Quote #0
The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.
Anonymous
About This Quote
The earliest strong match located is from a 1950 newspaper interview in which U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson, discussing the pressures of his job, said he tried to adopt the attitude of an unnamed Vermont woman who expressed the idea that the future arrives in manageable daily portions.
Interpretation
The line reframes anxiety about what lies ahead by emphasizing that time is experienced incrementally. It suggests focusing on what can be handled today rather than being overwhelmed by the full scope of future uncertainties.
Extended Quotation
“I try to be as philosophical as the old lady from Vermont, who said that the best thing about the future was that it only comes one day at a time.”
Variations
The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time.
Best thing about the future is it comes only one day at a time.
Misattributions
- Abraham Lincoln
- Dean Acheson
