--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How is there freedom to choose if one…" description: "\"“How is there freedom to choose if one does not learn how to choose?”\" — David Foster Wallace" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/david-foster-wallace-161_education_how-is-there-freedom-to-choose-if-one-do_1782466.jpg" --- # How is there freedom to choose if one does not learn how… ![“How is there freedom to choose if one does not learn how to choose?” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/david-foster-wallace-161_education_how-is-there-freedom-to-choose-if-one-do_1782466.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/david-foster-wallace-161_education_how-is-there-freedom-to-choose-if-one-do_1782466.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/david-foster-wallace-161_education_how-is-there-freedom-to-choose-if-one-do_1782466.jpg) > ““How is there freedom to choose if one does not learn how to choose?”” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom requires learning how to make choices; without skill, freedom is illusory. **In simple terms:** You must learn to choose to be truly free. Key Takeaway Practice decision‑making. Themes freedom choice learning Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - education - career planning - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts autonomy responsibility skill development Questions to Reflect On - What choices have you avoided? - How does skill affect your sense of freedom? A Different Perspective Learning to choose can be overwhelming and paralyzing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom to choose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-to-choose/) ## Related quotes > [“But someone sometime let you forget how to choose, and what. Someone let your peoples forget it was the only thing of importance, choosing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/but-someone-sometime-let-you-forget-how-to-choose-and-what-someone/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Man's last freedom is his freedom to choose how he will react in any given situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/man-s-last-freedom-is-his-freedom-to-choose-how-he-will-react-in-any/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [I have the freedom to choose the roles I want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/i-have-the-freedom-to-choose-the-roles-i-want/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [Feminism for me is the freedom to choose, to live the way a woman wants to and to make this world a better place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neeti-mohan/feminism-for-me-is-the-freedom-to-choose-to-live-the-way-a-woman/) [Neeti Mohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neeti-mohan/) > [The more decisions that you are forced to make alone, the more you are aware of your freedom to choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-more-decisions-that-you-are-forced-to-make-alone-the-more-you-are/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Our most powerful asset in life is the ability to make choices for ourselves. This freedom to choose, we must conquer fiercely, cherish dearly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/our-most-powerful-asset-in-life-is-the-ability-to-make-choices-for/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“You have your soul—what Frankl called the last of the human freedoms, the freedom to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/you-have-your-soul-what-frankl-called-the-last-of-the-human-freedoms/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [It must be obvious that liberty necessarily means freedom to choose foolishly as well as wisely; freedom to choose evil as well as good;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-moreell/it-must-be-obvious-that-liberty-necessarily-means-freedom-to-choose/) Ben Moreell > [“Can you allow the thought to emerge in the mind when you arise in the morning: “I need do nothing. I don’t have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanti-christo-foundation/can-you-allow-the-thought-to-emerge-in-the-mind-when-you-arise-in-the/) [Shanti Christo Foundation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanti-christo-foundation/) > [We wanted the freedom to love. We wanted the freedom to choose. Now we have to fight for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-wanted-the-freedom-to-love-we-wanted-the-freedom-to-choose-now-we/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Having grown up in Bombay, from the day youre born, you have absolute freedom to choose who you want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freida-pinto/having-grown-up-in-bombay-from-the-day-youre-born-you-have-absolute/) [Freida Pinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freida-pinto/) > [“Love is not about being with the person you love. It's about giving them the freedom to choose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/notjustarandomgirl/love-is-not-about-being-with-the-person-you-love-it-s-about-giving/) Notjustarandomgirl > [“Yoga gives you the freedom to choose, but it does not guarantee you will choose freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/yoga-gives-you-the-freedom-to-choose-but-it-does-not-guarantee-you/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/having-the-freedom-to-read-and-the-freedom-to-choose-is-one-of-the/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [I do not believe we are all created equal. Physical and emotional differences, parental guidance, varying environments, being in the right place at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-believe-we-are-all-created-equal-physical-and-emotional/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-all-have-our-little-solipsistic-delusions-ghastly-intuitions-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The paradoxical intercourse of audience and celebrity. The suppressed awareness that the whole reason ordinary people found celebrity fascinating was that they were not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-paradoxical-intercourse-of-audience-and-celebrity-the-suppressed/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“I am coming to see that the sensation of the worst nightmares, a sensation that can be felt asleep or awake, is identical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-am-coming-to-see-that-the-sensation-of-the-worst-nightmares-a/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“He cranks the condo’s AC way down at night and still most mornings wakes up soaked, fetally curled, entombed in that kind of psychic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/he-cranks-the-condo-s-ac-way-down-at-night-and-still-most-mornings/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. 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If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-be-in-a-word-unborable-it-is-the-key-to-modern-life-if-you-are/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It is within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-is-within-your-power-to-experience-a-crowded-loud-slow-consumer/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The happy pleasure of the person alone, yes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-happy-pleasure-of-the-person-alone-yes/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [There is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-such-a-thing-as-raw-unalloyed-agendaless-kindness/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) [Explore all 999 David Foster Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## More Choose quotes > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [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/) > [If somebody asks me to choose a biopic, it would be Narain Karthikeyan because I love racing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naga-chaitanya/if-somebody-asks-me-to-choose-a-biopic-it-would-be-narain-karthikeyan/) [Naga Chaitanya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naga-chaitanya/) > [“Either you soften your ego, or the world will do it for you. Choose!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-mccoy/either-you-soften-your-ego-or-the-world-will-do-it-for-you-choose/) [Bert McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-mccoy/) > [I'm aware of who I am and I'm comfortable with who I choose to date.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shibani-dandekar/i-m-aware-of-who-i-am-and-i-m-comfortable-with-who-i-choose-to-date/) [Shibani Dandekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shibani-dandekar/) > [No actor wants to choose - they just want all of the options available to them all the time; we tend to be pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/no-actor-wants-to-choose-they-just-want-all-of-the-options-available/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [If you choose to work at a larger company over a smaller company, you are more likely to be higher paid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-sweet/if-you-choose-to-work-at-a-larger-company-over-a-smaller-company-you/) [Julie Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-sweet/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [It's only a thought and a thought can be changed. Choose good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/it-s-only-a-thought-and-a-thought-can-be-changed-choose-good-ones/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime...so you gotta choose who is good for you! Be wise, be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-come-into-your-life-for-a-reason-a-season-or-a-lifetime-so-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not opposed - we manufacture a lot of socks in North Carolina - I just choose not to wear them. It's a Southern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-burr/i-m-not-opposed-we-manufacture-a-lot-of-socks-in-north-carolina-i/) [Richard Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-burr/) > [Having too many options is bad. I want one person, just one. Not a whole bunch to choose from,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roderickthefirst/having-too-many-options-is-bad-i-want-one-person-just-one-not-a-whole/) RoderickTheFirst > [If I could be anyone, I'd choose the lead singer of Arcade Fire, Win Butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-kardashian/if-i-could-be-anyone-i-d-choose-the-lead-singer-of-arcade-fire-win/) [Rob Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-kardashian/) > [People are as happy as they choose to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/people-are-as-happy-as-they-choose-to-be/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) Browse all 3,851 Choose quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How is there freedom to choose if one does not learn how to choose?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Foster Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/how-is-there-freedom-to-choose-if-one-does-not-learn-how-to-choose/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choose" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/how-is-there-freedom-to-choose-if-one-does-not-learn-how-to-choose/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/david-foster-wallace-161_education_how-is-there-freedom-to-choose-if-one-do_1782466.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/david-foster-wallace-161_education_how-is-there-freedom-to-choose-if-one-do_1782466.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/david-foster-wallace-161_education_how-is-there-freedom-to-choose-if-one-do_1782466.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How is there freedom to choose if one does not learn how to choose?” — David Foster Wallace", "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": "David Foster Wallace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“How is there freedom to choose...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/how-is-there-freedom-to-choose-if-one-does-not-learn-how-to-choose/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/how-is-there-freedom-to-choose-if-one-does-not-learn-how-to-choose/#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 } } ] } ```