Missed Chances Quotes

Neil felt a half-second from losing his mind, but then Andrew said his name and Neil's thoughts ground to a startled halt. He was belatedly aware of his hand at his ear and his fingers clenched tight around his phone. He didn't remember pulling it from his pocket or making the decision to dial out. He lowered it and tapped a button, thinking maybe he'd imagined things, but Andrew's name was on his display and the timer put the call at almost a minute already. Neil put the phone back to his ear, but he couldn't find the words for the wretched feeling that was tearing away at him. In three months championships would be over. In four months he'd be dead. In five months the Foxes would be right back here for summer practices with six new faces. Neil could count his life on one hand now. On the other hand was the future he couldn't have: vice-captain, captain, Court. Neil had no right to mourn these missed chances. He'd gotten more than he deserved this year; it was selfish to ask for more. He should be grateful for what he had, and gladder still that his death would mean something. He was going to drag his father and the Moriyamas down with him when he went, and they'd never recover from the things he said. It was justice when he'd never thought he'd get any and revenge for his mother's death. He thought he'd come to terms with it but that hollow ache was back in his chest where it had no right to be. Neil felt like he was drowning. Neil found his voice at last, but the best he h ~ Nora Sakavic

Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back. That's part of what it means to be alive. But inside our heads - at least that's where I imagine it - there's a little room where we store those memories. A room like the stacks in this library. And to understand the workings of our own heart we have to keep on making new reference cards. We have to dust things off every once in awhile, let in fresh air, change the water in the flower vases. In other words, you'll live forever in your own private library. ~ Haruki Murakami

If everyone else in the room is working on their next pitch, then fixating on the previous one puts you a step behind. This approach also applies to an overall career where it's better to focus on the next opportunity rather than ruminate on the missed chances and setbacks. ~ Nell Scovell

Our biggest regrets are not for the things we have done but for the things we haven't done ~ Chad Michael Murray

As mankind grew obsessed with its hours, the sorrow of lost time became a permanent hole in the human heart. People fretted over missed chances, over inefficient days; they worried constantly about how long they would live, because counting life's moments had led, inevitably, to counting them down. Soon, in every nation and in every language, time became the most precious commodity. ~ Mitch Albom

I never cut my neighbor's throat;
My neighbor's gold I never stole;
I never spoiled his house and land;
But God have mercy on my soul!
For I am haunted night and day
By all the deeds I have not done;
O unattempted loveliness!
O costly valor never won! ~ Marguerite Wilkinson

When we lose someone, it is not the loss that makes us sad. It is the thought of all our missed chances. ~ Ira N. Barin

You may never be entirely happy; few people are. You may never achieve your heart's desire in this world, for people seldom do. Sit by enough deathbeds, Branza, and you will hear your fill of stories of missed chances, and wrong turnings, and spurned opportunities for love. It is required of you only to be here, not to be happy. ~ Margo Lanagan

That was the missed moment. I should have put out a hand and taken her arm and said, "Here I am. Ask me. Now. The real question! Tell me. While I'm here. Ask me before it's too late. ~ J.L. Carr

The past, for everyone, is full of missed chances, surviving to understand them, if not set them straight, is one of the things that makes the next breath worth taking. ~ Le Ly Hayslip

Stupidity is one of the two things we see most clearly in retrospect. The other is missed chances. ~ Stephen King

Footfalls echo in the memory, down the passage we did not take, towards the door we never opened, into the rose garden. ~ T. S. Eliot

The other is missed chances. ~ Stephen King

She felt intense disappointment, even a kind of guilt, as if she had missed something, perhaps forever. He had been there, she could have spoken to him. Could she call out now, cry his name? It was impossible. ~ Iris Murdoch

People say it's not what happens in your life that matters, it's what you think happened. But this qualification, obviously, did not go far enough. It was quite possible that the central event of your life could be something that didn't happen, or something you thought didn't happen. Otherwise there'd be no need for fiction, there'd only be memoirs and histories ... ~ Geoff Dyer

Don't fear death, fear the un-lived life ~ Natalie Babbitt

And then it hits me: I've lost you. You now rank among the things I'll always regret: opportunities lost, children never had, things I might have accomplished or done far better, lovers who have come and gone. ~ Andre Aciman

An opportunity is like a train on the move. Once its doors have closed, it's gone. But do stick around, another one will surely be on its way; carrying with it better opportunities. ~ Naide P Obiang

Moments, when lost, can't be found again. They're just gone. ~ Jenny Han

Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the unlived life of the parent. ~ C. G. Jung

But this thing that almost never was still beckons, I wanted to tell him. They can never undo it, never unwrite it, never unlive it, or relive it - it's just stuck there like a vision of fireflies on a summer field toward evening that keeps saying, You could have had this instead. But going back is false. Moving ahead is false. Looking the other way is false. Trying to redress all that is false turns out to be just as false.

Their life is like a garbled echo buried for all time in a sealed Mithraic chamber. ~ Andre Aciman

There is something demoralizing about watching two people get more and more crazy about each other, especially when you are the only extra person in the room. It's like watching Paris from an express caboose heading in the opposite direction
every second the city gets smaller and smaller, only you feel it's really you getting smaller and smaller and lonelier and lonelier, rushing away from all those lights and excitement at about a million miles an hour. ~ Sylvia Plath

It was a little like stealing. It was exactly like stealing. It was, in fact, stealing. But there was no law against it because no one knew the crime existed, so is it really stealing if what's stolen isn't missed? And is it stealing if you're stealing from thieves? Anyway, all property is theft, except mine. ~ Terry Pratchett

Old as he was, he still missed his daddy sometimes. ~ Gloria Naylor

This unfounded sensation every time he looked at her was something fucking special and worth taking chances on. ~ V. Theia

As a Christian, I believe in redemption. And I believe in second chances. ~ Rand Paul

Sometimes, in prison, when he'd been lying awake at night staring at the bunk over his head, Johnny had thought that he missed Wolf most of all.
Wasn't that a damned sad commentary on his life?
The dog whined again. Knowing he was being ridiculous, that he was liable to lose the hand at the wrist when the animal charged, Johnny nonetheless took a step forward,holding out his fingers for sniffing.
"Wolf? Come here, boy."
Incredibly, the huge animal sank to its belly and slunk forward, behaving as if it wanted to believe but feared a cruel trick. Johnny dropped to his knees to greet it, his hands reaching out, burrowing in the coarse hide, stroking and scratching as the dog whined and licked and pawed him and butted him with its head.
"Ah, Wolf," he said as he accepted the truth at last, that this one thing that he had loved had been spared in order to greet him. Then, as the big head snuggled into his lap, he wrapped his arms around the dog's thick neck and buried his face against the animal's side.
For the first time in eleven years, he wept. ~ Karen Robards

When I read I got involved in the words and what they were saying so that I didn't measure the passing of time in typical ways. I was surprised to learn that there was this freedom made of nothing but words. Then I felt like I had missed some crucial point, a long time ago. ~ Nic Pizzolatto

Some have suggested that I see my return to political life as a second chance. Not really - I see it as if I had come back from the dead. And I've discovered that being a political Lazarus has a silver lining: When you survive your worst fears, there's very little that can shake you. ~ Andrew M. Cuomo

True regret is knowing you missed your only opportunity to be simply a good friend to someone that was exactly like you. ~ Shannon L. Alder

Walk slowly," said a voice from behind me, and I turned around and felt my heart jump in delight. "Remember, you're on a crutch and she's an old lady."
"You came!" I said.
"I heard you were looking for me. Julian told me."
"I didn't think I'd see you. Not till, you know, till it was my turn."
"I couldn't wait," he said.
"You look exactly the same as you did on that last day. In Central Park."
"Actually, I'm a few pounds lighter," he said. "I've been on a fitness drive."
"Good for you." I stared at him and felt the tears forming in my eyes. "Do you know how much I've missed you?" I asked him. "It's been almost thirty years. I shouldn't have had to spend all that time on my own."
"I know, but it's nearly over. And you haven't done a bad job of it at the same time, given the mess you made of the first thirty. The years apart will feel like nothing compared to what we have before us."
"The music's started," said my mother, clutching me to her.
"I have to go, Bastiaan," I said. "Will I see you later?"
"No. But I'll be there in November when you arrive."
"All right." I took a deep breath. "I love you."
"I love you too," said my mother. "Shall we go?"
I nodded and stepped forward, and slowly we made our way down the aisle, passing the faces of our friends and family, and I delivered her into the arms of a kind man who swore to love her and take care of her for the rest of her life.
And at the end, when the e ~ John Boyne

The sling is to a rifle what the holster is to a pistol. If you have a sling, chances are you will keep the rifle with you. If there is no sling present, you will set the rifle down. When you are at the absolutely farthest point away from the rifle that you can possibly get, you'll need it. ~ Clint Smith

When the phone started ringing too many times, I had to take it back to what I can handle. I take my chances on a job or a person as opposed to a situation. I don't like to have a situation placed over my head. ~ Bill Murray

[Terry] Tussey has been my favorite gunsmith, but I'm also using other people for other things and giving other people chances because there's only so much Terry can do. He knows me to be the best shooter and the most finicky, so I'm really a pain in his ass. ~ Steven Seagal

Audiences have become so much more sophisticated, and they're looking for different eyes and different ways to tell a story. And 'Scandal' certainly gives us the freedom to take those chances. ~ Tom Verica

The history of the Internet is, in part, a series of opportunities missed: the major record labels let Apple take over the digital-music business; Blockbuster refused to buy Netflix for a mere fifty million dollars; Excite turned down the chance to acquire Google for less than a million dollars. ~ James Surowiecki

I was quite happy in my new place, and if there was one thing that I missed, it must not be thought I was discontented; all who had to do with me were good, and I had a light airy stable and the best of food. What more could I want? Why, liberty! ~ Anna Sewell

It's amazing how many things busy people are doing that never will be missed. ~ Peter Drucker

If you don't ask for what you want, the chances of getting it are zero. ~ Irena Chalmes

The message, if you think about it this way, is all about taking chances because fate or destiny or God will protect you. Take a risk, have a little faith. It's all about life, not death. ~ Chris Bohjalian

Chances are only 1% for success, need to give 99% efforts to achieve 1% Success ... ~ Pratik

Because deep down inside, she was scared. Scared of being alone, scared of being an outsider. Scared that she had all of her chances of happiness; and blown each and every one of them. ~ Lisa Jewell

Park your ego and listen to your readers. They can be your best friend or your worst enemy. But chances are you'll learn something from them. ~ Eliza Green

According to Hugh Fudenberg, MD, the world's leading immunogeneticist and 13th most quoted biologist of our times (nearly 850 papers in peer review journals), if an individual has had five consecutive flu shots between 1970 and 1980 (the years studied) his/her chances of getting Alzheimer's Disease is ten times higher than if they had one, two or no shots. I asked Dr. Fudenberg why this was so and he said it was due to the mercury and aluminum that is in every flu shot (and most childhood shots). The gradual mercury and aluminum buildup in the brain causes cognitive dysfunction. Is that why Alzheimer's is expected to quadruple?219 ~ James Perloff

Behind every one of Michael Jordan's heart stopping buzzer beating spine scintillating game winning shots, lie the corpses of a thousand missed childhood driveway shots. ~ Khang Kijarro Nguyen

I took a Fear of Flying class, and I always missed the class, because I was always flying. ~ Sara Blakely

Just make sure the day doesn't pass without sayin' what's in your heart. Sometimes you pass up those chances and they're gone forever. ~ Dan Groat

The more tuned in you are to your purpose, and the more dedicated you are to growing toward it, the better your chances of reaching your potential, expanding your possibilities, and doing something significant. ~ John C. Maxwell

Al Plastino helped redefine Superman in the 1950s. His work on 'Superman's Girlfriend,' 'Lois Lane,' 'Adventure Comics' and pretty much any title in the Superman family will be fondly remembered for years to come. He will be missed. ~ Jim Lee

The only thing I've kind of missed is finding a really good western that I want to do, because I watched westerns a lot. ~ Samuel L. Jackson

I took a step back and appraised the sight of the naked torso in front of me. He'd always had an amazing body, but Christ. Trip had gotten freaking ripped.
I put my hands to my hips and asked, "Are you kidding me? What the hell is this?"
My anger probably missed its mark, considering I was standing there totally nude. It's hard to be taken seriously when you're not wearing any clothes.
He knew exactly what I was talking about and was trying to contain a smile as he asked, "What?"
I rolled my eyes. "When did this happen? Jesus. Look at you! Give a girl a heads up about such a thing, huh?"
That made the smile crack his features. "What? So I've been hitting it a little harder lately. I just came off a gladiator film and I'm starting a hockey flick in a few weeks. Occupational hazard, I guess."
"Yeah. A hazard to me, maybe! Here I am with my saggy ass and you're standing there looking like Michelangelo's David, you jagweed!"
He stepped closer, grabbing my butt and pulling me into direct contact with what was assuredly going to be revealed as his perfect dick. He probably lifted weights with that thing, too. His cock probably possessed its own set of washboard abs. ~ T. Torrest

Compassion is that special ingredient that is often missed, and it makes a difference in building a positive environment. ~ Farshad Asl

Sure, life as we know it is enough. But life as we don't know it? That's where the magic awaits. That's where second chances abound. ~ Holly Elissa Bruno

Oh, here we go, firing questions right and left. I sort of missed that part. [Mina's most endearing trait?] ~ Maria Grazia Swan

Leni shook her head, feeling a familiar sadness creep in. She could never tell him how it felt to live with a dad who scared you sometimes and a mother who loved him too much and make him prove how much he loved her in dangerous ways. Like flirting.
These were Leni's secrets. Her burdens. She couldn't share them.
All this time, all these years, she'd dreamed of having a real friend, one who would tell her everything. How had she missed the obvious?
Leni couldn't have a real friend because she couldn't be one. ~ Kristin Hannah

When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. ~ Sun Tzu

When I was training for the Olympics, I didn't eat the way I should have. I missed out on much-needed protein and opted for every easy carb. ~ Summer Sanders

The great fact all the while however had been the incalculability; since he had supposed himself, from decade to decade, to be allowing, and in the most liberal and intelligent manner, for brilliancy of change. He actually saw that he *had* allowed for nothing; he missed what he would have been sure of finding, he found what he would never have imagined. Proportions and values were upside-down; the ugly things he had expected, the ugly things of his far away youth, when he had too promptly waked up to a sense of the ugly--these uncanny phenomena placed him rather, as it happened, under the charm; whereas the 'swagger' things, the modern, the monstrous, the famous things, those he had more particularly, like thousands of ingenuous enquirers every year, come over to see, were exactly his sources of dismay. They were as so many set traps for displeasure, above all for reaction, of which his restless tread was constantly pressing the spring. It was interesting, doubtless, the whole show, but it would have been too disconcerting hadn't a certain finer truth saved the situation. He had distinctly not, in this steadier light, come over *all* for the monstrosities; he had come, not only in the last analysis but quite on the face of the act, under an impulse with which they had nothing to do. ("The Jolly Corner") ~ Henry James

Luckily I have never missed a day's filming or work due to asthma. ~ Kevin McCloud

Gary tried not to notice how pale Savannah was as she fixed him a pot of coffee.Her satin skin was almost translucent.He was groggy from the trance-induced sleep and had a hard time waking up, even after a long shower. He had no idea where the change of clothes had come from,but they were lying on the end of the bed when he awakened.
Savannah was beautiful, moving through the house like flowing water, like music in the air.She was dressed in faded blue jeans and a pale turquoise shirt that clung to her curves and emphasized her narrow rib cage and small waist.Her long hair was pulled back in a thick braid that hung below her bottom.Gary tried to keep his eyes to himself.He hadn't seen any evidence of Gregori this evening,but he didn't want to take any chances.He had a feeling the one thing that could change that remote expression fast was to have another man ogling Savannah. ~ Christine Feehan

I'd felt drowned and extinguished by vastness - not just the predictable vastness of time, and space, but the impassable distances between people even when they were within arm's reach of each other, and with a swell of vertigo I thought of all the places I'd been and all the places I hadn't, a world lost and vast and unknowable, dingy maze of cities and alleyways, far-drifting ash and hostile immensities, connections missed, things lost and never found ... ~ Donna Tartt