--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A person’s destiny is something you look…" description: "\"A person’s destiny is something you look back at afterwards, not something to be known in advance.\" — Haruki Murakami" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/haruki-murakami-21_destiny_a-person-s-destiny-is-something-you-look_1451663.jpg" --- # A person’s destiny is something you look back at… ![“A person’s destiny is something you look back at afterwards, not something to be known in advance.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/haruki-murakami-21_destiny_a-person-s-destiny-is-something-you-look_1451663.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/haruki-murakami-21_destiny_a-person-s-destiny-is-something-you-look_1451663.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/haruki-murakami-21_destiny_a-person-s-destiny-is-something-you-look_1451663.jpg) > “A person’s destiny is something you look back at afterwards, not something to be known in advance.” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Destiny is understood only after events unfold, not predetermined. **In simple terms:** Destiny is seen in hindsight. Key Takeaway Live fully without assuming a fixed future. Themes philosophy life determinism Mood thoughtful hopeful Type existential inspirational When to use this quote - personal storytelling - career planning - relationship reflection Key Concepts retroactive meaning free will narrative identity Questions to Reflect On - How does hindsight shape our life story? - Can we influence our perceived destiny? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on hindsight can limit present agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Destiny Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny-look-2813642/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Known Advance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known-advance-2862724/) [Look Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-known-5222334/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person/) [Person Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-destiny-1558985/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) ## Related quotes > [In my work, I have never had any use for anything that I have known in advance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-chillida/in-my-work-i-have-never-had-any-use-for-anything-that-i-have-known-in/) [Eduardo Chillida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-chillida/) > [Destiny doesn't come come to you.you must go for it. I believe that each one of us has destiny. I'ts like our DNA.It's there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-malabago/destiny-doesn-t-come-come-to-you-you-must-go-for-it-i-believe-that/) [Regina Malabago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-malabago/) > [If we would see the color of our future, we must look for it in our present; if we would gaze on the star…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-would-see-the-color-of-our-future-we-must-look-for-it-in-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A person's destiny can be changed through the power of a saint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/a-person-s-destiny-can-be-changed-through-the-power-of-a-saint/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [“A person's destiny often ends before his death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/a-person-s-destiny-often-ends-before-his-death/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Bottom line: God will not allow any person to keep you from your destiny. They may be bigger, stronger, or more powerful, but God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/bottom-line-god-will-not-allow-any-person-to-keep-you-from-your/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I looked up towards the immensity of the labyrinth. "How does one choose a single book among so many?" Isaac shrugged his shoulders. 'Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/i-looked-up-towards-the-immensity-of-the-labyrinth-how-does-one/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [I won't look for love, I'll let Love find me. And if it yields the same person. Then you must be my destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-won-t-look-for-love-i-ll-let-love-find-me-and-if-it-yields-the-same/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Each person's destiny is not a matter of chance; it's a matter of choice. It's determined by what we say, what we do, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-truett-cathy/each-person-s-destiny-is-not-a-matter-of-chance-it-s-a-matter-of/) [S. Truett Cathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-truett-cathy/) > [“Adversity is a strengthening mechanism that you're not able to see at that time. Your struggle is proof that grace and freedom allows you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/adversity-is-a-strengthening-mechanism-that-you-re-not-able-to-see-at/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“A phase comes in life when meeting someone suddenly , one tends to feel from within that "Yes this is what I wanted from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-basu/a-phase-comes-in-life-when-meeting-someone-suddenly-one-tends-to-feel/) [Ayaan Basu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-basu/) > [You are a person of destiny. You are not here by accident. There is no obstacle too big, no dream you can't accomplish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-are-a-person-of-destiny-you-are-not-here-by-accident-there-is-no/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [“I’m free, I think. I shut my eyes and think hard and deep about how free I am, but I can’t really understand what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-free-i-think-i-shut-my-eyes-and-think-hard-and-deep-about-how/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Blurring the line between possible and impossible, linear and non-linear time, fiction and reality, fate and free will, 1Q84 is both a metaphysical mind-teaser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/blurring-the-line-between-possible-and-impossible-linear-and-non/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“yet never once in his life had he experienced the unshakable certainty that he and he alone had arrived at a decision. He always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/yet-never-once-in-his-life-had-he-experienced-the-unshakable/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More Destiny quotes > [... War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“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/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Destiny is the ordained intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/destiny-is-the-ordained-intention-god-has-sacredly-prepared-with-your/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [“There is no interaction without God with interaction with men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/there-is-no-interaction-without-god-with-interaction-with-men/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 7,925 Destiny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A person’s destiny is something you look back at afterwards, not something to be known in advance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Haruki Murakami" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-person-s-destiny-is-something-you-look-back-at-afterwards-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destiny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-person-s-destiny-is-something-you-look-back-at-afterwards-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/haruki-murakami-21_destiny_a-person-s-destiny-is-something-you-look_1451663.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/haruki-murakami-21_destiny_a-person-s-destiny-is-something-you-look_1451663.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/haruki-murakami-21_destiny_a-person-s-destiny-is-something-you-look_1451663.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A person’s destiny is something you look back at afterwards, not something to be known in advance.” — Haruki Murakami", "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": "Haruki Murakami", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A person’s destiny is something you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-person-s-destiny-is-something-you-look-back-at-afterwards-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-person-s-destiny-is-something-you-look-back-at-afterwards-not/#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 } } ] } ```