--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We all do it, you know. Distract…" description: "\"“We all do it, you know. Distract ourselves from noticing, how time's passing. We throw ourselves into our jobs...We fill up our gas tanks and top off ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e0/jodi-picoult-45_gray-hair_we-all-do-it-you-know-distract-ourselves_2696368.jpg" --- # We all do it, you know. Distract ourselves from noticing… ![“We all do it, you know. Distract ourselves from noticing, how time's passing. We throw ourselves into our jobs...We fill up our gas tanks and top off our Metrocards and do the grocery shopping... And then one day, you look in the mirror and see gray hair. One day, you realize there is less of your…” quote by Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e0/jodi-picoult-45_gray-hair_we-all-do-it-you-know-distract-ourselves_2696368.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e0/jodi-picoult-45_gray-hair_we-all-do-it-you-know-distract-ourselves_2696368.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e0/jodi-picoult-45_gray-hair_we-all-do-it-you-know-distract-ourselves_2696368.jpg) > ““We all do it, you know. Distract ourselves from noticing, how time's passing. We throw ourselves into our jobs...We fill up our gas tanks and top off our Metrocards and do the grocery shopping... And then one day, you look in the mirror and see gray hair. One day, you realize there is less of your life left than what you've already lived. And you think, how did this happen so fast ? ... ...When this realization hits, you start doing the math. How much time do I have left? How much can I fit into that small space? Some of us let this realization guide us... We book trips to Tibet...We try to pretend it's not almost over. But some of us just fill up our gas tanks and top off our Metrocards..., because if you only see the path, that's right ahead of you, you don't obsess over when the clip might drop off. Some of us never learn. And some of us learn earlier than others...”” [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## 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 distract themselves with routine, only to realize later that life has slipped by faster than expected, prompting a reckoning with how they spend their remaining time. **In simple terms:** We waste time on routine and later regret it. Key Takeaway Recognize time’s scarcity and act now. Themes time mortality reflection purpose choice Mood reflective urgent hopeful Type advice philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career routines - commuting - travel planning - personal goal setting - health check‑ins Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness life planning Questions to Reflect On - What daily habit could you replace to honor your time? - How does acknowledging mortality reshape your priorities? A Different Perspective Not everyone will change after realization; comfort of habit can dominate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Day Realize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-realize/) [Gray hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gray-hair/) [Grocery shopping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocery-shopping/) [Noticing Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noticing-time-2698412/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) [Realization Hits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization-hits-2632826/) [Realize life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“WE ALL DO IT, YOU know. Distract ourselves from noticing how time’s passing. We throw ourselves into our jobs. 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You just wake up one day, and you're like, 'I'm 35, and I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-agosto/you-wake-up-one-day-and-realize-now-i-m-a-veteran-you-just-wake-up/) [Nicholas D'Agosto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-agosto/) > [The game will fade one day. I realize that success is one thing; impact is another. I live to impact people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-lewis/the-game-will-fade-one-day-i-realize-that-success-is-one-thing-impact/) [Ray Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-lewis/) ## More by Jodi Picoult > [You get through it, you just never get over it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-get-through-it-you-just-never-get-over-it/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Let me guess," Eric says, "You never meant for it to happen." "Hell, yes, I did. 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My”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/sometimes-words-are-not-big-enough-to-contain-all-the-feelings-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The age wasn't as important as the milestones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-age-wasn-t-as-important-as-the-milestones/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“When she had packed all the artifacts that made up their personal history into liquor store boxes, the house became strictly a feminine place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-she-had-packed-all-the-artifacts-that-made-up-their-personal/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/maybe-who-we-are-isn-t-so-much-about-what-we-do-but-rather-what-we-re/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Here's what I hadn't realized : the mother you haven't seen for almost 36 years isn't your mother. She is a stranger. Sharing DNA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/here-s-what-i-hadn-t-realized-the-mother-you-haven-t-seen-for-almost/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [My brother believed in all sorts of mythical creatures: pixies, dragons, werewolves, honest men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/my-brother-believed-in-all-sorts-of-mythical-creatures-pixies-dragons/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) [Explore all 2,062 Jodi Picoult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More Gray hair quotes > [The barman sidled toward them out of a back room. He was a grump-looking old man with a great deal of a long gray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-barman-sidled-toward-them-out-of-a-back-room-he-was-a-grump/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the gray hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age (Solomon 4:8).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/wisdom-is-the-gray-hair-unto-men-and-an-unspotted-life-is-old-age/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [What subsists to-day by violence continues to-morrow by acquiescence and is perpetuated by tradition; till at last the hoary abuse shakes the gray hairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett/what-subsists-to-day-by-violence-continues-to-morrow-by-acquiescence/) [Edward Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett/) > [“I’d never seen a Christmas tree so big in person. “Isn't she beautiful?” Deidra asked when she reached my side. I’d been so busy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-evangelista/i-d-never-seen-a-christmas-tree-so-big-in-person-isn-t-she-beautiful/) [Kate Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-evangelista/) > [“something in. I wonder what the heck he’s doing. It was almost like he was waiting for me. I don't say anything, not wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-riley/something-in-i-wonder-what-the-heck-he-s-doing-it-was-almost-like-he/) [Alexa Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-riley/) > [“I started in our neighborhood, buying a pastrami burrito at Oki Dog and a deluxe gardenburger at Astro Burger and matzoh-ball soup at Greenblatt's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/i-started-in-our-neighborhood-buying-a-pastrami-burrito-at-oki-dog/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [“detectives then returned to his playmate and asked him for a description of the “boogeyman” who had taken Billy. The boy said he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/detectives-then-returned-to-his-playmate-and-asked-him-for-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Find someone who isn't afraid to admit that they miss you. Someone who knows that you're not perfect, but treats you as if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/find-someone-who-isn-t-afraid-to-admit-that-they-miss-you-someone-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For guys, growing older is fine. Gray hair and wrinkles aren't considered a bad thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-barker/for-guys-growing-older-is-fine-gray-hair-and-wrinkles-aren-t/) [Nigel Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-barker/) > [These wrinkles are nothing These gray hairs are nothing, This stomach which sags with old food, these bruised and swollen ankles, my darkening brain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strand/these-wrinkles-are-nothing-these-gray-hairs-are-nothing-this-stomach/) [Mark Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strand/) > [We grow gray in our spirit long before we grow gray in our hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/we-grow-gray-in-our-spirit-long-before-we-grow-gray-in-our-hair/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > ["Grandmother" doesn't mean that you have gray hair and you retire and stay home cooking cakes for your grandchildren.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carine-roitfeld/grandmother-doesn-t-mean-that-you-have-gray-hair-and-you-retire-and/) [Carine Roitfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carine-roitfeld/) > [My age makes all my wrinkles and gray hair make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tig-notaro/my-age-makes-all-my-wrinkles-and-gray-hair-make-sense/) [Tig Notaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tig-notaro/) > [“If youth was sold in a bottle of hair dye, we would all get in line.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-rogers/if-youth-was-sold-in-a-bottle-of-hair-dye-we-would-all-get-in-line/) [Jan Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-rogers/) > [This modern craze for putting the young in positions of authority - headmasters in their thirties, bishops without a gray hair on their heads,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/this-modern-craze-for-putting-the-young-in-positions-of-authority/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) [Browse all 121 Gray hair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gray-hair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We all do it, you know. Distract ourselves from noticing, how time's passing. We throw ourselves into our jobs...We fill up our gas tanks and top off our Metrocards and do the grocery shopping... And then one day, you look in the mirror and see gray hair. One day, you realize there is less of your life left than what you've already lived. And you think, how did this happen so fast ? ... ...When this realization hits, you start doing the math. How much time do I have left? How much can I fit into that small space? Some of us let this realization guide us... We book trips to Tibet...We try to pretend it's not almost over. But some of us just fill up our gas tanks and top off our Metrocards..., because if you only see the path, that's right ahead of you, you don't obsess over when the clip might drop off. Some of us never learn. 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