--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I promised myself that I would maintain…" description: "\"“I promised myself that I would maintain momentum. \"Maintain momentum\" was the imperative that echoed all the way downtown. In fact I had no idea what ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/joan-didion-497_quote_i-promised-myself-that-i-would-maintain_2242562.jpg" --- # I promised myself that I would maintain momentum… ![“I promised myself that I would maintain momentum. "Maintain momentum" was the imperative that echoed all the way downtown. In fact I had no idea what would happen if I lost it. In fact I had no idea what it was.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/joan-didion-497_quote_i-promised-myself-that-i-would-maintain_2242562.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/joan-didion-497_quote_i-promised-myself-that-i-would-maintain_2242562.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/joan-didion-497_quote_i-promised-myself-that-i-would-maintain_2242562.jpg) > ““I promised myself that I would maintain momentum. "Maintain momentum" was the imperative that echoed all the way downtown. In fact I had no idea what would happen if I lost it. In fact I had no idea what it was.”” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker vows to keep moving forward, fearing loss of drive could derail life. **In simple terms:** Keep moving, fear loss of drive. Key Takeaway Guard your drive. Themes determination fear self‑discipline Mood anxious reflective Type personal motivational When to use this quote - career projects - creative work - personal goals - daily routines Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What drives you daily? - How do you recover when momentum stalls? A Different Perspective Momentum can be unsustainable without rest or adaptation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Maintain Momentum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maintain-momentum-1844859/) [Momentum Imperative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/momentum-imperative-5089892/) [Momentum Maintain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/momentum-maintain-5089891/) [Promised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promised/) [Promised Maintain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promised-maintain-5089893/) ## Related quotes > [When I put Fight together, I wanted to maintain the momentum. I didn't want to kinda disappear for five years and then come back.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-halford/when-i-put-fight-together-i-wanted-to-maintain-the-momentum-i-didn-t/) [Rob Halford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-halford/) > [I think it's important to maintain this momentum and especially when you are representing your country, you have a lot of pressure of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harnaaz-sandhu/i-think-it-s-important-to-maintain-this-momentum-and-especially-when/) [Harnaaz Sandhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harnaaz-sandhu/) > [Develop and maintain momentum by working continuously toward your sales goals every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/develop-and-maintain-momentum-by-working-continuously-toward-your/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Like riding a bike for the first time, sometimes you just have to go for it. If you keep looking forwards and maintain your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roz-savage/like-riding-a-bike-for-the-first-time-sometimes-you-just-have-to-go/) [Roz Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roz-savage/) > [When you're trying to make people believe in what you want to do, you have to be really careful to figure out how you'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-gallab/when-you-re-trying-to-make-people-believe-in-what-you-want-to-do-you/) [Ahmed Gallab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-gallab/) > [“Tarzan making his way across the jungle swinging from vine to well-placed vine. It is important to maintain momentum in order to create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/tarzan-making-his-way-across-the-jungle-swinging-from-vine-to-well/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God promised to make you free. He never promised to make you independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/god-promised-to-make-you-free-he-never-promised-to-make-you/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I have a bad history with resolutions! I don't think I have kept up even one of them so far. Once, I promised to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nivin-pauly/i-have-a-bad-history-with-resolutions-i-don-t-think-i-have-kept-up/) [Nivin Pauly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nivin-pauly/) > [“All of the things that you promised me that you'd be, now your hands are tired. And all of the things that you promised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tegan-quin/all-of-the-things-that-you-promised-me-that-you-d-be-now-your-hands/) [Tegan Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tegan-quin/) > [“For you to be successful in your promised land, you must study the land”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/for-you-to-be-successful-in-your-promised-land-you-must-study-the-land/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [I take really good care of myself. I promised myself long ago that I would never miss a hunting season, never poison my sacred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/i-take-really-good-care-of-myself-i-promised-myself-long-ago-that-i/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [“He promised he'd never leave me. That we'd be friends forever." "He was foolish to promise such things,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-wylie/he-promised-he-d-never-leave-me-that-we-d-be-friends-forever-he-was/) [Jen Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-wylie/) > [“She promised me I wasn’t the product of my yesterdays, and knew I was destined for amazing tomorrows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittainy-c-cherry/she-promised-me-i-wasn-t-the-product-of-my-yesterdays-and-knew-i-was/) [Brittainy C. Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittainy-c-cherry/) > [“What He has chosen not to reveal to me is inconsequential when compared to what He has promised me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-smith/what-he-has-chosen-not-to-reveal-to-me-is-inconsequential-when/) [Angie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-smith/) > [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/for-many-the-call-to-be-a-christian-can-seem-demanding-even/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Style is character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/style-is-character/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I no longer want reminders of what was, what got broken, what got lost, what got wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-no-longer-want-reminders-of-what-was-what-got-broken-what-got-lost/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [My mother 'gave teas' the way other mothers breathed. Her own mother 'gave teas.' All of their friends 'gave teas,' each involving butter cookies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-mother-gave-teas-the-way-other-mothers-breathed-her-own-mother/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More Promised quotes > [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/for-many-the-call-to-be-a-christian-can-seem-demanding-even/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) > [“What He has chosen not to reveal to me is inconsequential when compared to what He has promised me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-smith/what-he-has-chosen-not-to-reveal-to-me-is-inconsequential-when/) [Angie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-smith/) > [“She promised me I wasn’t the product of my yesterdays, and knew I was destined for amazing tomorrows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittainy-c-cherry/she-promised-me-i-wasn-t-the-product-of-my-yesterdays-and-knew-i-was/) [Brittainy C. Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittainy-c-cherry/) > [“He promised he'd never leave me. That we'd be friends forever." "He was foolish to promise such things,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-wylie/he-promised-he-d-never-leave-me-that-we-d-be-friends-forever-he-was/) [Jen Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-wylie/) > [I take really good care of myself. I promised myself long ago that I would never miss a hunting season, never poison my sacred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/i-take-really-good-care-of-myself-i-promised-myself-long-ago-that-i/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [“For you to be successful in your promised land, you must study the land”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/for-you-to-be-successful-in-your-promised-land-you-must-study-the-land/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“All of the things that you promised me that you'd be, now your hands are tired. And all of the things that you promised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tegan-quin/all-of-the-things-that-you-promised-me-that-you-d-be-now-your-hands/) [Tegan Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tegan-quin/) > [I have a bad history with resolutions! I don't think I have kept up even one of them so far. Once, I promised to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nivin-pauly/i-have-a-bad-history-with-resolutions-i-don-t-think-i-have-kept-up/) [Nivin Pauly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nivin-pauly/) > [God promised to make you free. He never promised to make you independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/god-promised-to-make-you-free-he-never-promised-to-make-you/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Sometimes I wonder what makes you keep running back to me, but when I take you back, you keep hurting me. You have promised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-wonder-what-makes-you-keep-running-back-to-me-but-when-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had some connections from the newspapers that I did work with up there, so there was a newspaper publisher in Hollywood, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-davis/i-had-some-connections-from-the-newspapers-that-i-did-work-with-up/) [Marc Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-davis/) > [I promised myself: Before your 18th birthday, you're going to be at Jean Paul Gaultier. And it worked. I was hired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-ghesquiere/i-promised-myself-before-your-18th-birthday-you-re-going-to-be-at/) [Nicolas Ghesquiere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-ghesquiere/) > [We have to know that nothing is promised, nothing is guaranteed, especially tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-pagano/we-have-to-know-that-nothing-is-promised-nothing-is-guaranteed/) [Chuck Pagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-pagano/) > [Well, we promised our fans that we'd put out records faster, and that's what we're doing. We figured out a way to condense our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/well-we-promised-our-fans-that-we-d-put-out-records-faster-and-that-s/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [Over the years I've learned how to lock myself up in a prison of hope, knowing that God has nothing but His best planned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/over-the-years-i-ve-learned-how-to-lock-myself-up-in-a-prison-of-hope/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) [Browse all 700 Promised quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promised/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I promised myself that I would maintain momentum. \"Maintain momentum\" was the imperative that echoed all the way downtown. In fact I had no idea what would happen if I lost it. In fact I had no idea what it was.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan Didion" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-promised-myself-that-i-would-maintain-momentum-maintain-momentum/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Promised" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-promised-myself-that-i-would-maintain-momentum-maintain-momentum/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/joan-didion-497_quote_i-promised-myself-that-i-would-maintain_2242562.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/joan-didion-497_quote_i-promised-myself-that-i-would-maintain_2242562.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/joan-didion-497_quote_i-promised-myself-that-i-would-maintain_2242562.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I promised myself that I would maintain momentum. \"Maintain momentum\" was the imperative that echoed all the…” — Joan Didion", "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": "Joan Didion", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I promised myself that I would...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-promised-myself-that-i-would-maintain-momentum-maintain-momentum/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-promised-myself-that-i-would-maintain-momentum-maintain-momentum/#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 } } ] } ```