30+ Memorable and Thoughtful Looking Back Quotes

Looking Back Quotes – The concept of looking back is often associated with lingering in the past. Because of this, there are several thought-provoking quotes about how one should not look back but rather forward. However, while there are plenty of these types of lines, it does not mean that looking back is a bad thing.

For some, to look back also means to reminisce and reflect. That is why there is a good share of lines that provide an insightful look at the positives of looking back. If you are curious on how the concept can be positive, here are some notable looking back quotes to check out:

• “You live life looking forward, you understand life looking backward.” – Soren Kierke
• “Looking back we see with great clarity, and what once appeared as difficulties now reveal themselves as blessings.” – Dan Millman
• “Looking back through life, you will find the pleasure of achieving your dreams is always greater than the pain you met while achieving them.” – Moffat Machingura
• “Looking back you realize that a very special person passed briefly through your Life- and it was you. It is not too late to find that person again.” – Robert Breault
• “Wisdom is looking back at your life and realizing that every single event, person, place, and idea was part of the perfected experience you needed to build your dream. Not one was a mistake.” – John Federick Demartini
• “When the most important times are occurring, we don’t even recognize them or notice. We are just busy living our lives. Only looking back do we know what was a great moment in our lives.” – Federico Fellini
• “The years go by. Time flies. Every single second is a moment in time that passes. And it seems like nothing. But when you’re looking back—well, it amounts to everything.” – Ray Bradbury
• “In looking back, I see nothing to regret, and little to correct.” – John C. Calhoun
• “It’s sad to know I’m done. But looking back, I’ve got a lot of great memories.” – Bonnie Blair
• “Looking back at my life’s voyage, I can only say that it has been a golden trip.” – Ginger Rogers
• “That’s the funny thing about time. It is only in looking back that it’s easy to connect the dots. To see exactly why everything needed to happen the way that it did.” – Rebecca Serle
• “Looking back, I’m proud of what I’ve been able to do, grateful for the fact that I really have very few, if almost zero, nightmare stories of being on sets and working with the wrong people.” – Tyler Hoechlin

Additional Looking Back Quotes

• “Sooner or later, we’ll be looking back on everything, and we’ll laugh about it like we knew what all was happening.” – Michael Tolcher
• “At my age, you find yourself looking back from time to time, and you begin to appreciate some of the things that happened to you.” – Bob Dole
• “The only time you should look back in life, is to see how far you have come.” – Kevin Hart
• “They say not to look back, but if you’re not sure what lies ahead, what else is there but looking back?” – Laurell K. Hamilton
• “Look back at your life, It’s always the hardest times that made you who you are.” – Casey Neistat
• “Forget the past; it’s gone, but glance back occasionally to remind yourself where you came from and where you are going.” – Chloe Thurlow
• “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.” – Steve Jobs 
• “There was a time when I thought I was doing a good thing with good guys for a good cause. Looking back, I think I really wanted to be a warrior.” – Steven Seagal
• “Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back everything is different.” – C.S. Lewis
• “Strange, how the best moments of our lives we scarcely notice except in looking back.” – Joe Abercrombie
• “Looking back is a way to sharpen the focus on the things you want to change in your life. I think there’s something about nostalgia that really puts a fine point on the here-and-now, and that can be incredibly fascinating and interesting and engaging for the mind.” – Sarah Paulson
• “To look back, to go back, is not to be weak. It is not to reopen wounds. It takes strength, it takes courage. It takes a person who is more in control of who they are to cast a discerning, non-judgmental eye over who they once were.” – Cecelia Ahern

Other Thoughtful Lines About Looking at the Past

• “It’s okay to look back at the past, just don’t stare.”
• “I’ll look back on this and smile because it was life and I decided to live it.”
• “I’d rather look back on my life and say, ‘I can’t believe I did that,’ instead of, ‘I wish I did that.’”
• “When I look back on my life, I see pain, mistakes, and heartache. When I look in the mirror, I see strength, learned lessons, and pride in myself.”
• “When you look back, the only things you can keep forever are the memories.”
• “I regret nothing in my life even if my past was full of heart, I still look back and smile, because it made me who I am today.”
• “The best way to look back at life fondly is to meet it. And those along your journey—warmly, kindly, and mindfully.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru
• “Enjoy the little things. For one day, you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Breault
• “As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being redirected to something better.” – Steve Maraboli
• “I look back on the time I’ve wasted, and I’m just glad I wasted it while I still had the chance.” – Robert Brault

Check out more thought-provoking quotes with our Celebrate Life Quotes and Follow Your Dreams Quotes.