--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you don't know where your're going…" description: "\"“If you don't know where your're going, you should know where you came from.”\" — Sue Monk Kidd" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sue-monk-kidd-404_forget_if-you-don-t-know-where-your-re-going-yo_2636002.png" --- # If you don't know where your're going, you should know… ![“If you don't know where your're going, you should know where you came from.” quote by Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sue-monk-kidd-404_forget_if-you-don-t-know-where-your-re-going-yo_2636002.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sue-monk-kidd-404_forget_if-you-don-t-know-where-your-re-going-yo_2636002.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sue-monk-kidd-404_forget_if-you-don-t-know-where-your-re-going-yo_2636002.png) > ““If you don't know where your're going, you should know where you came from.”” [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowing your origins is essential before charting your future path. **In simple terms:** Know where you come from before planning ahead. Key Takeaway Reflect on personal history to guide future decisions. Themes self‑knowledge heritage direction Mood thoughtful inspirational Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - career planning - family history - personal development Key Concepts psychology storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How does your past influence your goals? - What can you let go of to move forward? A Different Perspective Focusing too much on past can hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) [Going Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-know/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Know Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-came-1637530/) [Know Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-going/) ## Related quotes > [“If you don't know where you're going you should know where you come from”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/if-you-don-t-know-where-you-re-going-you-should-know-where-you-come/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“You may not know what you are going to get but you know it is going to be an adventure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-vickers/you-may-not-know-what-you-are-going-to-get-but-you-know-it-is-going/) [Lee Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-vickers/) > [“If you don’t know where you are going, you should know where you came from.” —GULLAH PROVERB”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-callahan-henry/if-you-don-t-know-where-you-are-going-you-should-know-where-you-came/) [Patti Callahan Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-callahan-henry/) > [“you don’t need to know where you came from to know where you’re going.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaymin-eve/you-don-t-need-to-know-where-you-came-from-to-know-where-you-re-going/) [Jaymin Eve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaymin-eve/) > [If you don't know by now, you're never going to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jermaine-dupri/if-you-don-t-know-by-now-you-re-never-going-to-know/) [Jermaine Dupri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jermaine-dupri/) > [Those who talk don't know what is going on and those who know what is going on won't talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-speakes/those-who-talk-don-t-know-what-is-going-on-and-those-who-know-what-is/) [Larry Speakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-speakes/) > [Do you know where you going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are you going to? Do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-ross/do-you-know-where-you-going-to-do-you-like-the-things-that-life-is/) [Diana Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-ross/) > [“Unless you know where you are going then you will not know how to get there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/unless-you-know-where-you-are-going-then-you-will-not-know-how-to-get/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [“If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-morgenstern/if-you-don-t-know-where-you-are-going-how-will-you-know-when-you-get/) [Julie Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-morgenstern/) > [Just tell me what to do. I don't know where I'm going, but I know I don't want to be here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-john/just-tell-me-what-to-do-i-don-t-know-where-i-m-going-but-i-know-i-don/) [Dan John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-john/) > [We can only know where we're going if we know where we've been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/we-can-only-know-where-we-re-going-if-we-know-where-we-ve-been/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I don't know where I'm going, but I know I'm going somewhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/i-don-t-know-where-i-m-going-but-i-know-i-m-going-somewhere/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [I'm a big believer in the notion that to know where you are going, you have to know where everything has been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-gatlin/i-m-a-big-believer-in-the-notion-that-to-know-where-you-are-going-you/) [Justin Gatlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-gatlin/) > [You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-can-t-really-know-where-you-are-going-until-you-know-where-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“...kids always know what's going on, even before you know yourself sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/kids-always-know-what-s-going-on-even-before-you-know-yourself/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) ## More by Sue Monk Kidd > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“It's part of our overall Body Negation Program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-s-part-of-our-overall-body-negation-program/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“That was the thing mauma and I loved, our time with the quilts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/that-was-the-thing-mauma-and-i-loved-our-time-with-the-quilts/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The mermaids came to me finally, in the pink hours of my life. They are my consolation. 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It is the repository of the inner divine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-eventually-found-that-the-soul-is-more-than-an-immortal-commodity/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Readiness for dying arrives by attending the smallest moment and finding the eternal inside of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/readiness-for-dying-arrives-by-attending-the-smallest-moment-and/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“I sat at her desk and turned one page after another, staring at what looked like bits and pieces of black lace laid cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-sat-at-her-desk-and-turned-one-page-after-another-staring-at-what/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/) [sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“afflicted with the worst female curse on earth, the need to mold myself to expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/afflicted-with-the-worst-female-curse-on-earth-the-need-to-mold/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Her forbidden bath all those months ago still hung leaden between us, though Handful didn't seem the least bit ashamed by my discovery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/her-forbidden-bath-all-those-months-ago-still-hung-leaden-between-us/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Why should God’s perfection be based on having an unchanging nature?” I asked. “Isn’t flexibility more perfect than stasis?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/why-should-god-s-perfection-be-based-on-having-an-unchanging-nature-i/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) [Explore all 584 Sue Monk Kidd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More Forget quotes > [I Never met her,i never talked to her,but in my whole day I am either thinking about her or trying to forget her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhananda/i-never-met-her-i-never-talked-to-her-but-in-my-whole-day-i-am-either/) [Subhananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhananda/) > [What people tend to forget is the journey that I had getting to Formula One. There were plenty of years where I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hamilton/what-people-tend-to-forget-is-the-journey-that-i-had-getting-to/) [Lewis Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hamilton/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forget the credit, they (male actors) take all the money as well. We don't get paid even one-third of what male actors get. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kangana-ranaut/forget-the-credit-they-male-actors-take-all-the-money-as-well-we-don/) [Kangana Ranaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kangana-ranaut/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Which people take the time to care for their souls, these days? I reckon not many. But...hear this: I think that maybe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fletcher/which-people-take-the-time-to-care-for-their-souls-these-days-i/) [Susan Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-fletcher/) > [The problem with people is they forget that most of the time it's the small things that count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/the-problem-with-people-is-they-forget-that-most-of-the-time-it-s-the/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [Remind a man of what he remembers, and you will make him forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/remind-a-man-of-what-he-remembers-and-you-will-make-him-forget-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“So you try, and try, to move past it and forget about them, but it's like they're stuck in your head -- you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-mcdonald/so-you-try-and-try-to-move-past-it-and-forget-about-them-but-it-s/) [Abby McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-mcdonald/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) [Trunxbeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trunxbeats/) > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) [Browse all 11,315 Forget quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you don't know where your're going, you should know where you came from.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sue Monk Kidd" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/if-you-don-t-know-where-your-re-going-you-should-know-where-you-came/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forget" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/if-you-don-t-know-where-your-re-going-you-should-know-where-you-came/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sue-monk-kidd-404_forget_if-you-don-t-know-where-your-re-going-yo_2636002.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sue-monk-kidd-404_forget_if-you-don-t-know-where-your-re-going-yo_2636002.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/sue-monk-kidd-404_forget_if-you-don-t-know-where-your-re-going-yo_2636002.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you don't know where your're going, you should know where you came from.” — Sue Monk Kidd", "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": "Sue Monk Kidd", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If you don't know where your're...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/if-you-don-t-know-where-your-re-going-you-should-know-where-you-came/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/if-you-don-t-know-where-your-re-going-you-should-know-where-you-came/#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 } } ] } ```