/the-basic-mistake-people-make-is-to-think-that-happiness-is-the-goal/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [Happiness. We're tearing our hair out to try to find a definition of it, for heaven's sake. Is it joy? People will tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/happiness-we-re-tearing-our-hair-out-to-try-to-find-a-definition-of/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“(Be very wary of people who declare that they’re going to create heaven on earth, they almost invariably create hell.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/be-very-wary-of-people-who-declare-that-they-re-going-to-create/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [People fall in love more easily when they are already troubled by another emotion because we know that any intense emotional state greatly increases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/people-fall-in-love-more-easily-when-they-are-already-troubled-by/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [I didn't intend 'Hector' to be a self-help book when I first started writing. I wrote it as a little tale about a psychiatrist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/i-didn-t-intend-hector-to-be-a-self-help-book-when-i-first-started/) [Francois Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“The only shadow on my happiness is when I tell myself sometimes that as it's all going well, it can't last, that one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/the-only-shadow-on-my-happiness-is-when-i-tell-myself-sometimes-that/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“Happiness is feeling useful to others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/happiness-is-feeling-useful-to-others/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“Adeline was really rather charming, she always had a man in her life, but it never worked out: either they were nice but she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/adeline-was-really-rather-charming-she-always-had-a-man-in-her-life/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [He who spends too long regretting his ruined crop will be neglect to plant next year's harvest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/he-who-spends-too-long-regretting-his-ruined-crop-will-be-neglect-to/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [Sometimes happiness is not knowing the whole story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/sometimes-happiness-is-not-knowing-the-whole-story/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [It's one thing thinking something and another thing knowing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/it-s-one-thing-thinking-something-and-another-thing-knowing-it/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [Finding love is a fixation now, and that's because although romantic love can sometimes cause a lot of suffering, it can also give people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/finding-love-is-a-fixation-now-and-that-s-because-although-romantic/) [Francois Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) [Explore all 43 François Lelord quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) ## 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": "Many people see happiness only in their future.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "François Lelord" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/many-people-see-happiness-only-in-their-future/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Future" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/many-people-see-happiness-only-in-their-future/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/fran-ois-lelord-15255_future_many-people-see-happiness-only-in-their_66289.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/fran-ois-lelord-15255_future_many-people-see-happiness-only-in-their_66289.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/fran-ois-lelord-15255_future_many-people-see-happiness-only-in-their_66289.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Many people see happiness only in their future.” — François Lelord", "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": "François Lelord", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Many people see happiness only in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/many-people-see-happiness-only-in-their-future/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/many-people-see-happiness-only-in-their-future/#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 } } ] } ```