--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The unhappy person is never present to…" description: "\"The unhappy person is never present to themself because they always live in the past or the future.\" — Soren Kierkegaard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/soren-kierkegaard-578_happy-person_the-unhappy-person-is-never-present-to-t_2760756.jpg" --- # The unhappy person is never present to themself because… ![“The unhappy person is never present to themself because they always live in the past or the future.” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/soren-kierkegaard-578_happy-person_the-unhappy-person-is-never-present-to-t_2760756.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/soren-kierkegaard-578_happy-person_the-unhappy-person-is-never-present-to-t_2760756.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/soren-kierkegaard-578_happy-person_the-unhappy-person-is-never-present-to-t_2760756.jpg) > “The unhappy person is never present to themself because they always live in the past or the future.” [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being preoccupied with past or future prevents true self‑presence and mindfulness. **In simple terms:** Living in past/future blocks self‑awareness. Key Takeaway Cultivate present‑moment awareness. Themes mindfulness self‑awareness temporal focus Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - therapy - daily reflection Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How often do you notice mind‑wandering? - What anchors you in now? A Different Perspective Present‑moment focus can be hard amid stress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happy person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-person/) [Live Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-past/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-future/) [Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) [Unhappy person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy-person/) ## Related quotes > [To live in the past or in the future may be less satisfying than to live in the present, but it can never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/to-live-in-the-past-or-in-the-future-may-be-less-satisfying-than-to/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [My father was a very unhappy person, very sarcastic, and my mother was very nervous and worried about what people thought. They weren't monsters,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-danziger/my-father-was-a-very-unhappy-person-very-sarcastic-and-my-mother-was/) [Paula Danziger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-danziger/) > [It has appeared that from the inevitable laws of our nature, some human beings must suffer from want. These are the unhappy persons who,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/it-has-appeared-that-from-the-inevitable-laws-of-our-nature-some/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [What is wrong with enjoying yourself? What is wrong in being happy? If there is anything wrong it is always in your unhappiness, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/what-is-wrong-with-enjoying-yourself-what-is-wrong-in-being-happy-if/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“As long as there is happiness within, no man will spoil anything for others. Only an unhappy person will spoil things for others. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/as-long-as-there-is-happiness-within-no-man-will-spoil-anything-for/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“To say a person is a happy person or an unhappy person is ridiculous. We are a thousand different kinds of people every hour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/to-say-a-person-is-a-happy-person-or-an-unhappy-person-is-ridiculous/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [If a person feels terrible, it usually should not be shown or acknowledged during a greeting exchange. Instead, the unhappy person is expected to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ekman/if-a-person-feels-terrible-it-usually-should-not-be-shown-or/) [Paul Ekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ekman/) > [I wrote 'My Name is Red' just to remember painting, where the hand does it before the intellect. When I'm captive to it, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-wrote-my-name-is-red-just-to-remember-painting-where-the-hand-does/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [If you know but do not do, you are a very unhappy person indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/if-you-know-but-do-not-do-you-are-a-very-unhappy-person-indeed/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [If you are a happy person, don't spend your time trying to make an unhappy person happy. Near as I can tell, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-j-zelinski/if-you-are-a-happy-person-don-t-spend-your-time-trying-to-make-an/) [Ernie J Zelinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-j-zelinski/) > [If we observe genuinely happy people, we shall find that they do not just sit around being contented. They make things happen. They pursue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonja-lyubomirsky/if-we-observe-genuinely-happy-people-we-shall-find-that-they-do-not/) [Sonja Lyubomirsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonja-lyubomirsky/) > [Ultimately though, we are not responsible for another's happiness. The unhappy person almost always suffers from self-inflicted pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dillehay/ultimately-though-we-are-not-responsible-for-another-s-happiness-the/) [James Dillehay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dillehay/) > [Money will never make you happy if you are an unhappy person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/money-will-never-make-you-happy-if-you-are-an-unhappy-person/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [What is a poet? An unhappy person who conceals profound anguish in his heart but whose lips are so formed that as sighs and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/what-is-a-poet-an-unhappy-person-who-conceals-profound-anguish-in-his/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [What you must understand about me is that I’m a deeply unhappy person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/what-you-must-understand-about-me-is-that-i-m-a-deeply-unhappy-person/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Soren Kierkegaard > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Christians remind me of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christians-remind-me-of-schoolboys-who-want-to-look-up-the-answers-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-commonly-travel-the-world-over-to-see-rivers-and-mountains-new/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-strange-thing-happened-to-me-in-my-dream-i-was-rapt-into-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [That which is truly human no generation learns from the one before it. No generation learns from another how to love. No generation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/that-which-is-truly-human-no-generation-learns-from-the-one-before-it/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Be that self which one truly is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/be-that-self-which-one-truly-is/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I go fishing for a thousand monsters in the depths of my own self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-go-fishing-for-a-thousand-monsters-in-the-depths-of-my-own-self/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant… My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-addition-to-my-other-numerous-acquaintances-i-have-one-more/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [The greatest danger to Christianity is, I contend, not heresies, not heterodoxies, not atheists, not profane secularism - no, but the kind of orthodoxy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-greatest-danger-to-christianity-is-i-contend-not-heresies-not/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Future is everything that past has forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/future-is-everything-that-past-has-forgotten/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Without risk, faith is an impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/without-risk-faith-is-an-impossibility/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have only one confidant, and that is the silence of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-only-one-confidant-and-that-is-the-silence-of-night/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A road well begun is the battle half won. The important thing is to make a beginning and get under way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-road-well-begun-is-the-battle-half-won-the-important-thing-is-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have, I believe, the courage to doubt everything; I have, I believe, the courage to fight against everything; but I do not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-i-believe-the-courage-to-doubt-everything-i-have-i-believe-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) [Explore all 462 Soren Kierkegaard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More Happy person quotes > [Happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-downs/happy-person-is-not-a-person-in-a-certain-set-of-circumstances-but/) [Hugh Downs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-downs/) > [I'm quite a happy person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-comer/i-m-quite-a-happy-person/) [Jodie Comer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-comer/) > [That one person that made you so happy. That one person that you were exited to see. The one person you laughed with and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zombeatz/that-one-person-that-made-you-so-happy-that-one-person-that-you-were/) [ZomBeatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zombeatz/) > [“To be happy, make others happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/to-be-happy-make-others-happy/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [Tantra says be real, be authentic to yourself. Your happiness is not bad; it is good. It is not sin! Only sadness is sin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/tantra-says-be-real-be-authentic-to-yourself-your-happiness-is-not/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I'm 64 years old and, yeah, I went through a transition in my life last year, with the death of my son, that woke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-paladino/i-m-64-years-old-and-yeah-i-went-through-a-transition-in-my-life-last/) [Carl Paladino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-paladino/) > [Sometimes I'm fragile, sometimes too emotional, but I'm putting everything I can on my side to be a happy person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-betancourt/sometimes-i-m-fragile-sometimes-too-emotional-but-i-m-putting/) [Ingrid Betancourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-betancourt/) > [“I guess I talk a lot of shit about Perry, but it's not like I'm such a shiny happy person either, you know? I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-guess-i-talk-a-lot-of-shit-about-perry-but-it-s-not-like-i-m-such-a/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [A person can either do something in order to be happy, or... a person can start the day by simply deciding to BE happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/a-person-can-either-do-something-in-order-to-be-happy-or-a-person-can/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [It's not like I'm such a shiny happy person either, you know? I'm a wreck too, I'm just... still alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/it-s-not-like-i-m-such-a-shiny-happy-person-either-you-know-i-m-a/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [“If I was set an essay on Friday, I’d spend three hours on Saturday morning in the library. Was that normal? I didn’t know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-jamieson/if-i-was-set-an-essay-on-friday-i-d-spend-three-hours-on-saturday/) [Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jamieson/) > [Sometimes it's hard to admit, though, especially if you're known as a happy person, because you feel you're letting people down if you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-atack/sometimes-it-s-hard-to-admit-though-especially-if-you-re-known-as-a/) [Emily Atack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-atack/) > [I just like the continue doing what I've been doing. A melange of funny, straight drama, television, movies, a little theater here and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-tyler-moore/i-just-like-the-continue-doing-what-i-ve-been-doing-a-melange-of/) [Mary Tyler Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-tyler-moore/) > [“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. Hugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-dow/a-happy-person-is-not-a-person-in-a-certain-set-of-circumstances-but/) [Hugh Dow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-dow/) > [“Tristan whistled as he flipped a few more pancakes. Scarlet looked at Nate and sighed. “Would you talk some sense into him? Please?” Nate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-fine/tristan-whistled-as-he-flipped-a-few-more-pancakes-scarlet-looked-at/) [Chelsea Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-fine/) [Browse all 271 Happy person quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-person/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The unhappy person is never present to themself because they always live in the past or the future.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Soren Kierkegaard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-unhappy-person-is-never-present-to-themself-because-they-always/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happy person" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-unhappy-person-is-never-present-to-themself-because-they-always/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/soren-kierkegaard-578_happy-person_the-unhappy-person-is-never-present-to-t_2760756.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/soren-kierkegaard-578_happy-person_the-unhappy-person-is-never-present-to-t_2760756.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/soren-kierkegaard-578_happy-person_the-unhappy-person-is-never-present-to-t_2760756.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The unhappy person is never present to themself because they always live in the past or the future.” — Soren Kierkegaard", "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": "Soren Kierkegaard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The unhappy person is never present...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-unhappy-person-is-never-present-to-themself-because-they-always/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-unhappy-person-is-never-present-to-themself-because-they-always/#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 } } ] } ```