--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It isn't what you did in the past that…" description: "\"“It isn't what you did in the past that will affect the present. It's what you do in the present that will redeem the past and thereby change the futur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/paulo-coelho-10_past_it-isn-t-what-you-did-in-the-past-that-w_3105176.jpg" --- # It isn't what you did in the past that will affect the… ![“It isn't what you did in the past that will affect the present. It's what you do in the present that will redeem the past and thereby change the future.” quote by Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/paulo-coelho-10_past_it-isn-t-what-you-did-in-the-past-that-w_3105176.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/paulo-coelho-10_past_it-isn-t-what-you-did-in-the-past-that-w_3105176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/paulo-coelho-10_past_it-isn-t-what-you-did-in-the-past-that-w_3105176.jpg) > ““It isn't what you did in the past that will affect the present. It's what you do in the present that will redeem the past and thereby change the future.”” [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Your current actions can transform past mistakes into positive outcomes for the future. **In simple terms:** Present actions redeem past and shape future. Key Takeaway Act now to rewrite your story. Themes redemption agency time growth Mood reflective hopeful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - relationship repair - habit change - goal setting Key Concepts personal responsibility transformative action Questions to Reflect On - What present habit can you change to improve tomorrow? - How does forgiveness of yourself affect future choices? A Different Perspective Changing the past is impossible; focus on present limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [It’s what you do in the present that will redeem the past and thereby change the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-s-what-you-do-in-the-present-that-will-redeem-the-past-and-thereby/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Don't be afraid and don't let the past affect your present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-petty/don-t-be-afraid-and-don-t-let-the-past-affect-your-present/) [Lori Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-petty/) > [We human beings have enormous difficulty in focusing on the present; we always thinking about what we did, about how we could have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-human-beings-have-enormous-difficulty-in-focusing-on-the-present/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“You cannot change the past. All you can do is change the way you allow the past to affect your present and future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/springwolf/you-cannot-change-the-past-all-you-can-do-is-change-the-way-you-allow/) Springwolf > [The present moment, though, is outside of time, it’s Eternity. In India they use the word “karma” for lack of any better term. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-present-moment-though-is-outside-of-time-it-s-eternity-in-india/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You can't change the past so change something you can. the future!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-merryn/you-can-t-change-the-past-so-change-something-you-can-the-future/) [Erin Merryn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-merryn/) > [“We can’t change what happened to us in our past, but we can change the future through our present practice. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-scrone/we-can-t-change-what-happened-to-us-in-our-past-but-we-can-change-the/) Brian Scrone > [“Your minds PERCEPTION of the past will change your future vision, and either prevent or propel forward progress in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-goodrich/your-minds-perception-of-the-past-will-change-your-future-vision-and/) Joe Goodrich > [“The past can never change but future is still in your power”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azhar-sabri/the-past-can-never-change-but-future-is-still-in-your-power/) [Azhar Sabri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azhar-sabri/) > [“We can never alter our past but we can always change our future!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/we-can-never-alter-our-past-but-we-can-always-change-our-future/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [If you forgive.You cant change the past..but you can change the future..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariane-corbito/if-you-forgive-you-cant-change-the-past-but-you-can-change-the-future/) [Mariane Corbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariane-corbito/) > [“PRINCIPLE #2: YOU CREATE YOUR OWN LIFE Whatever your history and circumstances, you should never feel locked in by what has happened to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/principle-2-you-create-your-own-life-whatever-your-history-and/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [You can't change your past but, you can change your future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-change-your-past-but-you-can-change-your-future/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You cant change the past. You cant even change the future, in the sense that you can only change the present one moment at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/you-cant-change-the-past-you-cant-even-change-the-future-in-the-sense/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Your past is Your past You can't change it but your future is forever you decide what you want out of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/your-past-is-your-past-you-can-t-change-it-but-your-future-is-forever/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) ## More by Paulo Coelho > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Love will never separate a man from his personal legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/love-will-never-separate-a-man-from-his-personal-legend/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/to-love-is-to-be-in-communion-with-the-other-and-to-discover-in-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Eat when it is time to eat. And walk when it is time to walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/eat-when-it-is-time-to-eat-and-walk-when-it-is-time-to-walk/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [People are reading more and writing more because of the internet. So the virtual world is a way for me to listen to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-are-reading-more-and-writing-more-because-of-the-internet-so/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Joy is like sex – it begins and ends. I want pleasure. I want to be contended, but happiness? I no longer fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/joy-is-like-sex-it-begins-and-ends-i-want-pleasure-i-want-to-be/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Trudi se da zivis, sjecanja su za starije ljude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/trudi-se-da-zivis-sjecanja-su-za-starije-ljude/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-someone-leaves-it-s-because-someone-else-is-about-to-arrive/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [She didn't need to understand the meaning of life; it was enough to find someone who did, and then fall asleep in his arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/she-didn-t-need-to-understand-the-meaning-of-life-it-was-enough-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The simpler the pose, the better; the more sober, the more beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-simpler-the-pose-the-better-the-more-sober-the-more-beautiful/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) [Explore all 3,665 Paulo Coelho quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More Past quotes > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [You can think about it, wonder what went wrong, over analyze the situation but the fact remains... it's the past, just let it go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/you-can-think-about-it-wonder-what-went-wrong-over-analyze-the/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [The Iranian people have a proud past. They merit a great future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/the-iranian-people-have-a-proud-past-they-merit-a-great-future/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [I used to fight with hate. There's been a lot of aggression in my past growing up and stuff. That's because I was hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-namajunas/i-used-to-fight-with-hate-there-s-been-a-lot-of-aggression-in-my-past/) [Rose Namajunas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-namajunas/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Right before the pandemic, 'Past Lives' came across to me as something to read and possibly put myself on tape for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/right-before-the-pandemic-past-lives-came-across-to-me-as-something/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [I nibbled my lower lip. "If you could see into my past just by touching my back, you'd have a hard time resisting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-nibbled-my-lower-lip-if-you-could-see-into-my-past-just-by-touching/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [Liberalism is the philosophy for our time, because it does not try to conserve every tradition of the past, because it does not apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/liberalism-is-the-philosophy-for-our-time-because-it-does-not-try-to/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [Voting Labour in the past hasn't protected Scotland against Tory governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/voting-labour-in-the-past-hasn-t-protected-scotland-against-tory/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) [Browse all 19,844 Past quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It isn't what you did in the past that will affect the present. It's what you do in the present that will redeem the past and thereby change the future.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paulo Coelho" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-isn-t-what-you-did-in-the-past-that-will-affect-the-present-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Past" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-isn-t-what-you-did-in-the-past-that-will-affect-the-present-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/paulo-coelho-10_past_it-isn-t-what-you-did-in-the-past-that-w_3105176.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/paulo-coelho-10_past_it-isn-t-what-you-did-in-the-past-that-w_3105176.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/paulo-coelho-10_past_it-isn-t-what-you-did-in-the-past-that-w_3105176.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It isn't what you did in the past that will affect the present. It's what you do in the present that will…” — Paulo Coelho", "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": "Paulo Coelho", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It isn't what you did in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-isn-t-what-you-did-in-the-past-that-will-affect-the-present-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-isn-t-what-you-did-in-the-past-that-will-affect-the-present-it-s/#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 } } ] } ```