--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't really know where you are going…" description: "\"You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been.\" — Maya Angelou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/maya-angelou-104_going_you-can-t-really-know-where-you-are-goin_255376.png" --- # You can't really know where you are going until you know… ![“You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/maya-angelou-104_going_you-can-t-really-know-where-you-are-goin_255376.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/maya-angelou-104_going_you-can-t-really-know-where-you-are-goin_255376.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/maya-angelou-104_going_you-can-t-really-know-where-you-are-goin_255376.png) > “You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been.” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding your past is essential to navigating the future. **In simple terms:** Know your history to guide your path. Key Takeaway Reflect on past experiences before planning ahead. Themes self-awareness growth reflection direction Mood thoughtful inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - decision making Key Concepts personal history learning future planning Questions to Reflect On - What lessons from your past shape your goals? - How can you use history without being trapped by it? A Different Perspective Past may be painful; focusing too much on it can hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) [Going Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-know-365747/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Know Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-going-252208/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Really Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-know-232359/) [Road](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/road/) [Where you are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where-you-are/) [Where you are going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where-you-are-going/) ## Related quotes > [...to find where you are going, you must know where you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/to-find-where-you-are-going-you-must-know-where-you-are/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [We can only know where we're going if we know where we've been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/we-can-only-know-where-we-re-going-if-we-know-where-we-ve-been/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If you don't know where you are going, then how will you get there? VISUALISE! Make pictures in your mind. See the desination. Imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryce-courtenay/if-you-don-t-know-where-you-are-going-then-how-will-you-get-there/) [Bryce Courtenay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryce-courtenay/) > [The beauty of meditation is that you never know where you are, where you are going, what the end is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/the-beauty-of-meditation-is-that-you-never-know-where-you-are-where/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [The secret is planning your work and working your plan. If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-white/the-secret-is-planning-your-work-and-working-your-plan-if-you-don-t/) [Jack White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-white/) > [It is more important to know who you are than where you are going, for where you are going will change as the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/it-is-more-important-to-know-who-you-are-than-where-you-are-going-for/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [Early in the journey you wonder how long the journey will take and whether you will make it in this lifetime. Later you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/early-in-the-journey-you-wonder-how-long-the-journey-will-take-and/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [“If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-morgenstern/if-you-don-t-know-where-you-are-going-how-will-you-know-when-you-get/) [Julie Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-morgenstern/) > [“Unless you know where you are going then you will not know how to get there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/unless-you-know-where-you-are-going-then-you-will-not-know-how-to-get/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [Just tell me what to do. I don't know where I'm going, but I know I don't want to be here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-john/just-tell-me-what-to-do-i-don-t-know-where-i-m-going-but-i-know-i-don/) [Dan John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-john/) > [“If you don't know where you're going you should know where you come from”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/if-you-don-t-know-where-you-re-going-you-should-know-where-you-come/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“You may not know what you are going to get but you know it is going to be an adventure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-vickers/you-may-not-know-what-you-are-going-to-get-but-you-know-it-is-going/) [Lee Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-vickers/) > [“I don't know where I'm going, but I know I'm going somewhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/i-don-t-know-where-i-m-going-but-i-know-i-m-going-somewhere/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [I'm a big believer in the notion that to know where you are going, you have to know where everything has been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-gatlin/i-m-a-big-believer-in-the-notion-that-to-know-where-you-are-going-you/) [Justin Gatlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-gatlin/) > [Do you know where you going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are you going to? Do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-ross/do-you-know-where-you-going-to-do-you-like-the-things-that-life-is/) [Diana Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-ross/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Going 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/) > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [Keep the faith, and keep going strong!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/keep-the-faith-and-keep-going-strong/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I really enjoy going to play for the national team and be with the guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedi-osman/i-really-enjoy-going-to-play-for-the-national-team-and-be-with-the/) [Cedi Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedi-osman/) > [“I’m not even going to ask you where you got that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mackey/i-m-not-even-going-to-ask-you-where-you-got-that/) [Mark Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mackey/) > [This is how McGregor is, waging mental warfare before the fights. There's no way that guy is going to get in my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-mendes/this-is-how-mcgregor-is-waging-mental-warfare-before-the-fights-there/) [Chad Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-mendes/) > [For me, going to Minneapolis is like going to Mecca.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/for-me-going-to-minneapolis-is-like-going-to-mecca/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [What I do miss that I don't get anymore? You're going to think I'm crazy, but you want the truth, so here it is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mandrell/what-i-do-miss-that-i-don-t-get-anymore-you-re-going-to-think-i-m/) [Barbara Mandrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mandrell/) > [Any position I was going to be in, I was going to make the best of it. I always do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bledsoe/any-position-i-was-going-to-be-in-i-was-going-to-make-the-best-of-it/) [Eric Bledsoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bledsoe/) > [I want to help people struggling with whatever it is they're going through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santan-dave/i-want-to-help-people-struggling-with-whatever-it-is-they-re-going/) [Santan Dave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santan-dave/) [Browse all 15,485 Going quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maya Angelou" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-can-t-really-know-where-you-are-going-until-you-know-where-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Going" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-can-t-really-know-where-you-are-going-until-you-know-where-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/maya-angelou-104_going_you-can-t-really-know-where-you-are-goin_255376.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/maya-angelou-104_going_you-can-t-really-know-where-you-are-goin_255376.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/maya-angelou-104_going_you-can-t-really-know-where-you-are-goin_255376.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been.” — Maya Angelou", "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": "Maya Angelou", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can't really know where you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-can-t-really-know-where-you-are-going-until-you-know-where-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-can-t-really-know-where-you-are-going-until-you-know-where-you/#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 } } ] } ```