50 Drift Quotes That Are Hard To Ignore

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Published April 20, 2023

If you are in search of the top drift quotes, we have something to share with you.

Here, we have created a list of drift quotes that are relevant and authentic.

We have also discussed the term drift and its various meanings.

So, if you like the idea, please continue reading!

What is Meant by the term Drift?

“Drift” is a term associated with different meanings, depending on the context in which someone uses it.

Discussed below are some of the possible definitions of the term “Drift”:

Drift is the movement or deviation from a desired path, which suggests that it is an unintentional or gradual process.
Drift also refers to a gradual change in the earth’s geology where some of its areas move slightly due to the movement of tectonic plates.
In culture or relationship, drift usually refers to the gradual change in cultural practices or relationship behaviors over time.
When a car loses control or stability, it is said to drift away from its path.

How We Drift Through Different Stages of Our Lives

A person passes through different stages of his/her life, which is also known as drifting through life.

Here are some of the manifestations of such stages:

Childhood
Adolescence
Young Age
Adulthood

Childhood

During childhood, we experience a drift in our interests and behaviors.

It means our priorities change as time passes away.

For instance, children love to play, but their games change as they grow.

Young Age

Young people become independent and are urged to explore things around them.

This is a drift from the previous stage of life (childhood), where kids aren’t allowed to stay outside on their own.

During this stage, life also drifts in terms of relationships.

We make most of our friends at a young age, as we feel a lot more connected with others.

Hence, youth is a major drifting point for almost everyone regarding desires, emotions, and goals.

Adulthood

This period of life is referred to as a transition period, where our personal life drifts toward professional life.

Talking about relationships, we are more involved with our family.

Our focus drifts from having fun with friends to building our careers.

Drift in Relationship

When it comes to relationships, we do experience a “drift” over time.

Our relationship with others changes gradually, and there are various reasons for this drift.

These include:

Lack of communication
Conflict in interests
Change in individual circumstances

For instance, a relationship between partners or spouses may drift if they start to pursue their individual goals or priorities.

As a result, a lack of communication develops, which results in creating a drift in the relationship.

Top 10 Drift Quotes

Here we go with the top 10 drift quotes in this section.

1. “Drift into the Eversea.” — H.S. Crow

2. “Drift racing is expensive.” — Freddie Wong

3. “I drift, I wander, and I write.” — Avijeet Das

4. “If a drift is a rift, it’s a shift.” — Martin Uzochukwu Ugwu

5. “A heart anchored in money will only drift away.” — Anthony Liccione

6. “I’d like to drift into Jessica Tandy-type parts.” — Dina Merrill

7. “I have always had that drift; that’s key for me.” — Yuzvendra Chahal

8. “The words of my book nothing, the drift of it everything.” — Walt Whitman

9. “All loose things seem to drift down to the sea, and so did I.” — Louis L’Amour

10. “There ain’t nothin’ to dyin’, really. You just get tired. You kind of drift away.” — James Dickey

Drift Quotes by Actors

View the beautiful ways in which actors have employed drift to convey their thoughts in the quotes below.

11. “I’m more of a mimic. My accent tends to drift to where ever I am.” — Ricky Whittle

12. “I was a loner and would constantly find ways to drift away from the crowd at social gatherings.” — Deepti Naval

13. “Being friends with anyone for 30 years is no easy task – people change, they drift apart, they move on.” — Alana Stewart

14. “As a kid, I didn’t drift into the comic world too much because I preferred to read fantasies novels and science fiction.” — Robert Sheehan

15. “I think most couples drift apart because of comparisons. Unfortunately, in our society, a perfect match is when the man is more successful than the woman.” — Sonam Kapoor

16. “Teach love, generosity, good manners, and some of that will drift from the classroom to the home, and who knows, the children will be educating the parents.” — Roger Moore

17. “I love Stevie Wonder for his sense of rapture in the music. He can swing through a zappy tune, lift your heart, or drift into a sad ballad with consummate ease.” — Tim Pigott-Smith

18. “Unfortunately, in the entertainment field, sometimes you start believing your celebrity. You have a strong tendency to drift from the Lord, which I did. I did drift for a number of years.” — Chuck Norris

19. “I have a tendency to drift toward action. Some of my favorite films are ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith,’ ‘The Dark Knight,’ ‘Inception,’ ‘The Fifth Element,’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ and ‘The Avengers.’” — Josephine Langford

20. “When we get christened or married or die, we drift naturally in the direction of the church. And in moments of crisis, when our spiritual Tom-Tom is no longer telling us what to do, we find ourselves scrabbling at the vicarage door.” — Tom Hollander

Drift Quotes by Writers & Poets

These are some quotes by authors and poets that illustrate the importance of using well-developed vocabulary like “drift” to express a viewpoint.

21. “Friends die, friends become demented, friends quarrel, friends drift with old age into silence.” — Donald Hall

22. “Earlier lives drift by on silver soles, and the shadows of the damned descend into these sighing waters.” — Georg Trakl

23. “You drift through life and let things happen to you, or go by design and say, ‘This is what I’m intended to do.’” — Rick Warren

24. “A wide array of factors can determine just how quickly you’ll be able to drift off to sleep when you choose to do so.” — Maria Konnikova

25. “I simply seem to drift. But I sort of allow the drift because it has a kind of check – it forces me to work harder at what I’m interested in.” — Vikram Seth

26. “We lose stories every day because they drift out of use and into the vast limbo of in-copyright, out-of-print books whose ownership is unclear.” — Nick Harkaway

27. “I do have a family, and obviously, I spend as much time as I can with them. Though even when I’m with my family, my mind tends to drift toward baseball.” — Bill James

28. “What is the most innocent place in any country? Is it not the insane asylum? These people drift through life truly innocent, unable to see into themselves at all.” — Arthur Miller

29. “Her face betokened all things dear and good, The light of somewhat yet to come was there Asleep, and waiting for the opening day, When childish thoughts, like flowers, would drift away.” — Jean Ingelow

30. “I try to work in the mornings. Usually, I write in my pajamas and slowly assemble myself. I don’t get organized and sit down and get dressed. I do the laundry. I drift in and out of writing.” — Sue Miller

Drift Quotes by Musicians & Singers

Have a look at the following drift quotes to see how some famous musicians have used this word to express themselves.

31. “I think I drift toward sad love songs.” — Benmont Tench

32. “We also own a little boat, and I’m like a kid with it. I take off early in the morning, fishing rod in tow, and just drift about the ocean all day.” — Perry Como

33. “Every day I wake up in Paris, it’s real tranquillity. No pressure. I’m out of the grasp of people. I don’t have a phone, and I drift a little bit.” — Pete Doherty

34. “People get into metal and don’t drift away from it. They might have families and move away a little, but they certainly don’t forget about it.” — Steve Harris

35. “I close my eyes, then I drift away into the magic night, I softly say. A silent prayer, like dreamers, do, then I fall asleep to dream my dreams of you.” — Roy Orbison

36. “I’d listen to all the stuff that was going on around me and drift off into my fantasies about it. My fantasies have fuelled all the songs I’ve ever written.” — Don McLean

37. “I try to make a dent in people when I can. I figure people drift toward liberalism at a young age, and I always hope that they change when they see how the world really is.” — Johnny Ramone

38. “You write a song about how you think at the time, and then gradually you drift away from that, and when it’s far enough in the past, that’s when you think, ‘Now I have to write something new.’” — Jarvis Cocker

39. “I slowly started to drift back into music again. I finally got the call from John… about getting the band back together again. It was so out of the blue. I almost thought that the moment had passed.” — Roger Andrew Taylor

40. “Particularly at around the age of 70, you reach a stage where you have to be very careful. If at that point, you abandon the work you have been doing, there is a good chance that you will just collapse and drift.” — Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

Deep Pondering Drift Quotes

Here we offer a collection of mood-inducing drift quotes about going with the flow or not.

41. “Some moments drift, and some moments make us drift!” — Avijeet Das

42. “To reach a port, we must sail – sail, not tie at anchor – sail, not drift.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

43. “Shift yourself away from the slippery ground of bad attitudes, and you’ll not drift off!” — Israelmore Ayivor

44. “There is a time when we must firmly choose the course which we will follow, or the endless drift of events will make the decision for us.” — Herbert V. Prochnow

45. “We don’t have to wonder or drift with society; the Lord has a very strong and clear pathway of what is right and where blessings come from.” — Burgess Owens

46. “It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours, and you’ll drift in that direction.” — Warren Buffett

47. “Do not drift to deviate in life for tears, instead steer with the right gear of clarity, focus, and purpose; That is where the secret of success is to cheer.” — Ebinezar Gnanasekaran

48. “Satire is fascinating stuff. It’s deadly serious, and when politics begin to break down, there is a drift towards satire because it’s the only thing that makes any sense.” — Ben Nicholson

49. “Without someone speaking into your life and keeping you on track with the things you believe, you have a tendency to drift into habitual sin- and you recognize this about yourself.” — Craig Groeschel

50. “Running a business is like driving. Keep adjusting the steering wheel because no road is straight until you hit the highway. Drift, make sharp turns, do whatever you can to keep moving and achieve your dream.” — J. R. Rim