--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You get to consciously decide what has…" description: "\"You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't,\" — David Foster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/david-foster-21558_consciously_you-get-to-consciously-decide-what-has-m_2607167.jpg" --- # You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what… ![“You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't,” quote by David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/david-foster-21558_consciously_you-get-to-consciously-decide-what-has-m_2607167.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/david-foster-21558_consciously_you-get-to-consciously-decide-what-has-m_2607167.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/david-foster-21558_consciously_you-get-to-consciously-decide-what-has-m_2607167.jpg) > “You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't,” [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individuals choose what they deem meaningful. **In simple terms:** Meaning is a personal choice. Key Takeaway Define your own purpose. Themes meaning choice philosophy Mood thoughtful empowering Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - career planning - creative pursuits - spiritual practice - daily routines Key Concepts existentialism personal agency Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning? - How do you prioritize meaning? A Different Perspective Hard to find consensus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciously/) [Consciously Decide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciously-decide-844704/) [Decide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide/) [Decide Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide-meaning-1995949/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't. You get to decide what to worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/you-get-to-consciously-decide-what-has-meaning-and-what-doesn-t-you/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The first step, then, is to consciously decide every night to actively and mindfully create a positive expectation for the next morning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/the-first-step-then-is-to-consciously-decide-every-night-to-actively/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [“even though we developed most of our habits unconsciously (by modeling our parents, responding to environmental or cultural associations, or creating coping mechanisms), we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hardy/even-though-we-developed-most-of-our-habits-unconsciously-by-modeling/) [Darren Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hardy/) > [“But most days, if you’re aware enough to give yourself a choice, you can choose to look differently at this fat, dead-eyed, over-made-lady who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/but-most-days-if-you-re-aware-enough-to-give-yourself-a-choice-you-2/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“When the masses consciously decide to be unconscious, the masses decide to be annihilated by conscious will. And by the laws of the universe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sacredfire/when-the-masses-consciously-decide-to-be-unconscious-the-masses/) [Robin Sacredfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sacredfire/) > [“But most days, if you're aware enough to give yourself a choice, you can choose to look differently at this fat, dead-eyed, over-made-up lady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/but-most-days-if-you-re-aware-enough-to-give-yourself-a-choice-you/) [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/) > [People have to decide on priorities if they want to get anywhere. The best lessons I learned was to just do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/people-have-to-decide-on-priorities-if-they-want-to-get-anywhere-the/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“In life, everyone must decide in what area of life he or she wants to be great. You must choose what territory you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/in-life-everyone-must-decide-in-what-area-of-life-he-or-she-wants-to/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Meaning is not what happens, but what you do with what happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-fechtor/meaning-is-not-what-happens-but-what-you-do-with-what-happens/) [Jessica Fechtor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-fechtor/) > [“our sacrifice did have a meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/our-sacrifice-did-have-a-meaning/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Except for memory, time would have no meaning at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/except-for-memory-time-would-have-no-meaning-at-all/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [There is a grand design hidden behind the obstacles , they are inevitable in everybodys life, they are not without purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/there-is-a-grand-design-hidden-behind-the-obstacles-they-are/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [“Buy calmly and with meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/buy-calmly-and-with-meaning/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [When you find your purpose in life, nurture it and make it grow so that when you look back you will not regret living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-m/when-you-find-your-purpose-in-life-nurture-it-and-make-it-grow-so/) [Pamela M](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-m/) ## More by David Foster > [It is unimaginably hard to do this, to stay conscious and alive, day in and day out,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/it-is-unimaginably-hard-to-do-this-to-stay-conscious-and-alive-day-in/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [CPR to those elements of what’s human and magical that still live and glow despite the times’ darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/cpr-to-those-elements-of-what-s-human-and-magical-that-still-live-and/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [We all suffer alone in the real world; true empathy's impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/we-all-suffer-alone-in-the-real-world-true-empathy-s-impossible/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [I think that most of my romance comes out in my music. And if you look at my track record of three ex-wives, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/i-think-that-most-of-my-romance-comes-out-in-my-music-and-if-you-look/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [How totally banal of you to ask what I really mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/how-totally-banal-of-you-to-ask-what-i-really-mean/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [I've noticed that, while I can't help but respect and sort of envy the moral nerve of people who truly do not care what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/i-ve-noticed-that-while-i-can-t-help-but-respect-and-sort-of-envy-the/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [It seems like the big difference between good art and so-so art lies somewhere in the art's heart's purpose, the agenda of the consciousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/it-seems-like-the-big-difference-between-good-art-and-so-so-art-lies/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [Try to let what is unfair teach you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/try-to-let-what-is-unfair-teach-you/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [Ya' know, these days kids seem to be getting younger and younger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/ya-know-these-days-kids-seem-to-be-getting-younger-and-younger/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [I am uncompromising to the point of huge dissension in the studio. And it's served me very well. My theory and my philosophy is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/i-am-uncompromising-to-the-point-of-huge-dissension-in-the-studio-and/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [This is what the real, no bullshit value of your liberal arts education is supposed to be about: how to keep from going through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/this-is-what-the-real-no-bullshit-value-of-your-liberal-arts/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [I don’t really mean what I’m saying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/i-don-t-really-mean-what-i-m-saying/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [Blind certainty, a close-mindedness that amounts to an imprisonment so total that the prisoner doesn't even know he's locked up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/blind-certainty-a-close-mindedness-that-amounts-to-an-imprisonment-so/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [The really important kind of freedom involves being able truly to care about other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/the-really-important-kind-of-freedom-involves-being-able-truly-to/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [I told Celine Dion not to record that 'Titanic' song. That's about as big as you can get. 'Flashdance?' I thought, 'Welder by day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/i-told-celine-dion-not-to-record-that-titanic-song-that-s-about-as/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) [Explore all 29 David Foster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) ## More Consciously quotes > [“The only sure path is to live consciously, moment to moment, as you let go of the outcome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-kasl/the-only-sure-path-is-to-live-consciously-moment-to-moment-as-you-let/) [Charlotte Kasl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-kasl/) > [When you do not consciously relate to your body, your mind does not relate consciously to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/when-you-do-not-consciously-relate-to-your-body-your-mind-does-not/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [I think that our work and our music stands on its own without this knowledge about our identity around it. But I also think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hopkins/i-think-that-our-work-and-our-music-stands-on-its-own-without-this/) [Ben Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hopkins/) > [I never consciously set out to model myself after Upton Sinclair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/i-never-consciously-set-out-to-model-myself-after-upton-sinclair/) [Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/) > [Enlightenment doesn't mean you know anything. It doesn't mean you don't know anything. It means that you've returned to the source, consciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightenment-doesn-t-mean-you-know-anything-it-doesn-t-mean-you-don/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Consciously or subconsciously, we become slaves to debt and social obligation. As a result, we end up more committed to the minutia and less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romany-malco/consciously-or-subconsciously-we-become-slaves-to-debt-and-social/) [Romany Malco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romany-malco/) > [“Something in us recognizes magic when we encounter it. Whether we believe in it consciously or not. It affects us and the choices we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffe-kennedy/something-in-us-recognizes-magic-when-we-encounter-it-whether-we/) [Jeffe Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffe-kennedy/) > [“When you consciously choose to do what you love, life becomes a pleasure and ceases to be a chore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-mercree/when-you-consciously-choose-to-do-what-you-love-life-becomes-a/) [Amy Leigh Mercree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-leigh-mercree/) > [It is often tragic to see how blatantly a man bungles his own life and the lives of others yet remains totally incapable of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-often-tragic-to-see-how-blatantly-a-man-bungles-his-own-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Whatever we become in life we either "let happen" or we consciously CREATE to be. One puts you in a VICTIM pit, the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-mitchell/whatever-we-become-in-life-we-either-let-happen-or-we-consciously/) [Tina Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-mitchell/) > [I am consciously selective of the work that I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mithila-palkar/i-am-consciously-selective-of-the-work-that-i-do/) [Mithila Palkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mithila-palkar/) > [“The Matrix can feel like a pretty hopeless place. I get that. Nobody in his or her right mind (a tiny minority, admittedly) wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-matrix-can-feel-like-a-pretty-hopeless-place-i-get-that-nobody-in/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [It is important for us consciously to say, or claim, only the things we want rather than what we do not want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-l-johnson/it-is-important-for-us-consciously-to-say-or-claim-only-the-things-we/) [Darren L Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-l-johnson/) > [“YOU are becoming a new species. The vibrations in and around you are increasing in speed. YOU are all adjusting to these higher dimensional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-seiler/you-are-becoming-a-new-species-the-vibrations-in-and-around-you-are/) [Elaine Seiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-seiler/) > [“We need to learn how to live consciously and, trusting ourselves, purposefully on that inevitable balance point between form and emptiness, relative and absolute,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/we-need-to-learn-how-to-live-consciously-and-trusting-ourselves/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) [Browse all 197 Consciously quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciously/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't,", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Foster" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/you-get-to-consciously-decide-what-has-meaning-and-what-doesn-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Consciously" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/you-get-to-consciously-decide-what-has-meaning-and-what-doesn-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/david-foster-21558_consciously_you-get-to-consciously-decide-what-has-m_2607167.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/david-foster-21558_consciously_you-get-to-consciously-decide-what-has-m_2607167.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/david-foster-21558_consciously_you-get-to-consciously-decide-what-has-m_2607167.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't,” — David Foster", "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", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You get to consciously decide what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/you-get-to-consciously-decide-what-has-meaning-and-what-doesn-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/you-get-to-consciously-decide-what-has-meaning-and-what-doesn-t/#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 } } ] } ```