---
title: "3 Autonomy Quotes By Atul Gawande"
description: "3 Autonomy quotes by Atul Gawande. Plus more from Atul Gawande and more Autonomy sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/atul-gawande-1871_autonomy_the-value-of-autonomy-lies-in-the-scheme_2617106.jpg"
---

> [“The value of autonomy … lies in the scheme of responsibility it creates: autonomy makes each of us responsible for shaping his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/the-value-of-autonomy-lies-in-the-scheme-of-responsibility-it-creates/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/atul-gawande-1871_autonomy_the-value-of-autonomy-lies-in-the-scheme_2617106.jpg)

> [“We want autonomy for ourselves and safety for those we love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/we-want-autonomy-for-ourselves-and-safety-for-those-we-love/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/atul-gawande-1871_autonomy_we-want-autonomy-for-ourselves-and-safet_2889981.png)

> [“I am leery of suggesting the idea that endings are controllable. No one ever really has control. Physics and biology and accident…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/i-am-leery-of-suggesting-the-idea-that-endings-are-controllable-no/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/atul-gawande-1871_aging_i-am-leery-of-suggesting-the-idea-that-e_2943893.jpg)

## Other authors on Autonomy

- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b007/author-daniel-h-pink-26450.jpg) Daniel H. Pink 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/daniel-h-pink/)
- [Richie Norton 6 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/richie-norton/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-thom-mayne-90199.jpg) Thom Mayne 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/thom-mayne/)

## More by Atul Gawande

> [Don’t let yourself be. Find something new to try, something to change. Count how often it succeeds and how often it doesn’t. Write about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/don-t-let-yourself-be-find-something-new-to-try-something-to-change/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [“Wilson spent several days camped out in one government office after another until she had secured an exemption. Unbelievably, she and her husband cleared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/wilson-spent-several-days-camped-out-in-one-government-office-after/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [What is needed, however, isn't just that people working together be nice to each other. It is discipline. Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/what-is-needed-however-isn-t-just-that-people-working-together-be/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [“8. Chapter 4 describes the birth of the assisted-living facility concept (Park Place), designed by Keren Wilson to provide her disabled mother, Jessie, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/8-chapter-4-describes-the-birth-of-the-assisted-living-facility/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [When we lived in a society where we had large families that lived together, especially in agricultural societies like my grandfather and father grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/when-we-lived-in-a-society-where-we-had-large-families-that-lived/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [My biggest fear, that 27 percent of Americans under 65 have an existing health condition that, without the protections of the Affordable Care Act,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/my-biggest-fear-that-27-percent-of-americans-under-65-have-an/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [“..how we seek to spend our time may depend on how much time we perceive ourselves to have. When you are young and healthy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/how-we-seek-to-spend-our-time-may-depend-on-how-much-time-we-perceive/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [“I cannot pretend he escaped unscathed. The extended period of low blood pressure damaged an optic nerve and left him essentially blind in one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/i-cannot-pretend-he-escaped-unscathed-the-extended-period-of-low/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [The battle of being mortal is the battle to maintain the integrity of one’s life,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/the-battle-of-being-mortal-is-the-battle-to-maintain-the-integrity-of/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [“an average of $94,000 during the last year of life with a metastatic breast cancer. Our medical system is excellent at trying to stave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/an-average-of-94-000-during-the-last-year-of-life-with-a-metastatic/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [“we need practice to get good at what we do. There is one difference in medicine, though: it is people we practice upon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/we-need-practice-to-get-good-at-what-we-do-there-is-one-difference-in/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [People underestimate the importance of dilligence as a virtue. No doubt it has something to do with how supremely mundane it seems. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/people-underestimate-the-importance-of-dilligence-as-a-virtue-no/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [Developing a skill is painful, though. It is difficult. And that's part of the satisfaction. You will only find meaning in what you struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/developing-a-skill-is-painful-though-it-is-difficult-and-that-s-part/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [Just look at the list of who the lowest-paid people are. Pediatricians are at the bottom. You would also look at internists. You would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/just-look-at-the-list-of-who-the-lowest-paid-people-are-pediatricians/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [“When Felix came to this crossroads, the orthopedic shoe to drop wasn’t his. It was Bella’s. Year by year, I witnessed the progression in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/when-felix-came-to-this-crossroads-the-orthopedic-shoe-to-drop-wasn-t/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/atul-gawande/#itemlist",
            "name": "3 Autonomy Quotes By Atul Gawande",
            "numberOfItems": 3,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“The value of autonomy … lies in the scheme of responsibility it creates: autonomy makes each of us responsible for shaping his own life according to some coherent and distinctive sense of character, conviction, and interest. It allows us to lead our own lives rather than be led along them, so that each of us can be, to the extent such a scheme of rights can make this possible, what he has made himself.” All”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Atul Gawande"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/the-value-of-autonomy-lies-in-the-scheme-of-responsibility-it-creates/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/atul-gawande-1871_autonomy_the-value-of-autonomy-lies-in-the-scheme_2617106.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/atul-gawande-1871_autonomy_the-value-of-autonomy-lies-in-the-scheme_2617106.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/atul-gawande-1871_autonomy_the-value-of-autonomy-lies-in-the-scheme_2617106.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The value of autonomy … lies in the scheme of responsibility it creates: autonomy makes each of us…” — Atul Gawande",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“We want autonomy for ourselves and safety for those we love.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Atul Gawande"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/we-want-autonomy-for-ourselves-and-safety-for-those-we-love/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/atul-gawande-1871_autonomy_we-want-autonomy-for-ourselves-and-safet_2889981.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/atul-gawande-1871_autonomy_we-want-autonomy-for-ourselves-and-safet_2889981.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/atul-gawande-1871_autonomy_we-want-autonomy-for-ourselves-and-safet_2889981.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“We want autonomy for ourselves and safety for those we love.” — Atul Gawande",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“I am leery of suggesting the idea that endings are controllable. No one ever really has control. Physics and biology and accident ultimately have their way in our lives. But the point is that we are not helpless either. Courage is the strength to recognize both realities. We have room to act, to shape our stories, though as time goes on it is within narrower and narrower confines. A few conclusions become clear when we understand this: that our most cruel failure in how we treat the sick and the aged is the failure to recognize that they have priorities beyond merely being safe and living longer; that the chance to shape one’s story is essential to sustaining meaning in life; that we have the opportunity to refashion our institutions, our culture, and our conversations in ways that transform the possibilities for the last chapters of everyone’s lives.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Atul Gawande"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/i-am-leery-of-suggesting-the-idea-that-endings-are-controllable-no/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/atul-gawande-1871_aging_i-am-leery-of-suggesting-the-idea-that-e_2943893.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/atul-gawande-1871_aging_i-am-leery-of-suggesting-the-idea-that-e_2943893.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/atul-gawande-1871_aging_i-am-leery-of-suggesting-the-idea-that-e_2943893.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I am leery of suggesting the idea that endings are controllable. No one ever really has control. Physics and…” — Atul Gawande",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/atul-gawande/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/atul-gawande/",
            "name": "Autonomy Quotes by Atul Gawande",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/atul-gawande/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/atul-gawande-1871_autonomy_the-value-of-autonomy-lies-in-the-scheme_2617106.jpg"
            },
            "description": "3 Autonomy quotes by Atul Gawande. Plus more from Atul Gawande and more Autonomy sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/atul-gawande/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/atul-gawande/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Autonomy",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Atul Gawande",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/atul-gawande/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
