Your Past Doesn't Define You Quotes & Sayings

Be a complex person. The more ways you define yourself, the less vulnerable you are to setbacks in any area. If you're only a writer, and your book doesn't sell, you're sunk. But if you're a writer and researcher and a teacher and a wife and mother and gardener and volunteer EMT and singer in the choir, it's easier to bounce back from disappointments. The more sources of joy and pleasure in your life, the better. — Anonymous

Lord Jesus, thank You that my identity and worth is firmly rooted in You. My job doesn't define me, my relationships don't define me, and my various roles don't define me. I praise You for declaring me holy and dearly loved. You paid the highest price for my soul. How I thank You that I have value and significance in You. I am Your masterpiece, and You have gifted me uniquely for the roles You desire for me to play in Your kingdom. Thank You that I don't need to compare my gifts to the gifts of others in order to feel special. In Your kingdom, I am a royal priest/priestess. I praise You that I am a coheir with Christ and have inherited every blessing through Him. (Col. 3:12; 1 Cor. 6:12; Eph. 2:10; Isa. 43:4; Rom. 8:17) — Becky Harling

The past doesn't define you, your present does. It's okay to create a vision of the future because it affects your behavior in the "now," but don't dwell on past mistakes. Learn from them and focus those lessons in the moment. That's where change can really happen. — Jillian Michaels

My job doesn't define my kids in any way. When we go to places, it's about them and it's about us as a family. I think they're proud of me, but I'm just Dad. — Steve Carell

Sometimes you have to be forced away from your work to realize you've made too much of it, to remember it doesn't define you. — Rachel Held Evans

My question to the atheist is, do you want an atheist world or a peaceful world? And to the believer, do you want a religious world or a peaceful world? Religious orientation doesn't define peace, but the answer here may define one's true nature. — Abhijit Naskar

I'm trying to learn how to listen to people and how not to think that this is all I am. It's not going to change the fact that at home I'm going to put away the clean dishes, and I'm going to have to be nice to my siblings. It encourages me, but it doesn't define me. — Bethany Dillon

Beauty is an asset, just like physical prowess, charisma, brains or emotional intelligence. The key with any gift is in the way that you use it. It doesn't define you as a person. Rather, it's an asset to be used judiciously and with an understanding of how it is just a small part of who you are. — Dale Archer

I consider myself to be a true friend of the Israeli people. But I define friendship as someone who takes care of a friend, who just doesn't use or exploit a friend. And, you know, there's that old adage: 'Friends don't let friends drive drunk'. — Scott Ritter

A relationship doesn't define you. You define you. — Tammy-Louise Wilkins

The success doesn't define you. The success isn't what gave you the edge in the first place. The failure didn't give me the edge, either. — Richard Sherman

Sexuality and love can be different things. I can be attracted to a woman sexually, but it doesn't mean I want to be in love with a woman. If I'm going to be with a woman sexually, it doesn't mean I'm a lesbian. We put these restraints and definitions on people, but it's hard to define. — Cameron Diaz

Autism doesn't have to define a person. Artists with autism are like anyone else: They define themselves through hard work and individuality. — Adrienne Bailon

If you really want to define civilization it should be a culture that doesn't destroy its environment. If you burn down the kitchen one day and expect to eat the next, it is not even intelligent, let alone civilized. — Sting

I never took the fame too seriously. It was a great period in my life, but it doesn't define me. When I think back on the time, I look at it with a wink. I focus on the good moments I had, not that I was on a lot of magazine covers. — Jonathan Taylor Thomas

When something goes wrong, what's the best course of action? To change your direction. The word repentance means to stop going one direction (your own way) and turn toward the right direction (God's way). Your past may be a part of who you are, but it certainly doesn't have to define your future. Or if you feel stuck and unable to change directions and move toward God, think of this transformation another way. The Bible says that God is the Potter and we are his clay (Jer. 18:2-6). — Craig Groeschel

You define beauty for yourself, society doesn't define your beauty. Your spirit and your faith defines your beauty. — Lady Gaga

To bring myself back to a perspective of all that I am in Christ - not according to the world. I need it to remind myself that the world doesn't define me. I am defined by my relationship with Jesus Christ. — Tony Dungy

I've realized now that our world doesn't define us. We define our world. And I hope you'll fill yours with as much light and happiness as you can. — Shannon Messenger

Asperger's doesn't define me. It's a condition that I have to live with and work through, but I feel more relaxed about myself. People will have a greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do. — Susan Boyle

And so of course we won't define 'biblical womanhood' well using a list of chores or a job description, a schedule or income level. After all, healthy God-glorifying homes look as different as the image bearers that entered into the covenant, biblical doesn't mean a baptized version of any culture, ancient or modern.
No, I am a biblical woman because I live and move and have my being in the daily reality of being a follower of Jesus, living in the reality of being loved, in full trust of my Abba. I am a biblical woman because I follow in the footsteps of all the biblical women who cam before me.
Biblical womanhood isn't so different from biblical personhood. Biblical personhood becomes a dead list of rules when it becomes a law to keep. If we have a long list of rules - Put others first! Be generous! Give money! Believe this! Do that! - it's a dead religion from a glorified rule book. — Sarah Bessey

A guy isn't the only thing that will make me happy. If I never find romance or love, that will be okay. It's what I want, but it doesn't define me. — Kim Kardashian

I define a thriller as a big-stakes, multiple-viewpoint novel involving suspense, action, and mystery, in which the reader doesn't know everything but usually knows more than any single character. — F. Paul Wilson

Your past doesn't define who you are. Biography isn't Destiny. — Kathryn Perez

Your past doesn't define you. Only your present and your future. If your life is screwed up, stop making excuses. What are you going to do about it today? — Ingrid Weir

When you judge a woman by her appearance, it doesn't define her, it defines you. Ladies, never allow yourself to be defined by someone's inability to appreciate your unique beauty. — Steve Maraboli

We're fascinated by things that scare us, and one of the things that scares us is violence. Violence exists. It's a real part of our lives. We are obsessed with what we're scared of, but it certainly doesn't define us. — Ethan Hawke

My atheism doesn't define my day-to-day life at all. But I realize - and maybe it is because, unlike people who sort of stay comfortably in a religion, I had to do a lot of thinking and reading before I realized that I was an atheist. — Susan Jacoby

I wish I could give you a world where everything was perfect and shining and safe. I used to think that's what we had ... " He shook his head. "I've realized now that our world doesn't define us. We define our world. And I hope you'll fill yours with as much light and happiness as you can."
"You realize how silly that sounds, right?"
"I do. But after everything that's happened, I think we could all use a bit more silly in our lives. — Shannon Messenger

I don't really care if people think I'm good-looking or not; it doesn't define me as a person. — Genesis Rodriguez

I've always had a philosophy that position doesn't define power. Impact defines power. What impact are you making on people? What impact are you making on business? — Mindy Grossman

Our past may shape us, but it doesn't define who we become. — Alyson Noel

For me, genres are a way for people to easily categorize music. But it doesn't have to define you. It doesn't have to limit you. — Taylor Swift

You've got to have someone who loves your body. Who doesn't define you, but sees you. Who loves what he sees. Who you don't have to struggle to be good enough for. — Deb Caletti

score? A dishonest or callous action? Being fired from a job? Being rejected? Focus on that thing. Feel all the emotions that go with it. Now put it in a growth-mindset perspective. Look honestly at your role in it, but understand that it doesn't define your intelligence or personality. Instead, ask: What did I (or can I ) learn from that experience? How can I use it as a basis for growth? Carry that with you instead. — Carol S. Dweck

What you do doesn't define you. You can't let your failures, or your success for that matter, dictate how you view yourself. You are loved. — Taylor York

But as you are surely aware, forgiveness doesn't mean you let the forgiven stomp all over you once again. Forgiveness means you've found a way forward that acknowledges harm done and hurt caused without letting either your anger or your pain rule your life or define your relationship with the one who did you wrong. — Cheryl Strayed

Best quote page 239: The past doesn't disappear, but it doesn't have to define your future. That's up to you. — Anna Jarzab

Four years ago, I was thinking ... no Olympics, who am I? Probably in '04, I was identified with gymnastics. I thought gymnastics was who I am and I have to be an Olympian and I have to make this team. That's probably why I was a little bit devastated when I didn't make it. You know, I was kinda lost. Now I realize that we're all magnificent, regardless of what we do or whatever career path we choose, you know, that career doesn't have to define us as a human being. There's so much more to being human than all of this. — Raj Bhavsar

Here's how I define "stuff": anything you have allowed into your psychological or physical world that doesn't belong where it is, but for which you haven't yet determined what, exactly, it means to you, with the desired outcome and the next action step. — David Allen