--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't you see?\" he said. \"This could go…" description: "\"“Don't you see?\" he said. \"This could go on for another five years, another ten years, and then where would we be? You want to grow old waiting for som..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/tony-parsons-10532_five-years_don-t-you-see-he-said-this-could-go-on-f_2605790.png" --- # Don't you see?" he said. "This could go on for another… ![“Don't you see?" he said. "This could go on for another five years, another ten years, and then where would we be? You want to grow old waiting for something that's never going to happen? Is that what you want?” quote by Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/tony-parsons-10532_five-years_don-t-you-see-he-said-this-could-go-on-f_2605790.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/tony-parsons-10532_five-years_don-t-you-see-he-said-this-could-go-on-f_2605790.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/tony-parsons-10532_five-years_don-t-you-see-he-said-this-could-go-on-f_2605790.png) > ““Don't you see?" he said. "This could go on for another five years, another ten years, and then where would we be? You want to grow old waiting for something that's never going to happen? Is that what you want?”” [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questioning endless waiting for unattainable goals and urging growth. **In simple terms:** Don’t waste life waiting for impossible dreams. Key Takeaway Pursue realistic aspirations now. Themes time goals life choices Mood provocative motivational Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - relationship goals - financial planning Key Concepts existentialism motivation Questions to Reflect On - What goals are truly attainable? - How to balance ambition with reality? A Different Perspective Dreams may be unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Five years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) [Grow Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow-old/) [Old Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-waiting-1985424/) [Said Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-years-1089528/) [Ten years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ten-years/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-want/) ## Related quotes > [We'll grow old waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/we-ll-grow-old-waiting/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Babies are great but I am not ready to have one. Maybe ten years from now but not yet. I want to keep my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/babies-are-great-but-i-am-not-ready-to-have-one-maybe-ten-years-from/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [“They had painted a lady leaning her arms on the sill of the window. This lady was waiting for a husband. Her flesh was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-s-nchez-ferlosio/they-had-painted-a-lady-leaning-her-arms-on-the-sill-of-the-window/) [Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-s-nchez-ferlosio/) > [“I think that the people who sit around and wait for their destiny to land in their laps will probably get old waiting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-martin/i-think-that-the-people-who-sit-around-and-wait-for-their-destiny-to/) [Ricky Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-martin/) > [At seventeen I'm waiting for my life to actually begin. I'm afraid I'll wake up tomorrow eighty years old and I WILL STILL BE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-warren/at-seventeen-i-m-waiting-for-my-life-to-actually-begin-i-m-afraid-i/) [Frank Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-warren/) > [I'm 48 years old, not a kid anymore by any definition, but here is a universal truth that every adult at some point will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-m-48-years-old-not-a-kid-anymore-by-any-definition-but-here-is-a/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“She put my hand in the fire once. Jus to see if it would burn, she said. Just to check if it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/she-put-my-hand-in-the-fire-once-jus-to-see-if-it-would-burn-she-said/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“Other things my best friend said to me: That two years was but a short span.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/other-things-my-best-friend-said-to-me-that-two-years-was-but-a-short/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [But we're not this one stupid thing we said three years ago, or ten years ago, or even last week. We seem to judge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-levinson/but-we-re-not-this-one-stupid-thing-we-said-three-years-ago-or-ten/) [Sam Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-levinson/) > [The things that Picasso and I said to one another during those years will never be said again, and even if they were, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/the-things-that-picasso-and-i-said-to-one-another-during-those-years/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [Obviously I wouldn't have said that three or four years ago in the midst of it. But I really believe that. It's been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-babbitt/obviously-i-wouldn-t-have-said-that-three-or-four-years-ago-in-the/) [Bruce Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-babbitt/) > [My agent said to me five years ago, 'Hugh, I can see one day you... if I had to plan a goal for you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/my-agent-said-to-me-five-years-ago-hugh-i-can-see-one-day-you-if-i/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [I'll be back tomorrow,she said years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ll-be-back-tomorrow-she-said-years-ago/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I stood on a tower in the wet, And New Year and Old Year met, And winds were roaring and blowing: And I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/i-stood-on-a-tower-in-the-wet-and-new-year-and-old-year-met-and-winds/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [If someone said three years from now. You'd be long gone I'd stand up and punch them out. Cause they're all wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-nk/if-someone-said-three-years-from-now-you-d-be-long-gone-i-d-stand-up/) [P!nk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-nk/) ## More by Tony Parsons > [“Then they lay there in silence for a while, listening to the rain, watching it come straight down, feeling it cool their sweating faces.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/then-they-lay-there-in-silence-for-a-while-listening-to-the-rain/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [When you are a journalist in the music business, as I was, you end up dying or going to the gym - I chose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/when-you-are-a-journalist-in-the-music-business-as-i-was-you-end-up/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [“Rouz je bila na mojoj strani onako kako niko nikada nije bio na mojoj strani. Rouz je bila dobrovoljac. Bilo joj je stalo do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/rouz-je-bila-na-mojoj-strani-onako-kako-niko-nikada-nije-bio-na-mojoj/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [When you have a kid, money matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/when-you-have-a-kid-money-matters/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [“Sometimes I think that love is a case of mistaken identity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/sometimes-i-think-that-love-is-a-case-of-mistaken-identity/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [The thing I care about is my weight - I'm as fanatical about it as a member of Girls Aloud. I weigh myself every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/the-thing-i-care-about-is-my-weight-i-m-as-fanatical-about-it-as-a/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [“And it felt like every time I turned around, somebody was either dying or walking out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/and-it-felt-like-every-time-i-turned-around-somebody-was-either-dying/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [The most convincing argument against early parenthood is that you are in a relationship that is likely to fall apart before that child grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/the-most-convincing-argument-against-early-parenthood-is-that-you-are/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [to love means to realize there is a time to let the beloved one go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/to-love-means-to-realize-there-is-a-time-to-let-the-beloved-one-go/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [And so we stayed out in the garden of the old house until we couldn't kick a ball, laughing in the gathering twilight, making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/and-so-we-stayed-out-in-the-garden-of-the-old-house-until-we-couldn-t/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [“I'm not saying it's what I would have wanted. But don't you see? We fuck up our lives again and again and it's always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/i-m-not-saying-it-s-what-i-would-have-wanted-but-don-t-you-see-we/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [“If you are always craving, always wanting, never satisfied, never happy with what you've got, you end up even more lost and lonely than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/if-you-are-always-craving-always-wanting-never-satisfied-never-happy/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [Largely this is a class thing - writers tend to be cosseted little middle-class kiddies who think that the world owes them a royalty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/largely-this-is-a-class-thing-writers-tend-to-be-cosseted-little/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [Sometimes we are only aware of how happy we are when the moment has passed. But now and again, if we are very lucky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/sometimes-we-are-only-aware-of-how-happy-we-are-when-the-moment-has/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) > [It felt natural. That is what I remember most about becoming a father halfway through my 20s. As if Mother Nature was giving me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/it-felt-natural-that-is-what-i-remember-most-about-becoming-a-father/) [Tony Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) [Explore all 65 Tony Parsons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/) ## More Five years quotes > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) [Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/) > [“A clear look back on the Cold War's battlegrounds, along with a sense of relief that the world survived forty-five years of confrontation, evokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-clear-look-back-on-the-cold-war-s-battlegrounds-along-with-a-sense/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Something had been confirmed: I was worth giving a shit about; I was getting to be a successful sick person. Sick is when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/something-had-been-confirmed-i-was-worth-giving-a-shit-about-i-was/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“His Army Ranger unit had always been ready for an ambush. Five years in special ops had made him suspicious of most. On that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-perini/his-army-ranger-unit-had-always-been-ready-for-an-ambush-five-years/) [Robin Perini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-perini/) > [“I looked at him, tipping down the coarse wine like a man who expects to put up with worse. I felt I was looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/i-looked-at-him-tipping-down-the-coarse-wine-like-a-man-who-expects/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [I was sober for five years a long time ago and was just bored out of my tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-was-sober-for-five-years-a-long-time-ago-and-was-just-bored-out-of/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [“Whatand why were never questions for me. How was the only question. When I look back now, I realize that I never thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhguru/whatand-why-were-never-questions-for-me-how-was-the-only-question/) [Sadhguru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadhguru/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“most professionals progress until they reach an “acceptable” level, and then they plateau. Software engineers, for instance, usually stop progressing somewhere around five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-grenny/most-professionals-progress-until-they-reach-an-acceptable-level-and/) [Joseph Grenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-grenny/) > [In five years of my previous tenure, the treasury was never shut for one day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amarinder-singh/in-five-years-of-my-previous-tenure-the-treasury-was-never-shut-for/) [Amarinder Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amarinder-singh/) > [We have been playing every summer on clay since I was five years old, so it is an easy surface for us in Belgium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-goffin/we-have-been-playing-every-summer-on-clay-since-i-was-five-years-old/) [David Goffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-goffin/) > [I'm an immigrant, a legal immigrant to the United States. I only became a citizen five years ago. Every day, for seven months, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-gorka/i-m-an-immigrant-a-legal-immigrant-to-the-united-states-i-only-became/) [Sebastian Gorka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-gorka/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Wrestling introduced me to the idea that my body has a purpose besides trying to look five years younger for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-gilpin/wrestling-introduced-me-to-the-idea-that-my-body-has-a-purpose/) [Betty Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-gilpin/) > [“I have entered the New Yorker's Cartoon Caption Contest almost weekly virtually since it began and have never even been a finalist. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mankoff/i-have-entered-the-new-yorker-s-cartoon-caption-contest-almost-weekly/) [Bob Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-mankoff/) [Browse all 2,724 Five years quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Don't you see?\" he said. \"This could go on for another five years, another ten years, and then where would we be? You want to grow old waiting for something that's never going to happen? Is that what you want?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tony Parsons" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/don-t-you-see-he-said-this-could-go-on-for-another-five-years-another/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Five years" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/don-t-you-see-he-said-this-could-go-on-for-another-five-years-another/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/tony-parsons-10532_five-years_don-t-you-see-he-said-this-could-go-on-f_2605790.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/tony-parsons-10532_five-years_don-t-you-see-he-said-this-could-go-on-f_2605790.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/tony-parsons-10532_five-years_don-t-you-see-he-said-this-could-go-on-f_2605790.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Don't you see?\" he said. \"This could go on for another five years, another ten years, and then where would…” — Tony Parsons", "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": "Tony Parsons", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-parsons/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Don't you see?\" he said. \"This...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/don-t-you-see-he-said-this-could-go-on-for-another-five-years-another/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-parsons/don-t-you-see-he-said-this-could-go-on-for-another-five-years-another/#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 } } ] } ```