--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are at times too ready to believe that…" description: "\"We are at times too ready to believe that the present is the only possible state of things.\" — Marcel Proust" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/marcel-proust-114_believe_we-are-at-times-too-ready-to-believe-tha_1057303.jpg" --- # We are at times too ready to believe that the present is… ![“We are at times too ready to believe that the present is the only possible state of things.” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/marcel-proust-114_believe_we-are-at-times-too-ready-to-believe-tha_1057303.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/marcel-proust-114_believe_we-are-at-times-too-ready-to-believe-tha_1057303.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/marcel-proust-114_believe_we-are-at-times-too-ready-to-believe-tha_1057303.jpg) > “We are at times too ready to believe that the present is the only possible state of things.” [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often assume the current situation is the only way things can be, limiting imagination and change. **In simple terms:** People think now is the only possible reality. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about the present. Themes perception change possibility Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - strategic planning - creative brainstorming - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy psychology relativism Questions to Reflect On - What would happen if you imagined a different present? - How does this belief affect your decisions? A Different Perspective Assuming the present is fixed can ignore viable alternatives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-present-632913/) [Open minded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-minded/) [Openness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/openness/) [Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible/) [Possible State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-state-2563328/) [Present Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-possible-2140572/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Ready Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready-believe-2563329/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“don't believe in past,don't believe in future,just believe in your present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-chaudhary/don-t-believe-in-past-don-t-believe-in-future-just-believe-in-your/) [Abhishek Chaudhary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-chaudhary/) > [We all confidently believe that there are at present, and have been from time immemorial, many worlds of life besides our own. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-kelvin/we-all-confidently-believe-that-there-are-at-present-and-have-been/) [Lord Kelvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-kelvin/) > [“I don't believe in past,I don't believe in future,I just believe in present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-chaudhary/i-don-t-believe-in-past-i-don-t-believe-in-future-i-just-believe-in/) [Abhishek Chaudhary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-chaudhary/) > [“I believe the present matters --- not the past! The past must go. If we seek to keep the past alive, we end, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/i-believe-the-present-matters-not-the-past-the-past-must-go-if-we/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [How real is any of the past, being every moment revalued to make the present possible...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gaddis/how-real-is-any-of-the-past-being-every-moment-revalued-to-make-the/) [William Gaddis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gaddis/) > [“Only in the present is it possible to apply what we learned from the past and create a better outcome for the moment that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-cates/only-in-the-present-is-it-possible-to-apply-what-we-learned-from-the/) [Regina Cates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-cates/) > [I try to live in the present as much as possible. Savour each moment. But I can't help looking back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-burrow/i-try-to-live-in-the-present-as-much-as-possible-savour-each-moment/) [Rob Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-burrow/) > [“People are born in the past,... most people will say that they are living in the present?! But it's not possible, just saying "I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/people-are-born-in-the-past-most-people-will-say-that-they-are-living/) [Deyth Banger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deyth-banger/) > [I'm as far away from technology as possible. But I like to be as present as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-garrett/i-m-as-far-away-from-technology-as-possible-but-i-like-to-be-as/) [Beau Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-garrett/) > [A man who is always ready to believe what is told him will never do well, especially a businessman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petronius/a-man-who-is-always-ready-to-believe-what-is-told-him-will-never-do/) [Petronius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petronius/) > [We are all very ready to believe what we like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/we-are-all-very-ready-to-believe-what-we-like/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [“We don’t grow out of fairytales. We grow back into them — when we’re ready to believe again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zo-mira/we-don-t-grow-out-of-fairytales-we-grow-back-into-them-when-we-re/) [Zoé Mira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zo-mira/) > [I was also ready to believe, though, that whatever good things I had managed to set upright could topple at any second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brockmeier/i-was-also-ready-to-believe-though-that-whatever-good-things-i-had/) [Kevin Brockmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brockmeier/) > [I believe in courtesy, in kindness, in generosity, in good cheer, in friendship and in honest competition. I believe there is something doing somewhere,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/i-believe-in-courtesy-in-kindness-in-generosity-in-good-cheer-in/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [When you get your chance, you just have to be ready and believe that chances will come, that you are going to step forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-barkley/when-you-get-your-chance-you-just-have-to-be-ready-and-believe-that/) [Ross Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-barkley/) ## More by Marcel Proust > [“machinery' of life at Versailles; and was able, too, to persuade herself that her silence, a shade of good humour or of arrogance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/machinery-of-life-at-versailles-and-was-able-too-to-persuade-herself/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [ “For her \[Françoise\], wealth was like a necessary condition without which virtue would lack both merit and charm. She made so little distinction between… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-her-fran-oise-wealth-was-like-a-necessary-condition-without-which/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Death is in truth an illness from which we recover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/death-is-in-truth-an-illness-from-which-we-recover/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The bonds that unite another person to our self exist only in our mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-bonds-that-unite-another-person-to-our-self-exist-only-in-our-mind/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [...a writer's works, like the water in an artesian well, mount to a height which is in proportion to the depth to which suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-writer-s-works-like-the-water-in-an-artesian-well-mount-to-a-height/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Art extracted from the most familiar reality does indeed exist and its domain is perhaps the largest of any.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/art-extracted-from-the-most-familiar-reality-does-indeed-exist-and/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When you heard anyone in the middle of a talk which was being deliberately kept off the Affair announce furtively some piece of political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-you-heard-anyone-in-the-middle-of-a-talk-which-was-being/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“We betroth ourselves by proxy, and then feel obliged to marry the intermediary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-betroth-ourselves-by-proxy-and-then-feel-obliged-to-marry-the/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“But the old lady on the contrary, far from justifying her daughter’s fears, felt every time someone of her own age “disappeared” that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-the-old-lady-on-the-contrary-far-from-justifying-her-daughter-s/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Often it is just lack of imagination that keeps a man from suffering very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/often-it-is-just-lack-of-imagination-that-keeps-a-man-from-suffering/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When we are nice to others, we generally lose all claim to their respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-we-are-nice-to-others-we-generally-lose-all-claim-to-their/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Nobility is often no more than the inner aspect which our egotistical feelings assume when we have not yet named and classified them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/nobility-is-often-no-more-than-the-inner-aspect-which-our-egotistical/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Explore all 1,113 Marcel Proust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. 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