---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The big new development in my life is…"
description: "\"The big new development in my life is, when I turned 80, I decided I no longer have to do four pages a day. For me, it's like retiring.\" — Frederik Pohl"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/frederik-pohl-12573_bigs_the-big-new-development-in-my-life-is-wh_2288558.jpg"
---

#  The big new development in my life is, when I turned 80, I…

![“The big new development in my life is, when I turned 80, I decided I no longer have to do four pages a day. For me, it's like retiring.” quote by Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/frederik-pohl-12573_bigs_the-big-new-development-in-my-life-is-wh_2288558.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/frederik-pohl-12573_bigs_the-big-new-development-in-my-life-is-wh_2288558.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/frederik-pohl-12573_bigs_the-big-new-development-in-my-life-is-wh_2288558.jpg)

> “The big new development in my life is, when I turned 80, I decided I no longer have to do four pages a day. For me, it's like retiring.”

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

## About This Quote

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

Turning 80 freed him from daily writing constraints, feeling like retirement.

**In simple terms:** He stopped needing to write four pages daily.

Key Takeaway

Embrace freedom from self‑imposed pressures.

Themes

age creativity retirement

Mood

reflective hopeful

Type

personal philosophical

When to use this quote

- writing routine
- career planning
- personal fulfillment

Key Concepts

personal growth productivity life stage

Questions to Reflect On

- How does age change creative habits?
- What new pursuits replace old obligations?

A Different Perspective

Loss of routine may affect discipline.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [New day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-day/) [Retirement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retirement/)

## Related quotes

> [When I'm done playing, when I seem like I'm retiring, I don't love the game anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-green/when-i-m-done-playing-when-i-seem-like-i-m-retiring-i-don-t-love-the/)

[A. J. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-green/)

> [I promised a lot of people I'd slow down when I turned 80.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-promised-a-lot-of-people-i-d-slow-down-when-i-turned-80/)

[Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/)

> [If a scene is longer than three pages, it better be for a good reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/if-a-scene-is-longer-than-three-pages-it-better-be-for-a-good-reason/)

[Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/)

> [Marriage is like retiring as a bachelor and getting a sexual pension. You don't have to work for the sex any more, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/marriage-is-like-retiring-as-a-bachelor-and-getting-a-sexual-pension/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [I’ll never retire as long as I live—that’s like retiring from life! I’ll never stop writing, teaching, lecturing. If you’re in good health, living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bel-kaufman/i-ll-never-retire-as-long-as-i-live-that-s-like-retiring-from-life-i/)

[Bel Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bel-kaufman/)

> [A Poem from Edna St. Vincent Millay: Grown-up Was it for this I uttered prayers, And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs, That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/a-poem-from-edna-st-vincent-millay-grown-up-was-it-for-this-i-uttered/)

[Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/)

> [Dan Coats, retiring senator from Indiana, a mild-mannered man, a former United States ambassador to Germany, former congressman, said of Ted Cruz he's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/dan-coats-retiring-senator-from-indiana-a-mild-mannered-man-a-former/)

[Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/)

> [I figure if I keep my health, I have no intention of retiring. I love to work. I want to be like Bob Hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-figure-if-i-keep-my-health-i-have-no-intention-of-retiring-i-love/)

[Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/)

> [The Stoics say, "Retire within yourselves; it is there you will find your rest." And that is not true. Others say, "Go out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-stoics-say-retire-within-yourselves-it-is-there-you-will-find/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [I always joke and say I want to invent a comfortable stiletto and then retire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-blakely/i-always-joke-and-say-i-want-to-invent-a-comfortable-stiletto-and/)

[Sara Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-blakely/)

> [For retirement brings repose, and repose allows a kindly judgment of all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sharp-williams/for-retirement-brings-repose-and-repose-allows-a-kindly-judgment-of/)

John Sharp Williams

> [Sad to hear Paul Scholes is retiring, great player, world class player, the English Zizou.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-nasri/sad-to-hear-paul-scholes-is-retiring-great-player-world-class-player/)

[Samir Nasri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-nasri/)

> [Retirement is having nothing to do and someone always keeping you from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/retirement-is-having-nothing-to-do-and-someone-always-keeping-you/)

[Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/)

> [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/)

[Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/)

> [I have no intention of retiring. Even my blood sugar is better when I'm working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/i-have-no-intention-of-retiring-even-my-blood-sugar-is-better-when-i/)

[Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/)

## More by Frederik Pohl

> [“There are people who never pass a certain point in their emotional development. They cannot live a normal free-and-easy, give-and-take life with a sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/there-are-people-who-never-pass-a-certain-point-in-their-emotional/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [“Only you have to keep practicing and remembering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/only-you-have-to-keep-practicing-and-remembering/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [“Anyway, that's what life is, just one learning experience after another, and when you're through with all the learning experiences you graduate and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/anyway-that-s-what-life-is-just-one-learning-experience-after-another/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [A lot of the cosmologists and astrophysicists clearly had been reading science fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/a-lot-of-the-cosmologists-and-astrophysicists-clearly-had-been/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [Advertising reaches out to touch the fantasy part of people's lives. And you know, most people's fantasies are pretty sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/advertising-reaches-out-to-touch-the-fantasy-part-of-people-s-lives/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [A large fraction of the most interesting scientists have read a lot of SF at one time or another, either early enough that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/a-large-fraction-of-the-most-interesting-scientists-have-read-a-lot/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [“If a picture on the wall can remember, you remember that this is not the first time. If a picture on the wall can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/if-a-picture-on-the-wall-can-remember-you-remember-that-this-is-not/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [It's clear that science and science fiction have overlapping populations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/it-s-clear-that-science-and-science-fiction-have-overlapping/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [“Wealth ... or death. Those were the choices Gateway offered. Humans had discovered this artificial spaceport, full of working interstellar ships left behind by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/wealth-or-death-those-were-the-choices-gateway-offered-humans-had/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [When I sit down to the feast of life ... I'm so busy planning on how to pick up the check, and wondering what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/when-i-sit-down-to-the-feast-of-life-i-m-so-busy-planning-on-how-to/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [For someone to be taken seriously it was valuable to have the appearance of someone who deserved to be taken seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/for-someone-to-be-taken-seriously-it-was-valuable-to-have-the/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [“You asked me, 'Do you call this living?" And I answer: Yes, it is exactly what I call living. And in my best hypothetical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/you-asked-me-do-you-call-this-living-and-i-answer-yes-it-is-exactly/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [The science fiction method is dissection and reconstruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/the-science-fiction-method-is-dissection-and-reconstruction/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [On this day I want to tell you about, which will be about a thousand years from now, there were a boy, a girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/on-this-day-i-want-to-tell-you-about-which-will-be-about-a-thousand/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

> [“There are times when I sit at the center of the world, and when I know that I can reach out to any of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/there-are-times-when-i-sit-at-the-center-of-the-world-and-when-i-know/)

[Frederik Pohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

[Explore all 51 Frederik Pohl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/)

## More Bigs quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/)

[Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/)

> [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/)

[Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/)

[Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/)

> [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/)

[Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/)

> [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/)

[Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/)

> [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/)

[Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/)

> [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/)

[Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/)

> [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/)

[Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/)

> [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/)

[Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/)

> [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/)

[Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/)

> [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/)

[Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/)

> [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/)

[Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/)

> [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/)

[Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/)

Browse all 15,539 Bigs quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The big new development in my life is, when I turned 80, I decided I no longer have to do four pages a day. For me, it's like retiring.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Frederik Pohl"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/the-big-new-development-in-my-life-is-when-i-turned-80-i-decided-i-no/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bigs"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/the-big-new-development-in-my-life-is-when-i-turned-80-i-decided-i-no/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/frederik-pohl-12573_bigs_the-big-new-development-in-my-life-is-wh_2288558.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/frederik-pohl-12573_bigs_the-big-new-development-in-my-life-is-wh_2288558.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/frederik-pohl-12573_bigs_the-big-new-development-in-my-life-is-wh_2288558.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The big new development in my life is, when I turned 80, I decided I no longer have to do four pages a day…” — Frederik Pohl",
                "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": "Frederik Pohl",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederik-pohl/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The big new development in my...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/the-big-new-development-in-my-life-is-when-i-turned-80-i-decided-i-no/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederik-pohl/the-big-new-development-in-my-life-is-when-i-turned-80-i-decided-i-no/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
