--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can never entirely stop being what…" description: "\"You can never entirely stop being what you once were. That's why it's important to be the right person today, and not put it off till tomorrow.\" — Larr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/larry-wall-1576_important_you-can-never-entirely-stop-being-what-y_2879090.png" --- # You can never entirely stop being what you once were… ![“You can never entirely stop being what you once were. That's why it's important to be the right person today, and not put it off till tomorrow.” quote by Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/larry-wall-1576_important_you-can-never-entirely-stop-being-what-y_2879090.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/larry-wall-1576_important_you-can-never-entirely-stop-being-what-y_2879090.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/larry-wall-1576_important_you-can-never-entirely-stop-being-what-y_2879090.png) > “You can never entirely stop being what you once were. That's why it's important to be the right person today, and not put it off till tomorrow.” [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Your past self shapes you, but you must actively become the person you aspire to be today. **In simple terms:** You can’t stop being your past self. Key Takeaway Act now to become your ideal self. Themes personal growth identity self‑improvement time Mood motivational determined Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - career development - habit formation - goal setting - self‑reflection Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What person do you want to be now? - How can you act today toward that identity? A Different Perspective Changing yourself is a continuous effort, not a future promise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) ## Related quotes > [“Stop thinking of yourself as the picked-on girl from the Third and act like the person you are now. Today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-ella/stop-thinking-of-yourself-as-the-picked-on-girl-from-the-third-and/) [Sara Ella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-ella/) > [I haven't always been the person I am today. 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If a Democrat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-king/i-ve-never-seen-anyone-say-let-s-go-get-this-person-today-let-s/) [Larry King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-king/) > [Good morning, help at least one person today, and rent no negative space in your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-epps/good-morning-help-at-least-one-person-today-and-rent-no-negative/) [Mike Epps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-epps/) > [Those mistakes have made you into the person that you are today. 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But I said that already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/not-that-i-have-anything-much-against-redundancy-but-i-said-that/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Perhaps you should compile your Perl with long doubles one of these megaseconds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/perhaps-you-should-compile-your-perl-with-long-doubles-one-of-these/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Take Lisp, you know its the most beautiful language in the world -- at least up until Haskell came along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/take-lisp-you-know-its-the-most-beautiful-language-in-the-world-at/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [I'm reminded of the day my daughter came in, looked over my shoulder at some Perl 4 code, and said, 'What is that, swearing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/i-m-reminded-of-the-day-my-daughter-came-in-looked-over-my-shoulder/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Yes, but I did manage to increase the amount of virginity in the world by that method.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/yes-but-i-did-manage-to-increase-the-amount-of-virginity-in-the-world/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [I won't mention any names, because I don't want to get sun4's into trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/i-won-t-mention-any-names-because-i-don-t-want-to-get-sun4-s-into/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [And besides, if Perl really takes off in the Windows space, I think the rest of us would just as soon have a double-agent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/and-besides-if-perl-really-takes-off-in-the-windows-space-i-think-the/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [In general, they do what you want, unless you want consistency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/in-general-they-do-what-you-want-unless-you-want-consistency/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [I suppose you could switch grammars once you've seen 'use strict subs'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/i-suppose-you-could-switch-grammars-once-you-ve-seen-use-strict-subs/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [While I have historically been a late worker, you know, sometimes I even like to get up early and see what's happened in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/while-i-have-historically-been-a-late-worker-you-know-sometimes-i/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [All language designers are arrogant. Goes with the territory...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/all-language-designers-are-arrogant-goes-with-the-territory/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Perl has a long tradition of working around compilers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/perl-has-a-long-tradition-of-working-around-compilers/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Part of language design is perturbing the proposed feature in various directions to see how it might generalize in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/part-of-language-design-is-perturbing-the-proposed-feature-in-various/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [We can debug relationships, but it's always good policy to consider the people themselves to be features. People get annoyed when you try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/we-can-debug-relationships-but-it-s-always-good-policy-to-consider/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [The whole intent of Perl 5's module system was to encourage the growth of Perl culture rather than the Perl core.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-whole-intent-of-perl-5-s-module-system-was-to-encourage-the/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) [Explore all 226 Larry Wall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) ## More Important quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. 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