--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not going to be one of those people…" description: "\"“I'm not going to be one of those people who sits around talking about what they're going to do. I'm just going to do it. Imagining the future is a kin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e66/john-green-12_future_i-m-not-going-to-be-one-of-those-people_2566778.jpg" --- # I'm not going to be one of those people who sits around… ![“I'm not going to be one of those people who sits around talking about what they're going to do. I'm just going to do it. Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e66/john-green-12_future_i-m-not-going-to-be-one-of-those-people_2566778.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e66/john-green-12_future_i-m-not-going-to-be-one-of-those-people_2566778.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e66/john-green-12_future_i-m-not-going-to-be-one-of-those-people_2566778.jpg) > ““I'm not going to be one of those people who sits around talking about what they're going to do. I'm just going to do it. Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## 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 rejects idle talk, urging action, and sees imagining the future as nostalgic longing. **In simple terms:** Talk less, act more; future thoughts feel nostalgic. Key Takeaway Act now, stop over‑planning. Themes action future nostalgia Mood reflective motivational Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - career goals - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts procrastination vision motivation Questions to Reflect On - What holds you back from acting? - How can nostalgia inspire rather than stall? A Different Perspective Action alone may ignore needed reflection and planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Going Imagining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-imagining-1655450/) [Imagining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagining/) [Imagining Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagining-future-383120/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Jesus, I’m not going to be one of those people who sits around talking about what they’re gonna do. I’m just going to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/jesus-i-m-not-going-to-be-one-of-those-people-who-sits-around-talking-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“The British academic Richard Schoch, in his book The Secrets of Happiness, put it this way: “Your imagination must, to some extent, be found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/the-british-academic-richard-schoch-in-his-book-the-secrets-of/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [Imagining the future may be more important than analysing the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-k-prahalad/imagining-the-future-may-be-more-important-than-analysing-the-past/) [C. K. Prahalad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-k-prahalad/) > [“There has to be more to life than just imagining a future for yourself. I can't just wish for the future; I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-silvera/there-has-to-be-more-to-life-than-just-imagining-a-future-for/) [Adam Silvera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-silvera/) > [We need to start imagining the future or it will get imagined for us, and the ways that it has been imagined thus far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/we-need-to-start-imagining-the-future-or-it-will-get-imagined-for-us/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I get really excited imagining what we can do in the future with broadband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-genachowski/i-get-really-excited-imagining-what-we-can-do-in-the-future-with/) [Julius Genachowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-genachowski/) > [“Imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-that-future-keeps-you-going-but-you-never-do-it-you-just/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Self-control is tightly linked with imagining the future. If you can’t imagine the future, there’s no reason to exhibit any discipline or self-control.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-g-buchholz/self-control-is-tightly-linked-with-imagining-the-future-if-you-can-t/) [Todd G. Buchholz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-g-buchholz/) > [The future is unknown and dealing with unknowns is stressful. It is why imagining the future can be so scary for people and why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-johnson/the-future-is-unknown-and-dealing-with-unknowns-is-stressful-it-is/) [Bryan Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-johnson/) > [“Ninety percent of the population spends time imagining their future and forgetting that now is where we live and breathe. The ten percent who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everly-drummond/ninety-percent-of-the-population-spends-time-imagining-their-future/) [Everly Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everly-drummond/) > [“In fact, this is a world without future. In this world, time is a line that terminates at the present, both in reality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-fact-this-is-a-world-without-future-in-this-world-time-is-a-line/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“Maybe by imagining these futures we can make them real, and maybe not, but either way we must imagine them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/maybe-by-imagining-these-futures-we-can-make-them-real-and-maybe-not/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“In the end it reveals a lot more about the person doing the imagining than it does about the person being imagined.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/in-the-end-it-reveals-a-lot-more-about-the-person-doing-the-imagining/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Future quotes > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/) [Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/) > [A strong, durable Puerto Rican economy will leave the island better prepared to handle future natural disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/a-strong-durable-puerto-rican-economy-will-leave-the-island-better/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“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/) > [I'm just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [Football is my passion, and who knows where I will play in the future - you cannot foresee that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edinson-cavani/football-is-my-passion-and-who-knows-where-i-will-play-in-the-future/) [Edinson Cavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edinson-cavani/) > [When I was 17, I broke up with my future wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-allen/when-i-was-17-i-broke-up-with-my-future-wife/) [Kris Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-allen/) > [I think everybody in the future has stopped talking to each other and we all just use emojis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/i-think-everybody-in-the-future-has-stopped-talking-to-each-other-and/) [Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/) > [When you continue to dwell on the past, there's no chance for a future. History repeats itself, thus, it's ok to LOOK back at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-continue-to-dwell-on-the-past-there-s-no-chance-for-a-future/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am no different from a lot of people. I am concerned for the future of my children and concerned for the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-am-no-different-from-a-lot-of-people-i-am-concerned-for-the-future/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [Starting a new job can be nerve-racking , but it's also exciting. You're embarking on a new future, positioning yourself to write a fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adena-friedman/starting-a-new-job-can-be-nerve-racking-but-it-s-also-exciting-you-re/) [Adena Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adena-friedman/) [Browse all 12,349 Future quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I'm not going to be one of those people who sits around talking about what they're going to do. I'm just going to do it. 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