---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One thing I feel clear about is that it's…"
description: "\"One thing I feel clear about is that it's important not to let your life live you. Otherwise, you end up at forty feeling you haven't really lived. Wha..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/irvin-d-yalom-1519_clear_one-thing-i-feel-clear-about-is-that-it_3005344.jpg"
---

#  One thing I feel clear about is that it's important not to…

![“One thing I feel clear about is that it's important not to let your life live you. Otherwise, you end up at forty feeling you haven't really lived. What have I learned? Perhaps to live now, so that at fifty I won't look back upon my forties with regret.” quote by Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/irvin-d-yalom-1519_clear_one-thing-i-feel-clear-about-is-that-it_3005344.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/irvin-d-yalom-1519_clear_one-thing-i-feel-clear-about-is-that-it_3005344.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/irvin-d-yalom-1519_clear_one-thing-i-feel-clear-about-is-that-it_3005344.jpg)

> “One thing I feel clear about is that it's important not to let your life live you. Otherwise, you end up at forty feeling you haven't really lived. What have I learned? Perhaps to live now, so that at fifty I won't look back upon my forties with regret.”

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

## About This Quote

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

Live proactively; avoid letting life dictate you, preventing later regret.

**In simple terms:** Live now, avoid future regret.

Key Takeaway

Take active control of your life today.

Themes

agency regret life planning

Mood

reflective motivational

Type

philosophical self-help

When to use this quote

- career decisions
- health choices
- relationship building
- financial planning

Key Concepts

mindfulness purpose

Questions to Reflect On

- What does living fully mean to you?
- How will you balance present action with future planning?

A Different Perspective

Proactive living may cause burnout if unbalanced.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Live Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-now/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/)

## Related quotes

> [“How you live now determines the kind of life you will live &amp; have from now”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabang-kanti/how-you-live-now-determines-the-kind-of-life-you-will-live-have-from/)

Thabang Kanti

> [“You know, there are two types of people-ones who live their lives, and ones whose lives live them. You need to be the former,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-m-ward/you-know-there-are-two-types-of-people-ones-who-live-their-lives-and/)

[H.M. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-m-ward/)

> [“Always make the new day better than the previous day, live life don't let life live you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teisha-d-hines/always-make-the-new-day-better-than-the-previous-day-live-life-don-t/)

[Teisha D Hines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teisha-d-hines/)

> [“We let life live us, instead of us living life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-m-ryan/we-let-life-live-us-instead-of-us-living-life/)

[Helen M. Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-m-ryan/)

> [“Life is to be lived, don't let life live you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/life-is-to-be-lived-don-t-let-life-live-you/)

[Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/)

> [“Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that you life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/try-not-to-resist-the-changes-that-come-your-way-instead-let-life/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [“I often urge patients to project themselves into the future and to consider how they can live now so that five years hence they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-often-urge-patients-to-project-themselves-into-the-future-and-to/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [I feel great. I feel younger. And I don't feel anything at all. I don't know who knows, but right now I'm, how, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-korbut/i-feel-great-i-feel-younger-and-i-don-t-feel-anything-at-all-i-don-t/)

[Olga Korbut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-korbut/)

> [My friend Madea has "attitude" that comes with wisdom. Back in our teens and twenties, we thought we knew everything and made all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-perry/my-friend-madea-has-attitude-that-comes-with-wisdom-back-in-our-teens/)

[Tyler Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-perry/)

> [Have you ever noticed how many men in the Bible failed in the second half of life? Our enemy is so cunning that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-aldrich/have-you-ever-noticed-how-many-men-in-the-bible-failed-in-the-second/)

Joseph C. Aldrich

> [I write all year long, and at the end of the year I pull these forty or fifty things out and say, 'Which of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-keith/i-write-all-year-long-and-at-the-end-of-the-year-i-pull-these-forty/)

[Toby Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-keith/)

> [So I had to be the doctor to these wounded men until we could remove them to the hospital. There were fifty-four women and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/so-i-had-to-be-the-doctor-to-these-wounded-men-until-we-could-remove/)

[Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/)

> [You know it's never fifty-fifty in a marriage. It's always seventy-thirty, or sixty-forty. Someone falls in love first. Someone puts someone else up on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-know-it-s-never-fifty-fifty-in-a-marriage-it-s-always-seventy/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [I let my game do the talking. I've had incidents like that but when I compare my own story to the stories that have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-ashley/i-let-my-game-do-the-talking-i-ve-had-incidents-like-that-but-when-i/)

[Maurice Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-ashley/)

> [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/)

[Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/)

## More by Irvin D. Yalom

> [“ALAS, IF ALL HUMANS WERE WISE AND HAD MORE GOOD WILL THE WORLD WOULD BE A PARADISE NOW IT IS MOSTLY A HELL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/alas-if-all-humans-were-wise-and-had-more-good-will-the-world-would/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [I dream of a love that is more than two people craving to possess one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-dream-of-a-love-that-is-more-than-two-people-craving-to-possess-one/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [“Ümitsizlik özfarkındalık uğruna ödenen bedeldir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/mitsizlik-zfark-ndal-k-u-runa-denen-bedeldir/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [Therapists need to have a long experience in personal therapy to see what it's like to be on the other side of the couch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/therapists-need-to-have-a-long-experience-in-personal-therapy-to-see/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [“Beginning therapists must learn that there are times to sit in silence, sometimes in silent communion, sometimes simply while waiting for patients' thoughts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/beginning-therapists-must-learn-that-there-are-times-to-sit-in/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [If one is to learn to live with the dead, one must first learn to live with the living!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/if-one-is-to-learn-to-live-with-the-dead-one-must-first-learn-to-live/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [Specialness as a primary mode of death transcendence takes a number of other maladaptive forms. The drive for power is not uncommonly motivated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/specialness-as-a-primary-mode-of-death-transcendence-takes-a-number/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [“Exactly. We know that the great Goethe carried a copy of Spinoza’s Ethics in his pocket for a year. Imagine that—an entire year! And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/exactly-we-know-that-the-great-goethe-carried-a-copy-of-spinoza-s/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [“Hope is the worst of evils because it protracts torment.” “Your”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/hope-is-the-worst-of-evils-because-it-protracts-torment-your/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [Mature love is loving, not being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/mature-love-is-loving-not-being-loved/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [Absolute power, as we have always known, corrupts absolutely; it corrupts because it does not do the trick for the individual. Reality always creeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/absolute-power-as-we-have-always-known-corrupts-absolutely-it/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [“Indeed, the capacity to tolerate uncertainty is a prerequisite for the profession. Though the public may believe that therapists guide patients systematically and sure-handedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/indeed-the-capacity-to-tolerate-uncertainty-is-a-prerequisite-for-the/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [“Rollo May quipped that anxiety about nothing tries to become anxiety about something. In other words, anxiety about nothingness quickly attaches itself to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/rollo-may-quipped-that-anxiety-about-nothing-tries-to-become-anxiety/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [“I often urge patients to project themselves into the future and to consider how they can live now so that five years hence they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-often-urge-patients-to-project-themselves-into-the-future-and-to/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [When people don't have any curiosity about themselves, that is always a bad sign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/when-people-don-t-have-any-curiosity-about-themselves-that-is-always/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

[Explore all 184 Irvin D. Yalom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

## More Clear quotes

> [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/)

[Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/)

> [When I came to Chelsea, it was clear that, like many other players, I would first be loaned out. So I went to Belgium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thorgan-hazard/when-i-came-to-chelsea-it-was-clear-that-like-many-other-players-i/)

[Thorgan Hazard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thorgan-hazard/)

> [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/)

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

> [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/)

[Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/)

> [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/)

[Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/)

> [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/)

[Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/)

> [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/)

[Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/)

> [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/)

[Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/)

> [I try to listen to all music with an open head, a clear head, try not to say just because I don't know it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ghostface-killah/i-try-to-listen-to-all-music-with-an-open-head-a-clear-head-try-not/)

[Ghostface Killah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ghostface-killah/)

> [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/)

[Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/)

> [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/)

[John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/)

> [I've always made it clear that I do not believe that global government is either necessary or feasible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-strong/i-ve-always-made-it-clear-that-i-do-not-believe-that-global/)

[Maurice Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-strong/)

> [The moment it begins to question itself, the mind becomes so clear that it starts working with itself rather than with the body's identification.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/the-moment-it-begins-to-question-itself-the-mind-becomes-so-clear/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [Alec Wilkinson is a spare, clear, and lucid writer who works in stylistic simplicity with material that is not simple at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/alec-wilkinson-is-a-spare-clear-and-lucid-writer-who-works-in/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [ I can't imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect \[Donald Trump\], or then-president \[Barack Obama\]. But it's - I'm very clear.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/i-can-t-imagine-that-i-would-be-asked-that-by-the-president-elect/)

[James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/)

Browse all 7,410 Clear quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "One thing I feel clear about is that it's important not to let your life live you. Otherwise, you end up at forty feeling you haven't really lived. What have I learned? Perhaps to live now, so that at fifty I won't look back upon my forties with regret.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Irvin D. Yalom"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/one-thing-i-feel-clear-about-is-that-it-s-important-not-to-let-your/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Clear"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/one-thing-i-feel-clear-about-is-that-it-s-important-not-to-let-your/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/irvin-d-yalom-1519_clear_one-thing-i-feel-clear-about-is-that-it_3005344.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/irvin-d-yalom-1519_clear_one-thing-i-feel-clear-about-is-that-it_3005344.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/irvin-d-yalom-1519_clear_one-thing-i-feel-clear-about-is-that-it_3005344.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“One thing I feel clear about is that it's important not to let your life live you. Otherwise, you end up at…” — Irvin D. Yalom",
                "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": "Irvin D. Yalom",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "One thing I feel clear about...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/one-thing-i-feel-clear-about-is-that-it-s-important-not-to-let-your/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/one-thing-i-feel-clear-about-is-that-it-s-important-not-to-let-your/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
