--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'd like to quit thinking of the present…" description: "\"I'd like to quit thinking of the present as some minor insignificant preamble to something else.\" — Richard Linklater" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/richard-linklater-2192_confused_i-d-like-to-quit-thinking-of-the-present_2174843.jpg" --- # I'd like to quit thinking of the present as some minor… ![“I'd like to quit thinking of the present as some minor insignificant preamble to something else.” quote by Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/richard-linklater-2192_confused_i-d-like-to-quit-thinking-of-the-present_2174843.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/richard-linklater-2192_confused_i-d-like-to-quit-thinking-of-the-present_2174843.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/richard-linklater-2192_confused_i-d-like-to-quit-thinking-of-the-present_2174843.jpg) > “I'd like to quit thinking of the present as some minor insignificant preamble to something else.” [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We should stop seeing the present as merely a prelude and value it as a meaningful moment itself. **In simple terms:** Live in the now, not just as a stepping stone. Key Takeaway Appreciate the present fully. Themes mindfulness time perception life philosophy Mood contemplative inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily routines - relationships - creative work - stress management Key Concepts presentism existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does treating the present as a preamble affect your decisions? - What practices help you honor the current moment? A Different Perspective Focusing only on future goals can cause present moments to be undervalued. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confused/) [Dazed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dazed/) [Insignificant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insignificant/) [Insignificant Preamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insignificant-preamble-3300666/) [Minor Insignificant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minor-insignificant-3300665/) [Minors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minors/) [Preamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preamble/) [Quit Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quit-thinking-599888/) [Quitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quitting/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-present-1306080/) ## Related quotes > [Id like to quit thinking of the present as some minor insignificant preamble to something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/id-like-to-quit-thinking-of-the-present-as-some-minor-insignificant/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What makes more sense in today's world? Thinking about future, she ruined her present? Or Thinking about present, she ruined her future?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/japneet-kaur/what-makes-more-sense-in-today-s-world-thinking-about-future-she/) [Japneet Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/japneet-kaur/) > [The future is a concept, it doesn't exist. There is no such thing as tomorrow. There never will be, because time is always now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-future-is-a-concept-it-doesn-t-exist-there-is-no-such-thing-as/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [What we need to envision the future, ... stop thinking about the present and saying, 'Let's put a Band-Aid here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/what-we-need-to-envision-the-future-stop-thinking-about-the-present/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [To become mindfully aware of our surroundings is to bring our thinking back to our present moment reality and to the possibility of some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kober/to-become-mindfully-aware-of-our-surroundings-is-to-bring-our/) [Jeff Kober](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kober/) > [“It's odd, though, what makes you think about the truth. It's so rarely involved in the events of your life. I quit thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/it-s-odd-though-what-makes-you-think-about-the-truth-it-s-so-rarely/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [Quit thinking about your weight and start thinking about your worth and who you are and what you haven't done yet. What you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-field/quit-thinking-about-your-weight-and-start-thinking-about-your-worth/) [Sally Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-field/) > [I start thinking about life after death. I've got to quit thinking about it because it's very deep. Very deep. Sometimes you start thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ortiz/i-start-thinking-about-life-after-death-i-ve-got-to-quit-thinking/) [David Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ortiz/) > [There's times when I just have to quit thinking... and the only way I can quit thinking is by shopping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-faye-bakker/there-s-times-when-i-just-have-to-quit-thinking-and-the-only-way-i/) [Tammy Faye Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-faye-bakker/) > [I always find that once you quit over thinking and worrying about things life just fall into place, and you find that your happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/i-always-find-that-once-you-quit-over-thinking-and-worrying-about/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“You want to live? Yes! Then quit thinking you're gonna die!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-dewey/you-want-to-live-yes-then-quit-thinking-you-re-gonna-die/) [Laurel Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-dewey/) > [Do your best to avoid stress and try to enjoy life. Quit thinking so much. Why complicate life? It's already complicated enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-your-best-to-avoid-stress-and-try-to-enjoy-life-quit-thinking-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Quit thinking about what Bobby Lee's gonna do to us and start thinking about what we're going to do to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/quit-thinking-about-what-bobby-lee-s-gonna-do-to-us-and-start/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [“I quit thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/i-quit-thinking/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [Quit thinking that you must halt before the barrier of inner negativity. You need not. You can crash through... whatever we see a negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/quit-thinking-that-you-must-halt-before-the-barrier-of-inner/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) ## More by Richard Linklater > [There are so many great artists, I think, who kind of suffer from being icons, legends, acknowledged masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/there-are-so-many-great-artists-i-think-who-kind-of-suffer-from-being/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [I think people forget how radical the narrative of 'Slacker' is. There's no story, you know? We could go from one character to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/i-think-people-forget-how-radical-the-narrative-of-slacker-is-there-s/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [I always sensed instinctively from the earliest age that I was being lied to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/i-always-sensed-instinctively-from-the-earliest-age-that-i-was-being/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [It's just too late to ban all guns. There are 300 million. We should've done that after the Civil War - that's when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/it-s-just-too-late-to-ban-all-guns-there-are-300-million-we-should-ve/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [I remember when I made 'A Scanner Darkly,' going, 'I hope people see it in theater - but I think it's going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/i-remember-when-i-made-a-scanner-darkly-going-i-hope-people-see-it-in/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [Normally my process is to sit in a room and read a script and talk about it and ask questions and just create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/normally-my-process-is-to-sit-in-a-room-and-read-a-script-and-talk/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [No one is asking what happened to all the homeless. No one cares, because it's easier to get on the subway and not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/no-one-is-asking-what-happened-to-all-the-homeless-no-one-cares/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [If you establish rules and play by them, the audience will buy in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/if-you-establish-rules-and-play-by-them-the-audience-will-buy-in/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [I like films that just put you in someone's world. It can be very subversive. Hitchcock would put you in the mind of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/i-like-films-that-just-put-you-in-someone-s-world-it-can-be-very/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [Being alone is better than sitting next to a lover and feeling lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/being-alone-is-better-than-sitting-next-to-a-lover-and-feeling-lonely/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [I admire people who can just brazenly go through the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/i-admire-people-who-can-just-brazenly-go-through-the-world/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [The '70s kind of sucked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/the-70s-kind-of-sucked/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [Memory is a wonderful thing if you don't have to deal with the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/memory-is-a-wonderful-thing-if-you-don-t-have-to-deal-with-the-past/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [I want cinema to be a part of my life. It's natural for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/i-want-cinema-to-be-a-part-of-my-life-it-s-natural-for-me/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [My dad's chill. He's the guy who, you wreck the car, he says, 'Well, nobody was hurt. It's just some metal.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/my-dad-s-chill-he-s-the-guy-who-you-wreck-the-car-he-says-well-nobody/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) [Explore all 180 Richard Linklater quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) ## More Confused quotes > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [I was a very protected and confused kid till 24. It was after then, that I started taking my life seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-shukla/i-was-a-very-protected-and-confused-kid-till-24-it-was-after-then/) [Siddharth Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-shukla/) > [I can picture certain things in my mind, while writing the script, but then I can also tell that everyone else might be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-zombie/i-can-picture-certain-things-in-my-mind-while-writing-the-script-but/) [Rob Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-zombie/) > [America today is a confused society, caught up in a terror war, a culture war, and a media war, where honesty and professional standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/america-today-is-a-confused-society-caught-up-in-a-terror-war-a/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [Well I'm trying to think what I put in... I think I put in 'why?' to see if I'd confuse the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/well-i-m-trying-to-think-what-i-put-in-i-think-i-put-in-why-to-see-if/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [I am still searching for the expression of those confused sensations that we bring with us at birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/i-am-still-searching-for-the-expression-of-those-confused-sensations/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [If I look confused it is because I am thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-goldwyn/if-i-look-confused-it-is-because-i-am-thinking/) [Samuel Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-goldwyn/) > [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [I believe that much of Hollywood is confused about Israel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-pellegrino/i-believe-that-much-of-hollywood-is-confused-about-israel/) [Mark Pellegrino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-pellegrino/) > [My senior thesis was a documentary. By the time I graduated from college, I thought I was going to make films, and my interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/my-senior-thesis-was-a-documentary-by-the-time-i-graduated-from/) [Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/) > [“Hold the freaking phone! I am clearly missing something here,” Lori said, still holding a confused expression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-chamberlin/hold-the-freaking-phone-i-am-clearly-missing-something-here-lori-said/) [Lindsay Chamberlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-chamberlin/) [Browse all 1,772 Confused quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confused/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'd like to quit thinking of the present as some minor insignificant preamble to something else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Linklater" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/i-d-like-to-quit-thinking-of-the-present-as-some-minor-insignificant/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Confused" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/i-d-like-to-quit-thinking-of-the-present-as-some-minor-insignificant/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/richard-linklater-2192_confused_i-d-like-to-quit-thinking-of-the-present_2174843.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/richard-linklater-2192_confused_i-d-like-to-quit-thinking-of-the-present_2174843.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/richard-linklater-2192_confused_i-d-like-to-quit-thinking-of-the-present_2174843.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'd like to quit thinking of the present as some minor insignificant preamble to something else.” — Richard Linklater", "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": "Richard Linklater", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'd like to quit thinking of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/i-d-like-to-quit-thinking-of-the-present-as-some-minor-insignificant/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/i-d-like-to-quit-thinking-of-the-present-as-some-minor-insignificant/#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 } } ] } ```