--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reality confronts man with a great many…" description: "\"Reality confronts man with a great many musts, but all of them are conditional the formula of realistic necessity is You must, if and the if stands for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/613/ayn-rand-59_choices_reality-confronts-man-with-a-great-many_2658337.jpg" --- # Reality confronts man with a great many musts, but all of… ![“Reality confronts man with a great many musts, but all of them are conditional the formula of realistic necessity is You must, if and the if stands for man's choice” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/613/ayn-rand-59_choices_reality-confronts-man-with-a-great-many_2658337.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/613/ayn-rand-59_choices_reality-confronts-man-with-a-great-many_2658337.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/613/ayn-rand-59_choices_reality-confronts-man-with-a-great-many_2658337.jpg) > “Reality confronts man with a great many musts, but all of them are conditional the formula of realistic necessity is You must, if and the if stands for man's choice” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human choices are conditional; true necessity follows rational self‑interest and freedom. **In simple terms:** Choices are conditional; rational self‑interest guides. Key Takeaway Embrace rational freedom. Themes freedom choice necessity Mood analytical serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - business decisions - personal ethics - political policy Key Concepts objectivism rationalism Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize logic over feeling? - When is emotion a valid guide? A Different Perspective Rationality may ignore emotional needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Necessity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessity/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [The best thing, on 'Question Time,' is when the reality confronts the rhetoric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-bruce/the-best-thing-on-question-time-is-when-the-reality-confronts-the/) [Fiona Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-bruce/) > [There is nothing wrong in helping other people, if and when they are worthy of the help and you can afford to help them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-is-nothing-wrong-in-helping-other-people-if-and-when-they-are/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [My views on charity are very simple. I do not consider it a major virtue and, above all, I do not consider it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/my-views-on-charity-are-very-simple-i-do-not-consider-it-a-major/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The moral absolute should be: if and when, in any dispute, one side initiates the use of physical force, that side is wrong -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-moral-absolute-should-be-if-and-when-in-any-dispute-one-side/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [One should not as a rule reveal one's secrets, since one does not know if and when one may need them again. The essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/one-should-not-as-a-rule-reveal-one-s-secrets-since-one-does-not-know/) [Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/) > [Some communities will be abandoned, others will struggle along, others will split, others will flourish, gain members, and be duplicated elsewhere. Each community must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/some-communities-will-be-abandoned-others-will-struggle-along-others/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [Sometimes I think about dying. And then I wonder about going to hell. And then I think that if and when I go there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sheffield/sometimes-i-think-about-dying-and-then-i-wonder-about-going-to-hell/) [Charles Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sheffield/) > [If - and it can be in a movie or in a department store - I hear someone arguing with their child, I break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/if-and-it-can-be-in-a-movie-or-in-a-department-store-i-hear-someone/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [Two questions form the foundation of all novels: "What if?" and "What next?" (A third question, "What now?", is one the author asks himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/two-questions-form-the-foundation-of-all-novels-what-if-and-what-next/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [You are rich if and only if money you refuse tastes better than money you accept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/you-are-rich-if-and-only-if-money-you-refuse-tastes-better-than-money/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [If and when I decide to retire I want to perform. I want to be on the ice. I want to continue contributing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-abbott/if-and-when-i-decide-to-retire-i-want-to-perform-i-want-to-be-on-the/) [Jeremy Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-abbott/) > ["Compromise" means giving up more than the other side is big enough to take; if and when they have the muscle, they'll be back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-knox/compromise-means-giving-up-more-than-the-other-side-is-big-enough-to/) Neal Knox > [My philosophy is never start talking about 'if,' 'and,' 'but' or the past, because 90 percent of what follows will be negative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordie-howe/my-philosophy-is-never-start-talking-about-if-and-but-or-the-past/) [Gordie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordie-howe/) > [ I just have to deal with it \[injuries\] if and when problems happen. It's obviously a concern and I've been very careful with my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-james/i-just-have-to-deal-with-it-injuries-if-and-when-problems-happen-it-s/) [Greg James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-james/) > [There's no ifs and buts or maybes, you're gonna miss, you're gonna miss my loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-rawls/there-s-no-ifs-and-buts-or-maybes-you-re-gonna-miss-you-re-gonna-miss/) [Lou Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-rawls/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Choices quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) Alison James > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [Clarissa," he said, "here with the vampire, I see. When things have settled a bit, we really must discuss you choice in pets..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clarissa-he-said-here-with-the-vampire-i-see-when-things-have-settled/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [I don't know that any woman could ever not think about that at some point - even making the choice not to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/i-don-t-know-that-any-woman-could-ever-not-think-about-that-at-some/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Browse all 11,466 Choices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Reality confronts man with a great many musts, but all of them are conditional the formula of realistic necessity is You must, if and the if stands for man's choice", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ayn Rand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/reality-confronts-man-with-a-great-many-musts-but-all-of-them-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choices" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/reality-confronts-man-with-a-great-many-musts-but-all-of-them-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/613/ayn-rand-59_choices_reality-confronts-man-with-a-great-many_2658337.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/613/ayn-rand-59_choices_reality-confronts-man-with-a-great-many_2658337.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/613/ayn-rand-59_choices_reality-confronts-man-with-a-great-many_2658337.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Reality confronts man with a great many musts, but all of them are conditional the formula of realistic…” — Ayn Rand", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Ayn Rand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Reality confronts man with a great...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/reality-confronts-man-with-a-great-many-musts-but-all-of-them-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/reality-confronts-man-with-a-great-many-musts-but-all-of-them-are/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```