--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had an aching sense that our time is…" description: "\"“I had an aching sense that our time is short, shorter than we ever know, shorter as a morning run, and I wanted mine to be meaningful. And purposeful...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/phil-knight-3238_meaningful_i-had-an-aching-sense-that-our-time-is-s_998337.png" --- # I had an aching sense that our time is short, shorter than… ![“I had an aching sense that our time is short, shorter than we ever know, shorter as a morning run, and I wanted mine to be meaningful. And purposeful. And creative. And important. Above all... different.” quote by Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/phil-knight-3238_meaningful_i-had-an-aching-sense-that-our-time-is-s_998337.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/phil-knight-3238_meaningful_i-had-an-aching-sense-that-our-time-is-s_998337.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/phil-knight-3238_meaningful_i-had-an-aching-sense-that-our-time-is-s_998337.png) > ““I had an aching sense that our time is short, shorter than we ever know, shorter as a morning run, and I wanted mine to be meaningful. And purposeful. And creative. And important. Above all... different.”” [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emphasizes living a life that is meaningful, purposeful, creative, and distinct before time runs out. **In simple terms:** Make your life meaningful and unique. Key Takeaway Prioritize purpose and creativity daily. Themes purpose creativity meaning individuality time awareness Mood inspirational reflective Type personal motivational When to use this quote - career planning - artistic projects - personal development - volunteering Key Concepts existentialism self‑actualization legacy building Questions to Reflect On - What does a meaningful life look like for you? - How can you balance purpose with rest? A Different Perspective The pressure to be constantly productive may lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aching Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aching-sense-2090293/) [Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful/) [Meaningful Purposeful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful-purposeful-1838592/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Is Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-is-short/) [Time Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-short/) [Wanted Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-meaningful-804474/) ## Related quotes > [“I’d broken the rule because I wanted something. I wanted to matter. I wanted to do something meaningful before I died.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-applegate/i-d-broken-the-rule-because-i-wanted-something-i-wanted-to-matter-i/) [Katherine Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-applegate/) > [I've always had a clear sense that time is short and we need to live as fully as we can in every moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-ve-always-had-a-clear-sense-that-time-is-short-and-we-need-to-live/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [Time is short, life is short, there's a lot to know. So I skip the entertainers in the newspaper now. I just haven't got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/time-is-short-life-is-short-there-s-a-lot-to-know-so-i-skip-the/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The West has made people too time-conscious, not knowing where they are going but speeding to get there because time is short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-west-has-made-people-too-time-conscious-not-knowing-where-they/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“The time is short, and Christianity cannot afford to continue to be wrongly perceived as a sexual downer — which in reality it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-w-sphero/the-time-is-short-and-christianity-cannot-afford-to-continue-to-be/) [M.W. Sphero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-w-sphero/) > [“Man’s time is short on the earth, but we trees watch the years march past like days. 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"In the time of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/william-saroyan-wrote-a-great-play-on-this-theme-that-purity-of-heart/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Time is short, my strength is limited, the office is a horror, the apartment is noisy, and if a pleasant, straightforward life is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/time-is-short-my-strength-is-limited-the-office-is-a-horror-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Life is short. Time is short. As we get older, time does quicken. It's long, and it's long pertaining to that thought, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/life-is-short-time-is-short-as-we-get-older-time-does-quicken-it-s/) [Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/) > [Time is short and full, like an outgrown Frock - .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/time-is-short-and-full-like-an-outgrown-frock/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## More by Phil Knight > [A shoe dog is somebody that really loves shoes, and that was me. I was a runner... that became important to me, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/a-shoe-dog-is-somebody-that-really-loves-shoes-and-that-was-me-i-was/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [Perception can be changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/perception-can-be-changed/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [Dare to take chances, lest you leave your talent buried in the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/dare-to-take-chances-lest-you-leave-your-talent-buried-in-the-ground/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“Why is it always so hard to get started?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/why-is-it-always-so-hard-to-get-started/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [Play by the rules, but be ferocious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/play-by-the-rules-but-be-ferocious/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“Life is growth, You grow or you die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/life-is-growth-you-grow-or-you-die/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“If my life was to be all work no play, I wanted my work to be play.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/if-my-life-was-to-be-all-work-no-play-i-wanted-my-work-to-be-play/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“he was all the colors of an Easter egg.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/he-was-all-the-colors-of-an-easter-egg/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“what I knew that morning in March 1977 as we settled around the conference table. I wasn’t even sure how these guys reached us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/what-i-knew-that-morning-in-march-1977-as-we-settled-around-the/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“When you make something, when you improve something, when you deliver something, when you add some service or product to the lives of strangers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/when-you-make-something-when-you-improve-something-when-you-deliver/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“It’s possible that we were never closer, maybe because our relationship had been reduced to its primal essence. He was my dad, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/it-s-possible-that-we-were-never-closer-maybe-because-our/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“Oneness—in some way, shape, or form, it’s what every person I’ve ever met has been seeking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/oneness-in-some-way-shape-or-form-it-s-what-every-person-i-ve-ever/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [We wanted Nike to be the world's best sports and fitness company. Once you say that, you have a focus. You don't end up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/we-wanted-nike-to-be-the-world-s-best-sports-and-fitness-company-once/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“You tell yourself that you’re running toward some goal, chasing some rush, but really you run because the alternative, stopping, scares you to death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/you-tell-yourself-that-you-re-running-toward-some-goal-chasing-some/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“I wanted to win. No, that’s not right. I simply didn’t want to lose. And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/i-wanted-to-win-no-that-s-not-right-i-simply-didn-t-want-to-lose-and/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) [Explore all 120 Phil Knight quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) ## More Meaningful quotes > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [It's great when you can write a meaningful song that touches people, but sometimes you just wanna have fun and sing a silly song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-underwood/it-s-great-when-you-can-write-a-meaningful-song-that-touches-people/) [Carrie Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-underwood/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I don't feel I have to write deep and meaningful songs; they can be light and meaningless. It has to do with the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/i-don-t-feel-i-have-to-write-deep-and-meaningful-songs-they-can-be/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [I do not chase after anyone if you wanna walk out my life then I will hold the fu\*\*\*\*g door open for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/i-do-not-chase-after-anyone-if-you-wanna-walk-out-my-life-then-i-will/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [“You can drink your soup ice-cold, but it's no longer soup; you can do eccentric things in life, but if you haven't been able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/you-can-drink-your-soup-ice-cold-but-it-s-no-longer-soup-you-can-do/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The only thing that I am trying to do is to find stories that I like, stories that are meaningful and that can connect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfonso-herrera/the-only-thing-that-i-am-trying-to-do-is-to-find-stories-that-i-like/) [Alfonso Herrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfonso-herrera/) > [Synchronicity reveals the meaningful connections between the subjective and objective world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/synchronicity-reveals-the-meaningful-connections-between-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I want to be fulfilled creatively as an actress and get to be in roles that are meaningful and impactful. 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