---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Respectfully, sir, the asteroid did not…"
description: "\"“Respectfully, sir, the asteroid did not make you leave her. The asteroid is not making anyone do anything. It's just a big piece of rock floating thro..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/ben-h-winters-14454_asteroid_respectfully-sir-the-asteroid-did-not-ma_2462224.png"
---

#  Respectfully, sir, the asteroid did not make you leave…

![“Respectfully, sir, the asteroid did not make you leave her. The asteroid is not making anyone do anything. It's just a big piece of rock floating through space. Anything anyone does remains their own decision.” quote by Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/ben-h-winters-14454_asteroid_respectfully-sir-the-asteroid-did-not-ma_2462224.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/ben-h-winters-14454_asteroid_respectfully-sir-the-asteroid-did-not-ma_2462224.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/ben-h-winters-14454_asteroid_respectfully-sir-the-asteroid-did-not-ma_2462224.png)

> ““Respectfully, sir, the asteroid did not make you leave her. The asteroid is not making anyone do anything. It's just a big piece of rock floating through space. Anything anyone does remains their own decision.””

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People are responsible for their own choices; external forces cannot dictate actions.

**In simple terms:** You decide your actions, not the asteroid.

Key Takeaway

Own your decisions.

Themes

responsibility free will agency

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- career choices
- ethical dilemmas

Key Concepts

determinism autonomy

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you distinguish internal desire from external pressure?
- What role does accountability play in your life?

A Different Perspective

Decisions are still influenced by social pressure.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Asteroid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asteroid/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/)

## Related quotes

> [“He's weeping, his face dissolving in his hands. It's exhausting. People hiding behind the asteroid, like it's an excuse for poor conduct, for miserable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/he-s-weeping-his-face-dissolving-in-his-hands-it-s-exhausting-people/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [It's much more likely that an asteroid will strike the Earth and annihilate life as we know it than AI will turn evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oren-etzioni/it-s-much-more-likely-that-an-asteroid-will-strike-the-earth-and/)

[Oren Etzioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oren-etzioni/)

> [What happens if a big asteroid hits Earth ? Judging from realistic simulations involving a sledge hammer and a common laboratory frog, we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-happens-if-a-big-asteroid-hits-earth-judging-from-realistic/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If we found a hazardous asteroid, we could nudge it out of the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/if-we-found-a-hazardous-asteroid-we-could-nudge-it-out-of-the-way/)

[Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/)

> [ Imagine a giant asteroid on a direct collision course with Earth. That is the equivalent of what we face now \[with climate change\], yet… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/imagine-a-giant-asteroid-on-a-direct-collision-course-with-earth-that/)

[James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/)

> [I've seen Australia and I've lived on an asteroid and I'd take the asteroid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-ve-seen-australia-and-i-ve-lived-on-an-asteroid-and-i-d-take-the/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [Lots of science fiction deals with distant times and places. Intrepid prospectors in the Asteroid Belt. Interstellar epics. Galactic empires. Trips to the remote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/lots-of-science-fiction-deals-with-distant-times-and-places-intrepid/)

[Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/)

> [And you know, talk about something else is falling from the sky. And that is an asteroid. What's coming our way? Is this an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-feyerick/and-you-know-talk-about-something-else-is-falling-from-the-sky-and/)

Deborah Feyerick

> [“50 light years from Earth, there is a 2,600-mile-long asteroid made of diamond.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bathroom-readers-institute/50-light-years-from-earth-there-is-a-2-600-mile-long-asteroid-made-of/)

[Bathroom Readers' Institute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bathroom-readers-institute/)

> [Back in the day, I've heard, particularly with the near-Earth asteroids, there were some asteroid hunters that knew the names of every one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/back-in-the-day-i-ve-heard-particularly-with-the-near-earth-asteroids/)

[Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/)

> [I only hope that we shall not wait to adopt the program until after our astronomers have reported a new and unsuspected asteroid moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/i-only-hope-that-we-shall-not-wait-to-adopt-the-program-until-after/)

[Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/)

> [An asteroid impact in the worst case scenario is a terrifying thing. It seems very uncontrollable: in popular culture, it's often a metaphor for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/an-asteroid-impact-in-the-worst-case-scenario-is-a-terrifying-thing/)

[Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/)

> [“The world’s refusal to leave me out of its activities made me consider its destruction. Bring on the wave. Please, the asteroid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/the-world-s-refusal-to-leave-me-out-of-its-activities-made-me/)

[Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/)

> [There are all these interesting rules about asteroid nomenclature. Once you discover it, you have the right to name it, but there's a catch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/there-are-all-these-interesting-rules-about-asteroid-nomenclature/)

[Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/)

> [I don't want to be the embarrassment of the galaxy to have had the power to deflect an asteroid, and then not and end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-be-the-embarrassment-of-the-galaxy-to-have-had-the/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

## More by Ben H. Winters

> [It is part of what makes America great. That tradition of the free press, and also the tradition of this highly competitive market for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/it-is-part-of-what-makes-america-great-that-tradition-of-the-free/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [“and no more real Dunkin’ Donuts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/and-no-more-real-dunkin-donuts/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [Fiction has this special power. It has a power to clarify, to galvanize, to prophesy, and warn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/fiction-has-this-special-power-it-has-a-power-to-clarify-to-galvanize/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [“every choice forecloses on other choices; each step forward leaves a thousand dead possible universes behind you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/every-choice-forecloses-on-other-choices-each-step-forward-leaves-a/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [I think that one thing fiction can offer, and must offer, is a place where someone's mind and their imagination can come to rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/i-think-that-one-thing-fiction-can-offer-and-must-offer-is-a-place/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [It is really something, the extent to which we allow ourselves to live without thinking of things that we know, in the abstract, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/it-is-really-something-the-extent-to-which-we-allow-ourselves-to-live/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [That one lesson that African American communities have learned over the centuries in America is that you can't just take for granted that things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/that-one-lesson-that-african-american-communities-have-learned-over/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [A pool of melancholy blooms in my chest and rushes into my body like deep-blue blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/a-pool-of-melancholy-blooms-in-my-chest-and-rushes-into-my-body-like/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [“The perseverance in this world, despite it all, of things done right. Carefully”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/the-perseverance-in-this-world-despite-it-all-of-things-done-right/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [In terms of optimism, I am optimistic. I do think that, in the long term, that America will right itself. I have to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/in-terms-of-optimism-i-am-optimistic-i-do-think-that-in-the-long-term/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [“would strap you, hands and feet, to a machine, turn a wheel to make you talk. Or even not to, just to watch you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/would-strap-you-hands-and-feet-to-a-machine-turn-a-wheel-to-make-you/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [ Here in America we have a man \[Donald Trump\] who is a master of a medium that is all about self-aggrandizement and/or cruelty to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/here-in-america-we-have-a-man-donald-trump-who-is-a-master-of-a/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [We spend so much time, these days, on forms of literature that don't rise to be literature, and I'm speaking about Twitter posts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/we-spend-so-much-time-these-days-on-forms-of-literature-that-don-t/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [“He books it into that little playground there. I mean the guy is zooming like the Road Runner, skidding through the gravel and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/he-books-it-into-that-little-playground-there-i-mean-the-guy-is/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

> [“She was reserved and cold, as if having been stolen from her native village in a burlap sack and made to be servant and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/she-was-reserved-and-cold-as-if-having-been-stolen-from-her-native/)

[Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

[Explore all 46 Ben H. Winters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/)

## More Asteroid quotes

> [I don't want to be the embarrassment of the galaxy to have had the power to deflect an asteroid, and then not and end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-be-the-embarrassment-of-the-galaxy-to-have-had-the/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [There are all these interesting rules about asteroid nomenclature. Once you discover it, you have the right to name it, but there's a catch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/there-are-all-these-interesting-rules-about-asteroid-nomenclature/)

[Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/)

> [“The world’s refusal to leave me out of its activities made me consider its destruction. Bring on the wave. Please, the asteroid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/the-world-s-refusal-to-leave-me-out-of-its-activities-made-me/)

[Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/)

> [An asteroid impact in the worst case scenario is a terrifying thing. It seems very uncontrollable: in popular culture, it's often a metaphor for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/an-asteroid-impact-in-the-worst-case-scenario-is-a-terrifying-thing/)

[Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/)

> [I only hope that we shall not wait to adopt the program until after our astronomers have reported a new and unsuspected asteroid moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/i-only-hope-that-we-shall-not-wait-to-adopt-the-program-until-after/)

[Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/)

> [Back in the day, I've heard, particularly with the near-Earth asteroids, there were some asteroid hunters that knew the names of every one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/back-in-the-day-i-ve-heard-particularly-with-the-near-earth-asteroids/)

[Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/)

> [“50 light years from Earth, there is a 2,600-mile-long asteroid made of diamond.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bathroom-readers-institute/50-light-years-from-earth-there-is-a-2-600-mile-long-asteroid-made-of/)

[Bathroom Readers' Institute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bathroom-readers-institute/)

> [And you know, talk about something else is falling from the sky. And that is an asteroid. What's coming our way? Is this an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-feyerick/and-you-know-talk-about-something-else-is-falling-from-the-sky-and/)

Deborah Feyerick

> [Lots of science fiction deals with distant times and places. Intrepid prospectors in the Asteroid Belt. Interstellar epics. Galactic empires. Trips to the remote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/lots-of-science-fiction-deals-with-distant-times-and-places-intrepid/)

[Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/)

> [I've seen Australia and I've lived on an asteroid and I'd take the asteroid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-ve-seen-australia-and-i-ve-lived-on-an-asteroid-and-i-d-take-the/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [ Imagine a giant asteroid on a direct collision course with Earth. That is the equivalent of what we face now \[with climate change\], yet… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/imagine-a-giant-asteroid-on-a-direct-collision-course-with-earth-that/)

[James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/)

> [If we found a hazardous asteroid, we could nudge it out of the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/if-we-found-a-hazardous-asteroid-we-could-nudge-it-out-of-the-way/)

[Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/)

> [What happens if a big asteroid hits Earth ? Judging from realistic simulations involving a sledge hammer and a common laboratory frog, we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-happens-if-a-big-asteroid-hits-earth-judging-from-realistic/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It's much more likely that an asteroid will strike the Earth and annihilate life as we know it than AI will turn evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oren-etzioni/it-s-much-more-likely-that-an-asteroid-will-strike-the-earth-and/)

[Oren Etzioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oren-etzioni/)

> [“Outside the port, the slashed rock of the unnamed asteroid tumbled and spun in dynamics known only to the gods of chaos mathematics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/outside-the-port-the-slashed-rock-of-the-unnamed-asteroid-tumbled-and/)

[Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/)

[Browse all 53 Asteroid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asteroid/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Respectfully, sir, the asteroid did not make you leave her. The asteroid is not making anyone do anything. It's just a big piece of rock floating through space. Anything anyone does remains their own decision.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ben H. Winters"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/respectfully-sir-the-asteroid-did-not-make-you-leave-her-the-asteroid/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Asteroid"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/respectfully-sir-the-asteroid-did-not-make-you-leave-her-the-asteroid/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/ben-h-winters-14454_asteroid_respectfully-sir-the-asteroid-did-not-ma_2462224.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/ben-h-winters-14454_asteroid_respectfully-sir-the-asteroid-did-not-ma_2462224.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/ben-h-winters-14454_asteroid_respectfully-sir-the-asteroid-did-not-ma_2462224.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Respectfully, sir, the asteroid did not make you leave her. The asteroid is not making anyone do anything…” — Ben H. Winters",
                "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": "Ben H. Winters",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Respectfully, sir, the asteroid did not...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/respectfully-sir-the-asteroid-did-not-make-you-leave-her-the-asteroid/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/respectfully-sir-the-asteroid-did-not-make-you-leave-her-the-asteroid/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```