quotations about choice
Far too often the choices reality proposes are such as to take away one's taste for choosing.
JEAN ROSTAND
The Substance of Man
Choice, therefore, is the test and measure of us; for whoso cannot have everything must needs pitch his choice, and he will pitch it as his nature is, high or low.
JAMES VILA BLAKE
Essays
Did it ever occur to you that you're so caught up in trying to make the right choice that you've never stopped to consider the possibility that there may not be a right choice, or a wrong choice, just a bunch of choices?
JACK McPHEE
"A Winter's Tale", Dawson's Cree
There is a time when we must firmly choose the course we will follow, or the relentless drift of events will make the decision.
HERBERT V. PROCHNOW
attributed, Wise Words and Quotes
I'm trying to free your mind ... but I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it.
MORPHEUS
The Matrix
Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
speech before the Virginia Democratic Association, Feb. 22, 1899
I believe the measure of a man isn't just the road he's traveled; it's the choices he's made along the way.
JOE BIDEN
acceptance speech, Aug. 27, 2008
The difficulty in life is the choice.
GEORGE MOORE
Bending of the Bough
The man who can't make a choice makes a choice.
KEN ALSTAD
Savvy Sayin's
When yu' can't have what you choose, yu' just choose what you have.
OWEN WISTER
The Virginian
The choosy sometimes get the dregs.
JAPANESE PROVERB
Understanding the power of choice is of infinite importance. We were created with the power of individuality, with the freedom to think and to act. Since humanity's creation, though, this freedom has been under attack. To some, freedom is a threat or problem that must be controlled. Freedom, these would say, is a nuisance that leads to trouble. Others, though, see this freedom or power as essential and have gone to great lengths to preserve it, even to the point of shedding their own blood in its defense. This freedom, the power of choice, is the issue of a great cosmic, universal controversy that has lasted for millennia. Even though incredible effort and resources have been devoted to eradicating this freedom, it has been preserved. Choice survives.
JIM ROY
Soul Shapers
Choice there is not, unless the thing which we take to be so is in our power, that we might have refused it. If the fire consume the stable, it choseth not so to do, because the nature thereof is such that it can do no other.
RICHARD HOOKER
Ecclesiastical Polity
Life is not made up of a single moment, it's made up of a gazillion moments. What defines us is the choice we make in the next moment, and the one after that.
HENRY SPENCER
"Murder?...Anyone?...Anyone?...Bueller?", Psych
To say you have no choice is to relieve yourself of responsibility.
PATRICK NESS
Monsters of Men
Stand at the crossroads if you will, but if you'll not choose, I'll move on without you.
JACQUELINE CAREY
Kushiel's Dart
There are moments in our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroads. Afraid. Confused. Without a roadmap. The choices we make in those moments can define the rest of our days.
LUCAS SCOTT
"Things I Forgot at Birth", One Tree Hill
You've got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you're not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice.
STEVEN D. WOODHULL
attributed, Quote Unquote
Any time choice is restricted in some way, there is bound to be someone, somewhere, who is deprived of the opportunity to pursue something of personal value.
BARRY SCHWARTZ
The Paradox of Choice
I have a theory that every time you make an important choice, the part of you left behind continues the other life you could have had.
JEANETTE WINTERSON
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit