--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life's not linear at all. It happens in…" description: "\"Life's not linear at all. It happens in lighting flashes. So fast you don't see those lay-you-out cold moments coming at you until you're Wile E. Coyot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/karen-marie-moning-189_cold_life-s-not-linear-at-all-it-happens-in-l_161602.png" --- # Life's not linear at all. It happens in lighting flashes… ![“Life's not linear at all. It happens in lighting flashes. So fast you don't see those lay-you-out cold moments coming at you until you're Wile E. Coyote, steamrolled flat as a pancake by the Road Runner, victim of your own elaborate schemes.” quote by Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/karen-marie-moning-189_cold_life-s-not-linear-at-all-it-happens-in-l_161602.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/karen-marie-moning-189_cold_life-s-not-linear-at-all-it-happens-in-l_161602.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/karen-marie-moning-189_cold_life-s-not-linear-at-all-it-happens-in-l_161602.png) > “Life's not linear at all. It happens in lighting flashes. So fast you don't see those lay-you-out cold moments coming at you until you're Wile E. Coyote, steamrolled flat as a pancake by the Road Runner, victim of your own elaborate schemes.” [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life unfolds unpredictably, with sudden events that catch us off guard, often as a result of our own plans backfiring. **In simple terms:** Life is unpredictable and can surprise you suddenly. Key Takeaway Expect the unexpected and stay adaptable. Themes uncertainty adaptability unexpectedness self-awareness Mood anxious alert determined Type observational motivational When to use this quote - career setbacks - relationship surprises - financial crises - creative projects Key Concepts chaos theory cognitive bias resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when plans collapse? - What habits help you recover quickly? A Different Perspective Plans cannot control all outcomes; flexibility is essential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Coyotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coyotes/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Road runner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/road-runner/) [Runners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runners/) [Schemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schemes/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) ## Related quotes > [All kinds of violence on the TV. You're not supposed to watch violence on the TV. Children, they can't watch it 'cause they're afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/all-kinds-of-violence-on-the-tv-you-re-not-supposed-to-watch-violence/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [Wile E. Coyote is a coyote with nothing but good intentions. But Road Runner comes along and is unattainable, he wants it and can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-hatosy/wile-e-coyote-is-a-coyote-with-nothing-but-good-intentions-but-road/) [Shawn Hatosy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-hatosy/) > [I kid the Republicans, with love. I feel bad for them. They got nobody for next time. Who are they gonna run? Sarah Palin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-kid-the-republicans-with-love-i-feel-bad-for-them-they-got-nobody/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I'm in a Road Runner cartoon, Sinclair. And I'm the coyote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryjanice-davidson/i-m-in-a-road-runner-cartoon-sinclair-and-i-m-the-coyote/) [MaryJanice Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryjanice-davidson/) > [I like the old-school Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoons. I'm talking Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-kaepernick/i-like-the-old-school-warner-bros-looney-tunes-cartoons-i-m-talking/) [Colin Kaepernick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-kaepernick/) > [Life is not linear; you have ups and downs. It's how you deal with the troughs that defines you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lee-chin/life-is-not-linear-you-have-ups-and-downs-it-s-how-you-deal-with-the-2/) [Michael Lee-Chin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lee-chin/) > [Life is not linear, it is organic. We create our lives symbiotically as we explore our talents in relation to the circumstances they help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/life-is-not-linear-it-is-organic-we-create-our-lives-symbiotically-as/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [The way that you remember your life, it's never linear. 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It's how you deal with the trough that defines you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lee-chin/life-is-not-linear-you-have-ups-and-downs-it-s-how-you-deal-with-the/) [Michael Lee-Chin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lee-chin/) > [I don't believe that life is linear. I think of it as circles - concentric circles that connect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-williams/i-don-t-believe-that-life-is-linear-i-think-of-it-as-circles/) [Michelle Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-williams/) > [Utah is amazing, it's incredible because it's so big. There are so many places to drive. There are curves, straight bits; it's like Road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edd-china/utah-is-amazing-it-s-incredible-because-it-s-so-big-there-are-so-many/) [Edd China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edd-china/) > [“Every mode of violent death available to Renaissance man, including a lye pit, land mines, a trained falcon with envenom'd talons, is employed. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/every-mode-of-violent-death-available-to-renaissance-man-including-a/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [Dear Warner Bros: Now that I'm an adult, I feel I'm am old enough to hear what the "Beep Beep" is hiding when Road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-warner-bros-now-that-i-m-an-adult-i-feel-i-m-am-old-enough-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Karen Marie Moning > [“I can either be a victim—or a winner. Fuck victimhood. I don’t wear it well; it clashes with my wardrobe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-can-either-be-a-victim-or-a-winner-fuck-victimhood-i-don-t-wear-it/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. 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Undermined by his disgusting human anatomy. It had just been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/finally-someone-had-seen-him-and-what-had-he-done-let-her-get-away/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Our sex is fierce. We will both be bruised. "I want it to always be like this," I tell him. "Try holding onto that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/our-sex-is-fierce-we-will-both-be-bruised-i-want-it-to-always-be-like/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Keep hoping to see the light in her eyes. Even knowing it'll mean she's saying good-bye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/keep-hoping-to-see-the-light-in-her-eyes-even-knowing-it-ll-mean-she/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Strength wasn‘t about being able to do everything alone. Strength was knowing when to ask for help and not being too proud to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/strength-wasn-t-about-being-able-to-do-everything-alone-strength-was/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“He swapped the fistful of my shirt for one in my hair, and ground his mouth against mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/he-swapped-the-fistful-of-my-shirt-for-one-in-my-hair-and-ground-his/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [He’s so beautiful,” she said wistfully. “He’s like an angel.” “Yep,” I agreed flatly. “The one that fell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/he-s-so-beautiful-she-said-wistfully-he-s-like-an-angel-yep-i-agreed/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [And when he did that, my hands curled into fists because I thought about touching his face like maybe I could catch joy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/and-when-he-did-that-my-hands-curled-into-fists-because-i-thought/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Flattered as I am that you count me among the beautiful people, Barrons, allow me to point out that I’m still alive. I encountered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/flattered-as-i-am-that-you-count-me-among-the-beautiful-people/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) [Explore all 940 Karen Marie Moning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) ## More Cold quotes > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Of course Messi could handle a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. He'd be drinking tea and relaxing beforehand. Me? I'd probably be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/of-course-messi-could-handle-a-cold-tuesday-night-in-stoke-he-d-be/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. 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We must heal the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/what-s-to-become-of-the-morally-sound-left-out-in-the-cold-i-suppose/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [One of the problems trying to play an instrument outside in the cold is your fingers give up on you and you can't wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-macdonald/one-of-the-problems-trying-to-play-an-instrument-outside-in-the-cold/) [Amy Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-macdonald/) > [God tempers the cold to the shorn sheep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/god-tempers-the-cold-to-the-shorn-sheep/) Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) [Browse all 5,381 Cold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life's not linear at all. It happens in lighting flashes. So fast you don't see those lay-you-out cold moments coming at you until you're Wile E. 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