--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only people unhappy in the present seek…" description: "\"Only people unhappy in the present seek to know the future.\" — Kate Morton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/kate-morton-805_future_only-people-unhappy-in-the-present-seek_3002147.png" --- # Only people unhappy in the present seek to know the future. ![“Only people unhappy in the present seek to know the future.” quote by Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/kate-morton-805_future_only-people-unhappy-in-the-present-seek_3002147.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/kate-morton-805_future_only-people-unhappy-in-the-present-seek_3002147.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/kate-morton-805_future_only-people-unhappy-in-the-present-seek_3002147.png) > “Only people unhappy in the present seek to know the future.” [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People dissatisfied now look ahead for answers, neglecting present contentment. **In simple terms:** Unhappy people seek future to escape now. Key Takeaway Focus on present happiness. Themes contentment future mindset Mood reflective contemplative Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - relationship counseling - personal growth - mindfulness Key Concepts psychology temporal focus Questions to Reflect On - What are you avoiding by looking ahead? - How can you improve present satisfaction? A Different Perspective Future focus can cause anxiety and neglect of present opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Know Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-future/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-unhappy/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) [Unhappy Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy-present-4771538/) ## Related quotes > [There are people who are unhappy with everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince/there-are-people-who-are-unhappy-with-everything/) [Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince/) > [I think people who are unhappy are always proud of being so, and therefore do not like to be told that there is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-think-people-who-are-unhappy-are-always-proud-of-being-so-and/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [In New York, people are unhappy on purpose, because unhappiness makes them seem more complex; in Washington DC it just sort of works out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/in-new-york-people-are-unhappy-on-purpose-because-unhappiness-makes/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The real question is why are millions of people so unhappy, so bored, so unfulfilled, that they are willing to drink, snort, inject or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/the-real-question-is-why-are-millions-of-people-so-unhappy-so-bored/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [People have been unhappy for a long time about the two-party system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-malveaux/people-have-been-unhappy-for-a-long-time-about-the-two-party-system/) [Julianne Malveaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-malveaux/) > [One reason why so many people are unhappy, not knowing why, is that they have burdened their minds with resentments. 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Enjoy every bit of your life forgetting about what happened in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/you-never-know-what-will-be-your-future-so-stop-worrying-about-future/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-akin/i-don-t-know-the-future-i-didn-t-come-here-to-tell-you-how-this-is/) [Todd Akin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-akin/) > [You never know what the future has in store, but if possible I'd like to hang up my boots at Barcelona.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordi-alba/you-never-know-what-the-future-has-in-store-but-if-possible-i-d-like/) [Jordi Alba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordi-alba/) > [“And since he was seeing more and more people who were unhappy for no apparent reason, he was becoming more and more tired, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/and-since-he-was-seeing-more-and-more-people-who-were-unhappy-for-no/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) ## More by Kate Morton > [“Laurel wondered whether perhaps a person reached an age when so much was kept from them, so many details of life discussed and decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/laurel-wondered-whether-perhaps-a-person-reached-an-age-when-so-much/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“It hardly needs to be said: sooner or later secrets have a way of making themselves known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-hardly-needs-to-be-said-sooner-or-later-secrets-have-a-way-of/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“Give someone more time and they'll appear to have done more with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/give-someone-more-time-and-they-ll-appear-to-have-done-more-with-it/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“It suddenly seemed to Laurel that all the absences in her own life, every loss and sadness, every nightmare in the dark, every unexplained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-suddenly-seemed-to-laurel-that-all-the-absences-in-her-own-life/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [Rejection is a cancer, Edie. It eats away at a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/rejection-is-a-cancer-edie-it-eats-away-at-a-person/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“home is a magnet that lures back even its most abstracted children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/home-is-a-magnet-that-lures-back-even-its-most-abstracted-children/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“tiempo tiene su peculiar manera de moldear a la gente de forma que ellos mismos ya no se reconocen,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/tiempo-tiene-su-peculiar-manera-de-moldear-a-la-gente-de-forma-que/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“I want to know how it feels to be altered by life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/i-want-to-know-how-it-feels-to-be-altered-by-life/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“She'd opened the front cover and fallen inside the wonderful, frightening, magical illustrations. She'd wondered what it must feel like to escape the rigid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/she-d-opened-the-front-cover-and-fallen-inside-the-wonderful/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [It's special, grandparents and grandchldren. So much simpler. Is it always so, I wonder? I think perhaps it is. While one's child takes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-s-special-grandparents-and-grandchldren-so-much-simpler-is-it/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“... and I thought -not for the first time- what a true and simple pleasure it was, to be inside and sated when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/and-i-thought-not-for-the-first-time-what-a-true-and-simple-pleasure/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“Nell was like a witch. Her long silvery hair rolled into a bun on the back of her head, the narrow wooden house on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/nell-was-like-a-witch-her-long-silvery-hair-rolled-into-a-bun-on-the/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [Thinking of nothing. Trying to think of nothing. Thinking of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/thinking-of-nothing-trying-to-think-of-nothing-thinking-of-everything/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [There's a market for mysteries for adults. That feeling of opening a book and delving inside and not coming out until you've closed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/there-s-a-market-for-mysteries-for-adults-that-feeling-of-opening-a/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“I don’t have many friends, not the living, breathing sort at any rate. And I don’t mean that in a sad and lonely way;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/i-don-t-have-many-friends-not-the-living-breathing-sort-at-any-rate/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) [Explore all 334 Kate Morton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) ## 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": "Only people unhappy in the present seek to know the future.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kate Morton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/only-people-unhappy-in-the-present-seek-to-know-the-future/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Future" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/only-people-unhappy-in-the-present-seek-to-know-the-future/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/kate-morton-805_future_only-people-unhappy-in-the-present-seek_3002147.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/kate-morton-805_future_only-people-unhappy-in-the-present-seek_3002147.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/kate-morton-805_future_only-people-unhappy-in-the-present-seek_3002147.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only people unhappy in the present seek to know the future.” — Kate Morton", "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 Morton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only people unhappy in the present...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/only-people-unhappy-in-the-present-seek-to-know-the-future/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/only-people-unhappy-in-the-present-seek-to-know-the-future/#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 } } ] } ```