--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is the acceptance of…" description: "\"Life is the acceptance of responsibilities or their evasion; it is a business of meeting obligations or avoiding them. To every man the choice is conti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/000/ben-ames-williams-87797_acceptance_life-is-the-acceptance-of-responsibiliti_2785345.png" --- # Life is the acceptance of responsibilities or their… ![“Life is the acceptance of responsibilities or their evasion; it is a business of meeting obligations or avoiding them. To every man the choice is continually being offered, and by the manner of his choosing you may fairly measure him.” quote by Ben Ames Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/000/ben-ames-williams-87797_acceptance_life-is-the-acceptance-of-responsibiliti_2785345.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/000/ben-ames-williams-87797_acceptance_life-is-the-acceptance-of-responsibiliti_2785345.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/000/ben-ames-williams-87797_acceptance_life-is-the-acceptance-of-responsibiliti_2785345.png) > “Life is the acceptance of responsibilities or their evasion; it is a business of meeting obligations or avoiding them. To every man the choice is continually being offered, and by the manner of his choosing you may fairly measure him.” Ben Ames Williams ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is choosing responsibility or evasion; choices reveal character. **In simple terms:** Responsibility defines you. Key Takeaway Own your choices. Themes responsibility character choice Mood reflective serious Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - career decisions - family duties - civic engagement Key Concepts ethics personal accountability Questions to Reflect On - What responsibility are you avoiding? - How does facing it change you? A Different Perspective Evasion can be tempting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acceptance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptance/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Acceptance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-acceptance/) [Life changing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-changing/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [A big part of life is acceptance of your situation, whatever it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-carlisle/a-big-part-of-life-is-acceptance-of-your-situation-whatever-it-is/) [Rick Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-carlisle/) > [“Among the most important personal choices you can make is to accept complete responsibility for everything you are and everything you will ever be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/among-the-most-important-personal-choices-you-can-make-is-to-accept/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Life is never full of acceptance of respect, and people have to deal with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saaif-alam/life-is-never-full-of-acceptance-of-respect-and-people-have-to-deal/) [Saaif Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saaif-alam/) > [“Life is full of acceptance and rejection. Unfortunately, many of us focus on the rejection. Yoga tells us it’s more useful to practice swaha,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-saidman-yee/life-is-full-of-acceptance-and-rejection-unfortunately-many-of-us/) Colleen Saidman Yee > [“Acceptance is the most beautiful word in any language; this beautiful concept can only exist when you allow other people to be who they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/acceptance-is-the-most-beautiful-word-in-any-language-this-beautiful/) [David W. Earle LPC- Love is Not Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/) > [“Through each crisis in my life, with acceptance and hope, in a single defining moment, I finally gained the courage to do things differently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-e-rainey/through-each-crisis-in-my-life-with-acceptance-and-hope-in-a-single/) [Sharon E. Rainey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-e-rainey/) > [Meditation is acceptance. It is the acceptance of life within us, without us and all around us. Acceptance of life is the beginning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/meditation-is-acceptance-it-is-the-acceptance-of-life-within-us/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [The primary joy of life is acceptance, approval, the sense of appreciation and companionship of our human comrades. Many men do not understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-l-liebman/the-primary-joy-of-life-is-acceptance-approval-the-sense-of/) [Joshua L. Liebman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-l-liebman/) > [“There’s no old life versus new life. There is simply my life. Acceptance really is a wonderful thing. Allowing me to let go of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-toppen/there-s-no-old-life-versus-new-life-there-is-simply-my-life/) [Melissa Toppen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-toppen/) > [Man has been called a rational being, but rationality is a matter of choice... Man has to be a man-by choice; he has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/man-has-been-called-a-rational-being-but-rationality-is-a-matter-of/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“The will of God or the lunacy of man - it seemed to him that you could take your choice, if you wanted a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/the-will-of-god-or-the-lunacy-of-man-it-seemed-to-him-that-you-could/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [You are male by birth, but man by choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-male-by-birth-but-man-by-choice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man has no choice but to love. For when he does not, he finds his alternatives lie in loneliness, destruction and despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/man-has-no-choice-but-to-love-for-when-he-does-not-he-finds-his/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [To whatever degree he may have desacralized the world, the man who has made his choice in favor of a profane life never succeeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-eliade/to-whatever-degree-he-may-have-desacralized-the-world-the-man-who-has/) [Mircea Eliade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-eliade/) > [“A choice tells the world what is most important to a human being. When a man has a choice to make he chooses what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/a-choice-tells-the-world-what-is-most-important-to-a-human-being-when/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) ## More by Ben Ames Williams > [A dog does not live as long as a man and this natural law is the fount of many tears. If boy and puppy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-ames-williams/a-dog-does-not-live-as-long-as-a-man-and-this-natural-law-is-the/) Ben Ames Williams > [An author never has a vacation. He's a walking sponge, sopping up impressions till he's saturated, then going to his desk and squeezing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-ames-williams/an-author-never-has-a-vacation-he-s-a-walking-sponge-sopping-up/) Ben Ames Williams Explore all 3 Ben Ames Williams quotes ## More Acceptance quotes > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When one fib becomes due as it were, you must forge another to take up the old acceptance; and so the stock of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/when-one-fib-becomes-due-as-it-were-you-must-forge-another-to-take-up/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Acceptance of death when it arrives is one thing, but to allow it to upstage the joys of living is ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-blythe/acceptance-of-death-when-it-arrives-is-one-thing-but-to-allow-it-to/) [Ronald Blythe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-blythe/) > [“Loving someone who does not love you back hurts, alot, i know. It is liking seeing these pair of shoes at the retail store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomthandazo-tsembeni/loving-someone-who-does-not-love-you-back-hurts-alot-i-know-it-is/) [Nomthandazo Tsembeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomthandazo-tsembeni/) > [Take responsibily for your past, the bad memories of poor decisions you took were your choices once, and you liked them for the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marvin/take-responsibily-for-your-past-the-bad-memories-of-poor-decisions/) [Aruho Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aruho-marvin/) > [Let us learn to accept and appreciate things now, and we'll find more happiness in every moment we live. Happiness comes when we stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/let-us-learn-to-accept-and-appreciate-things-now-and-we-ll-find-more/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [“Love first; ask questions later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-courtney/love-first-ask-questions-later/) [Jeremy Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-courtney/) > [“There was beauty in chaos, she'd just never known it before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-linsmeier/there-was-beauty-in-chaos-she-d-just-never-known-it-before/) [Amanda Linsmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-linsmeier/) > [Accepting the challenges in life makes it interesting and overcoming them makes it eloquent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/accepting-the-challenges-in-life-makes-it-interesting-and-overcoming/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Acceptance is the only thing you should teach. Be it Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Dalit, you must inculcate acceptance, not tolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-haasan/acceptance-is-the-only-thing-you-should-teach-be-it-christian-muslim/) [Kamal Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-haasan/) > [There just seems to be more acceptance now of other kinds of British films, than the picture-postcard ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/there-just-seems-to-be-more-acceptance-now-of-other-kinds-of-british/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) > [You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 3,960 Acceptance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life is the acceptance of responsibilities or their evasion; it is a business of meeting obligations or avoiding them. 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