--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: First things were good, last things not…" description: "\"“First things were good, last things not so much so.”\" — Kate Atkinson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/kate-atkinson-1265_first-things_first-things-were-good-last-things-not-s_812496.jpg" --- # First things were good, last things not so much so. ![“First things were good, last things not so much so.” quote by Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/kate-atkinson-1265_first-things_first-things-were-good-last-things-not-s_812496.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/kate-atkinson-1265_first-things_first-things-were-good-last-things-not-s_812496.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/kate-atkinson-1265_first-things_first-things-were-good-last-things-not-s_812496.jpg) > ““First things were good, last things not so much so.”” [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Initial phases may be promising, but later stages can decline, highlighting impermanence. **In simple terms:** Good beginnings may end poorly. Key Takeaway Expect change and adapt over time. Themes impermanence expectation growth Mood cautious hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career trajectories - relationships - health journeys Key Concepts life cycles narrative arcs Questions to Reflect On - What can sustain quality after early success? - How do you prepare for inevitable downturns? A Different Perspective Not all declines are inevitable; resilience matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-things/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Things Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-good/) ## Related quotes > [The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-doctor/the-way-i-see-it-every-life-is-a-pile-of-good-things-and-bad-things/) [The Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-doctor/) > [I'm finding myself. I'm finding things I'm good at, things I need to work at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wiggins/i-m-finding-myself-i-m-finding-things-i-m-good-at-things-i-need-to/) [Andrew Wiggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wiggins/) > [We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/we-are-not-to-preach-the-doing-of-good-things-good-deeds-are-not-to/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [I don't fall in love easily. It's odd; one of the first things I think about when I go out with a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-dillon/i-don-t-fall-in-love-easily-it-s-odd-one-of-the-first-things-i-think/) [Matt Dillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-dillon/) > [Too many good things all seem the same after a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/too-many-good-things-all-seem-the-same-after-a-while/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I think it's common to want to label things as all good or all bad and what I'm finding is that every situation, person,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-fosse/i-think-it-s-common-to-want-to-label-things-as-all-good-or-all-bad/) [Nicole Fosse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-fosse/) > [Live as you like best, and your character will take care of itself. Most things are good for you; the exceptions are very rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/live-as-you-like-best-and-your-character-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [I've always done things that were good for me, whether they were viewed as being as prestigious or whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-chang/i-ve-always-done-things-that-were-good-for-me-whether-they-were/) [Victoria Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-chang/) > [To feel that your hours are filled to overflowing, that you can barely steal minutes enough for sleep, that the welfare of many is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/to-feel-that-your-hours-are-filled-to-overflowing-that-you-can-barely/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Men can bear all things but good days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/men-can-bear-all-things-but-good-days/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [“Of all the things I am not very good at, living in the real world is perhaps the most outstanding. I am constantly filled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/of-all-the-things-i-am-not-very-good-at-living-in-the-real-world-is/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I work at things I'm not good at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovince-saint-preux/i-work-at-things-i-m-not-good-at/) [Ovince Saint Preux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovince-saint-preux/) > [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [What i value more than all things, good humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-i-value-more-than-all-things-good-humor/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The only things good about being let down in the past is knowing what to expect later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-only-things-good-about-being-let-down-in-the-past-is-knowing-what/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) ## More by Kate Atkinson > [“Sweet sixteen," Hugh said, kissing her affectionately. "Happy birthday, little bear. Your future's all ahead of you." Ursula still harbored the feeling that some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/sweet-sixteen-hugh-said-kissing-her-affectionately-happy-birthday/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [When you chopped logs with the ax and they split open they smelled beautiful, like Christmas. But when you split someone's head open it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-you-chopped-logs-with-the-ax-and-they-split-open-they-smelled/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“He had made a vow, a private promise to the world in the long dark watches of the night, that if he did survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/he-had-made-a-vow-a-private-promise-to-the-world-in-the-long-dark/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“When she was little they had lived in an old farmhouse too, in the middle of nothing of but landscape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-she-was-little-they-had-lived-in-an-old-farmhouse-too-in-the/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“Do you keep time in the same place that you save it? If so why is it always so difficult to find? It must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/do-you-keep-time-in-the-same-place-that-you-save-it-if-so-why-is-it/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I was on the verge of something numinous and profound and in one more second the universe was going to crack open and arcana…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-was-on-the-verge-of-something-numinous-and-profound-and-in-one-more/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I feel as if I’m waiting for something dreadful to happen, and then I realize it already has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-feel-as-if-i-m-waiting-for-something-dreadful-to-happen-and-then-i/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“If she had been in charge of designing the human race she would have gone about things differently. (A golden shaft of light through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/if-she-had-been-in-charge-of-designing-the-human-race-she-would-have/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [The beginning is the word and the end is silence. And in between are all the stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-beginning-is-the-word-and-the-end-is-silence-and-in-between-are/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“The only way to stop the tears was to keep drinking the whisky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-keep-drinking-the-whisky/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I don't want to spoil the magic, but it's a very curious thing that honestly baffles me. It's the nearest we'll ever get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-don-t-want-to-spoil-the-magic-but-it-s-a-very-curious-thing-that/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“What did science ever do for the world, apart from make better ways of killing people?” Sylvie said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/what-did-science-ever-do-for-the-world-apart-from-make-better-ways-of/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“she could see Sylvie and her friends on the lawn below, their dresses fluttering like moths in the encroaching dusk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/she-could-see-sylvie-and-her-friends-on-the-lawn-below-their-dresses/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“misquote Edmund Burke rather than Milton. All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/misquote-edmund-burke-rather-than-milton-all-that-is-necessary-for/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) [Explore all 261 Kate Atkinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) ## More First things quotes > [I don't fall in love easily. It's odd; one of the first things I think about when I go out with a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-dillon/i-don-t-fall-in-love-easily-it-s-odd-one-of-the-first-things-i-think/) [Matt Dillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-dillon/) > [One of the first things one notices in a backward country is that children are still obeying their parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-first-things-one-notices-in-a-backward-country-is-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the first things we did was to find role models or mentors at companies that had achieved what we wanted to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-harper/one-of-the-first-things-we-did-was-to-find-role-models-or-mentors-at/) [Mitch Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-harper/) > [The older I get, the more wisdom I find in the ancient rule of taking first things first - a process which often reduces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-david-eisenhower/the-older-i-get-the-more-wisdom-i-find-in-the-ancient-rule-of-taking/) [Dwight David Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-david-eisenhower/) > [“People who live at subsistence level want first things to be put first. They are not particularly interested in freedom of religion, freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-marshall/people-who-live-at-subsistence-level-want-first-things-to-be-put/) [Sebastian Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-marshall/) > [Best start putting first things first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-chesney/best-start-putting-first-things-first/) [Kenny Chesney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-chesney/) > [“And this is one of the first things one learns from Musk’s example—he is relentless in his pursuit of the bold and, the bigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-diamandis/and-this-is-one-of-the-first-things-one-learns-from-musk-s-example-he/) [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) > [I was always under the impression that acting is an innate gift. One of the first things I heard them say at Koothu-P-Pattarai was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-sethupathi/i-was-always-under-the-impression-that-acting-is-an-innate-gift-one/) [Vijay Sethupathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-sethupathi/) > [The word priority was singular for 500 years—what does priorities mean—'many many first things.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mckeown/the-word-priority-was-singular-for-500-years-what-does-priorities/) [Greg McKeown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mckeown/) > [Happy people tend to believethey're more in control of their lives. In doing so, they're more likely to take anactive approach to solving problems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit-baloria/happy-people-tend-to-believethey-re-more-in-control-of-their-lives-in/) [Rohit Baloria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit-baloria/) > [Putting first things first means organizing and executing around your most important priorities. It is living and being driven by the principles you value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/putting-first-things-first-means-organizing-and-executing-around-your/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [“One of the first things every trainee is taught is that an FBI agent only shoots to kill. The thinking that went into this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/one-of-the-first-things-every-trainee-is-taught-is-that-an-fbi-agent/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [One of the first things that the First Nations are going to have to decide is, is it going to 640 communities, or is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-martin/one-of-the-first-things-that-the-first-nations-are-going-to-have-to/) [Paul Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-martin/) > [“The word priority came into the English language in the 1400s. It was singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mckeown/the-word-priority-came-into-the-english-language-in-the-1400s-it-was/) [Greg McKeown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mckeown/) > [I remember when I told my parents that I wanted to be a filmmaker, and no longer was I planning to be a doctor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-isaac-chung/i-remember-when-i-told-my-parents-that-i-wanted-to-be-a-filmmaker-and/) [Lee Isaac Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-isaac-chung/) [Browse all 311 First things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“First things were good, last things not so much so.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kate Atkinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/first-things-were-good-last-things-not-so-much-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "First things" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/first-things-were-good-last-things-not-so-much-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/kate-atkinson-1265_first-things_first-things-were-good-last-things-not-s_812496.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/kate-atkinson-1265_first-things_first-things-were-good-last-things-not-s_812496.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/kate-atkinson-1265_first-things_first-things-were-good-last-things-not-s_812496.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“First things were good, last things not so much so.” — Kate Atkinson", "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": "Kate Atkinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“First things were good, last things...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/first-things-were-good-last-things-not-so-much-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/first-things-were-good-last-things-not-so-much-so/#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 } } ] } ```