---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If our minds can hold us back, then they…"
description: "\"“If our minds can hold us back, then they can push us forwards too.”\" — Sally Brampton"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/sally-brampton-19544_forwards_if-our-minds-can-hold-us-back-then-they_126092.jpg"
---

#  If our minds can hold us back, then they can push us…

![“If our minds can hold us back, then they can push us forwards too.” quote by Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/sally-brampton-19544_forwards_if-our-minds-can-hold-us-back-then-they_126092.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/sally-brampton-19544_forwards_if-our-minds-can-hold-us-back-then-they_126092.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/sally-brampton-19544_forwards_if-our-minds-can-hold-us-back-then-they_126092.jpg)

> ““If our minds can hold us back, then they can push us forwards too.””

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Our thoughts can both hinder and propel us; mindset shapes direction.

**In simple terms:** Thoughts can block or boost progress.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate empowering beliefs.

Themes

psychology self‑development mindset

Mood

inspirational thoughtful

Type

self‑help philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal goal setting
- career planning
- habit formation
- stress management

Key Concepts

cognitive bias growth mindset self‑efficacy

Questions to Reflect On

- Which thoughts hold you back?
- How can you reframe limiting beliefs?

A Different Perspective

Negative thoughts may dominate despite effort.

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[Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Mind power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-power/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/)

## Related quotes

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[Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/)

> [Many, can and shall hold pieces, of our Hearts, our minds. But one, hold's a key, that unlocks, our Soul, to fly free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/many-can-and-shall-hold-pieces-of-our-hearts-our-minds-but-one-hold-s/)

[Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/)

> [“Instead of letting our emotions run amok, we can use our minds as tools to build or create realities that serve us better”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-woodman/instead-of-letting-our-emotions-run-amok-we-can-use-our-minds-as/)

[Jay Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-woodman/)

> [If you walk backwards, you'll find out you can go forwards and people won't know if you're coming or going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/if-you-walk-backwards-you-ll-find-out-you-can-go-forwards-and-people/)

[Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/)

> [As I always say, the fundamental thing in football is to defend as well as attack. And to attack well means that the forwards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepe/as-i-always-say-the-fundamental-thing-in-football-is-to-defend-as/)

[Pepe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepe/)

> [As a midfielder, when you have sealed things up at the back, my job is to provide the ammunition for the strikers and forwards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naby-keita/as-a-midfielder-when-you-have-sealed-things-up-at-the-back-my-job-is/)

[Naby Keita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naby-keita/)

> [Maybe you could go backwards and forwards at the same time, but it wasn't easy. You had to want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/maybe-you-could-go-backwards-and-forwards-at-the-same-time-but-it/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [“Sometimes if you don't go backwards, you can't move forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emylia-hall/sometimes-if-you-don-t-go-backwards-you-can-t-move-forwards/)

[Emylia Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emylia-hall/)

> [All coaches now look for forwards who not only score goals but also run back and help in midfield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciro-immobile/all-coaches-now-look-for-forwards-who-not-only-score-goals-but-also/)

[Ciro Immobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciro-immobile/)

> [At Arsenal, we build up in a three so I'm playing centre-back every week but just on some occasions I'm flying forwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-white/at-arsenal-we-build-up-in-a-three-so-i-m-playing-centre-back-every/)

[Ben White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-white/)

> [When you don't give the forwards the service, then it's difficult for them to score. Not everyone's a Gareth Bale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-walker/when-you-don-t-give-the-forwards-the-service-then-it-s-difficult-for/)

[Kyle Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-walker/)

> [It's an honour for me to be one of PSG's forwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edinson-cavani/it-s-an-honour-for-me-to-be-one-of-psg-s-forwards/)

[Edinson Cavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edinson-cavani/)

> [Forwards are the gnarled and scarred creatures who have a propensity for running into and bleeding all over each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-fitzsimons/forwards-are-the-gnarled-and-scarred-creatures-who-have-a-propensity/)

[Peter FitzSimons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-fitzsimons/)

> [I've got a very poor sense of direction. I keep forgetting which way is forwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-parfitt/i-ve-got-a-very-poor-sense-of-direction-i-keep-forgetting-which-way/)

Geoffrey Parfitt

## More by Sally Brampton

> [“One thing I know is true. Try never to abandon hope for if you do, hope will surely try to abandon you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/one-thing-i-know-is-true-try-never-to-abandon-hope-for-if-you-do-hope/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

> [“Imagine saying to somebody that you have a life-threatening illness, such as cancer, and being told to pull yourself together or get over it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/imagine-saying-to-somebody-that-you-have-a-life-threatening-illness/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

> [“I once read a theory about ‘positive thinking’ that seems to be true or, at least, made a sufficient impression on me to remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/i-once-read-a-theory-about-positive-thinking-that-seems-to-be-true-or/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

> [“Bad enough to be ill, but to feel compelled to deny the very thing that, in its worst and most active state, defines you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/bad-enough-to-be-ill-but-to-feel-compelled-to-deny-the-very-thing/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

> [“What we resist, will persist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/what-we-resist-will-persist/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

> [“Killing oneself is, anyway, a misnomer. We don't kill ourselves. We are simply defeated by the long, hard struggle to stay alive. When somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/killing-oneself-is-anyway-a-misnomer-we-don-t-kill-ourselves-we-are/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

> [“I would not wish depression on anybody. And yet, it taught me a lot. I have not become suddenly mawkishly grateful for my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/i-would-not-wish-depression-on-anybody-and-yet-it-taught-me-a-lot-i/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

> [“It is two years since I emerged from depression and I no longer want myself dead. I want myself alive. I am no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/it-is-two-years-since-i-emerged-from-depression-and-i-no-longer-want/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

> [As weird as it might seem to some people, there is nothing I love more than an empty house and the sound of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/as-weird-as-it-might-seem-to-some-people-there-is-nothing-i-love-more/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

> [In this cash-rich, time-poor culture of ours, the most precious commodity we have is time...volunteering our precious time, is in this brutally self-involved world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/in-this-cash-rich-time-poor-culture-of-ours-the-most-precious/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

> [“Try never to abandon hope for if you do, hope will surely try to abandon you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/try-never-to-abandon-hope-for-if-you-do-hope-will-surely-try-to/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

> [“Sometimes," says a fellow depressive, "I wish I was in a full body cast, with every bone in my body broken. That's how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/sometimes-says-a-fellow-depressive-i-wish-i-was-in-a-full-body-cast/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

> [“Wanting to die (or 'suicidal ideation'as the experts would have it) goes hand in hand with the illness. It is a symptom of severe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-brampton/wanting-to-die-or-suicidal-ideation-as-the-experts-would-have-it-goes/)

[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

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[Sally Brampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

[Explore all 32 Sally Brampton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-brampton/)

## More Forwards quotes

> [As I always say, the fundamental thing in football is to defend as well as attack. And to attack well means that the forwards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepe/as-i-always-say-the-fundamental-thing-in-football-is-to-defend-as/)

[Pepe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepe/)

> [When you don't give the forwards the service, then it's difficult for them to score. Not everyone's a Gareth Bale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-walker/when-you-don-t-give-the-forwards-the-service-then-it-s-difficult-for/)

[Kyle Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-walker/)

> [If you walk backwards, you'll find out you can go forwards and people won't know if you're coming or going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/if-you-walk-backwards-you-ll-find-out-you-can-go-forwards-and-people/)

[Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/)

> [Forwards are the gnarled and scarred creatures who have a propensity for running into and bleeding all over each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-fitzsimons/forwards-are-the-gnarled-and-scarred-creatures-who-have-a-propensity/)

[Peter FitzSimons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-fitzsimons/)

> [It's an honour for me to be one of PSG's forwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edinson-cavani/it-s-an-honour-for-me-to-be-one-of-psg-s-forwards/)

[Edinson Cavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edinson-cavani/)

> [I've got a very poor sense of direction. I keep forgetting which way is forwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-parfitt/i-ve-got-a-very-poor-sense-of-direction-i-keep-forgetting-which-way/)

Geoffrey Parfitt

> [At Arsenal, we build up in a three so I'm playing centre-back every week but just on some occasions I'm flying forwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-white/at-arsenal-we-build-up-in-a-three-so-i-m-playing-centre-back-every/)

[Ben White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-white/)

> [All coaches now look for forwards who not only score goals but also run back and help in midfield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciro-immobile/all-coaches-now-look-for-forwards-who-not-only-score-goals-but-also/)

[Ciro Immobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciro-immobile/)

> [“Sometimes if you don't go backwards, you can't move forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emylia-hall/sometimes-if-you-don-t-go-backwards-you-can-t-move-forwards/)

[Emylia Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emylia-hall/)

> [Maybe you could go backwards and forwards at the same time, but it wasn't easy. You had to want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/maybe-you-could-go-backwards-and-forwards-at-the-same-time-but-it/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [As a midfielder, when you have sealed things up at the back, my job is to provide the ammunition for the strikers and forwards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naby-keita/as-a-midfielder-when-you-have-sealed-things-up-at-the-back-my-job-is/)

[Naby Keita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naby-keita/)

> [“We have to live life forwards, but can only understand it backwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-seeber/we-have-to-live-life-forwards-but-can-only-understand-it-backwards/)

[Claire Seeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-seeber/)

> [“You gotta look backwards to go forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fennel-hudson/you-gotta-look-backwards-to-go-forwards/)

[Fennel Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fennel-hudson/)

> [Life is for living forwards, when we look back, it should only be to realize how far we've come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/life-is-for-living-forwards-when-we-look-back-it-should-only-be-to/)

[Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/)

> [“The only direction to go in life is forwards; staying put and pressing pause is simply not an option.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanna-fletcher/the-only-direction-to-go-in-life-is-forwards-staying-put-and-pressing/)

[Giovanna Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanna-fletcher/)

Browse all 69 Forwards quotes

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