--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we all knew what was coming, maybe we…" description: "\"“If we all knew what was coming, maybe we wouldn’t even stick around for it. Time present and time future.”\" — Peter Heller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/peter-heller-3324_future_if-we-all-knew-what-was-coming-maybe-we_2189598.png" --- # If we all knew what was coming, maybe we wouldn’t even… ![“If we all knew what was coming, maybe we wouldn’t even stick around for it. Time present and time future.” quote by Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/peter-heller-3324_future_if-we-all-knew-what-was-coming-maybe-we_2189598.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/peter-heller-3324_future_if-we-all-knew-what-was-coming-maybe-we_2189598.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/peter-heller-3324_future_if-we-all-knew-what-was-coming-maybe-we_2189598.png) > ““If we all knew what was coming, maybe we wouldn’t even stick around for it. Time present and time future.”” [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Awareness of future events could diminish present engagement or desire to stay. **In simple terms:** Knowing future may reduce present commitment. Key Takeaway Consider uncertainty before acting. Themes time foreknowledge existential Mood thoughtful cautious Type existential reflective When to use this quote - planning - risk assessment - personal relationships - career decisions Key Concepts determinism anticipation Questions to Reflect On - Do you avoid outcomes due to fear? - How does uncertainty shape choices? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on prediction can cause paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I have to put myself back in the audience's shoes and figure out what they would know and not know. But, there are also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-trapanese/i-have-to-put-myself-back-in-the-audience-s-shoes-and-figure-out-what/) [Joseph Trapanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-trapanese/) > [Every great work of art has two faces, one toward its own time and one toward the future, toward eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-great-work-of-art-has-two-faces-one-toward-its-own-time-and-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I spend a lot of time in the future, But to help the future, sometimes you got to go back to the past, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-in-the-future-but-to-help-the-future-sometimes/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [“You're right. Maybe it wouldn't change anything." His gaze shifted from the brightening ocean to me. I didn't need to look into his eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/you-re-right-maybe-it-wouldn-t-change-anything-his-gaze-shifted-from/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [“Maybe he wouldn't say anything, which is the worst thing men do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/maybe-he-wouldn-t-say-anything-which-is-the-worst-thing-men-do/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [“If your people had put as much effort into your resources as you do at being assholes, then maybe you wouldn’t have to steal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-common/if-your-people-had-put-as-much-effort-into-your-resources-as-you-do/) [Gabriel Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-common/) > [“You know it wouldn't kill you to walk, right, old man?" "Maybe not. Wouldn't kill you to keep your clothes on, either.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ockler/you-know-it-wouldn-t-kill-you-to-walk-right-old-man-maybe-not-wouldn/) [Sarah Ockler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ockler/) > [Maybe I wouldn't hit three fast food restaurants in a day, but I could hit one in a day. I try not to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/maybe-i-wouldn-t-hit-three-fast-food-restaurants-in-a-day-but-i-could/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [If life was so much easier then it is now, maybe we wouldn't have to fantasize about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-bui/if-life-was-so-much-easier-then-it-is-now-maybe-we-wouldn-t-have-to/) [Jay Bui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-bui/) > [“There would be consequences to this weekend, I knew that now and I wasn’t lying to myself anymore. But maybe they wouldn’t all be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-sheridan/there-would-be-consequences-to-this-weekend-i-knew-that-now-and-i/) [Mia Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-sheridan/) > [“Maybe he wouldn't end up the kind of man who needed to use his body for work. Maybe he'd be a new kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaa-gyasi/maybe-he-wouldn-t-end-up-the-kind-of-man-who-needed-to-use-his-body/) [Yaa Gyasi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaa-gyasi/) > [Too bad people can't always be playing music, maybe then there wouldn't be any more wars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-benary-isbert/too-bad-people-can-t-always-be-playing-music-maybe-then-there-wouldn/) Margot Benary-Isbert > [If only I could talk as good as I can write, then maybe I wouldn't be all alone tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-boughter/if-only-i-could-talk-as-good-as-i-can-write-then-maybe-i-wouldn-t-be/) [Robert Boughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-boughter/) > [If all those words you said to me actually meant something, maybe we wouldn't be standing where we are today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-all-those-words-you-said-to-me-actually-meant-something-maybe-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Thirteen,” Dante murmured and I closed my eyes because I knew what was coming next. “I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-kennedy/thirteen-dante-murmured-and-i-closed-my-eyes-because-i-knew-what-was/) [Sloane Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-kennedy/) ## More by Peter Heller > [“It occurred to me that the death of his grazing land hurt him more, incomparably more than the death of the human race. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/it-occurred-to-me-that-the-death-of-his-grazing-land-hurt-him-more/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [Kook means the clueless beginner who paddles his surf board out to the other surfers in the lineup and starts chattering away like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/kook-means-the-clueless-beginner-who-paddles-his-surf-board-out-to/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“We have traveled. Now you will be the path I will walk I will walk Over you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/we-have-traveled-now-you-will-be-the-path-i-will-walk-i-will-walk/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“Well, I think that’s sort of like Eve biting the apple. You were talking about Genesis. I think it’s like that, the crow is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/well-i-think-that-s-sort-of-like-eve-biting-the-apple-you-were/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [I like the drinking-out-of-the-fire-hose approach - you're getting way more than you can handle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-like-the-drinking-out-of-the-fire-hose-approach-you-re-getting-way/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“Because that's what it turned into: in front of a fine painting a viewer stopped looking and started watching, watching is more specific, watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/because-that-s-what-it-turned-into-in-front-of-a-fine-painting-a/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“The pleasure almost split me like a baking stuffed tomato. Like my heart swelled and my skin got thinner and thinner in the heat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/the-pleasure-almost-split-me-like-a-baking-stuffed-tomato-like-my/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [Wanted to write fiction since I was 11, since I first read 'In Our Time' by Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/wanted-to-write-fiction-since-i-was-11-since-i-first-read-in-our-time/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“She collapsed. I stepped forward and caught her. I thought of two trees nearly unrooted and leaning against each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/she-collapsed-i-stepped-forward-and-caught-her-i-thought-of-two-trees/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [All my journalism, all my books are first person, and it's all memoir. Even when I'm writing about the oil spill in the Gulf,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/all-my-journalism-all-my-books-are-first-person-and-it-s-all-memoir/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“we can proceed in our lives just as easily from love to love as from loss to loss. A good thing to remember in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/we-can-proceed-in-our-lives-just-as-easily-from-love-to-love-as-from/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“It's early spring, some late or early hour with Orion toppling backward onto the serrated edge of the mountains and not crying out but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/it-s-early-spring-some-late-or-early-hour-with-orion-toppling/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“I once had a book on the stars but now I don't. My memory serves but not stellar, ha. So I made up constellations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-once-had-a-book-on-the-stars-but-now-i-don-t-my-memory-serves-but/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [Species are going extinct because of habitat loss and warming. I feel deeply responsible and think about it every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/species-are-going-extinct-because-of-habitat-loss-and-warming-i-feel/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“I think there should be tribunals for social cruelty as there are for physical assault. Calculated cuts in the first degree. Snobicide or its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-think-there-should-be-tribunals-for-social-cruelty-as-there-are-for/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) [Explore all 130 Peter Heller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) ## 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": "“If we all knew what was coming, maybe we wouldn’t even stick around for it. Time present and time future.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Heller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/if-we-all-knew-what-was-coming-maybe-we-wouldn-t-even-stick-around/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Future" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/if-we-all-knew-what-was-coming-maybe-we-wouldn-t-even-stick-around/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/peter-heller-3324_future_if-we-all-knew-what-was-coming-maybe-we_2189598.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/peter-heller-3324_future_if-we-all-knew-what-was-coming-maybe-we_2189598.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/peter-heller-3324_future_if-we-all-knew-what-was-coming-maybe-we_2189598.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we all knew what was coming, maybe we wouldn’t even stick around for it. Time present and time future.” — Peter Heller", "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": "Peter Heller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If we all knew what was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/if-we-all-knew-what-was-coming-maybe-we-wouldn-t-even-stick-around/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/if-we-all-knew-what-was-coming-maybe-we-wouldn-t-even-stick-around/#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 } } ] } ```