--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Belief, like fear or love, is a force to…" description: "\"“Belief, like fear or love, is a force to be understood as we understand the theory of relativity and principals of uncertainty. Phenomena that determi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/david-mitchell-264_faith_belief-like-fear-or-love-is-a-force-to-b_1503549.jpg" --- # Belief, like fear or love, is a force to be understood as… ![“Belief, like fear or love, is a force to be understood as we understand the theory of relativity and principals of uncertainty. Phenomena that determine the course of our lives. Yesterday, my life was headed in one direction. Today, it is headed in another. Yesterday, I believe I would never have…” quote by David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/david-mitchell-264_faith_belief-like-fear-or-love-is-a-force-to-b_1503549.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/david-mitchell-264_faith_belief-like-fear-or-love-is-a-force-to-b_1503549.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/david-mitchell-264_faith_belief-like-fear-or-love-is-a-force-to-b_1503549.jpg) > ““Belief, like fear or love, is a force to be understood as we understand the theory of relativity and principals of uncertainty. Phenomena that determine the course of our lives. Yesterday, my life was headed in one direction. Today, it is headed in another. Yesterday, I believe I would never have done what I did today. These forces that often remake time and space, that can shape and alter who we imagine ourselves to be, begin long before we are born and continue after we perish. Our lives and our choices, like quantum trajectories, are understood moment to moment. That each point of intersection, each encounter, suggest a new potential direction. Proposition, I have fallen in love with Luisa Rey. Is this possible? I just met her and yet, I feel like something important has happened to me.”” [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beliefs, fears, and love act like physical forces shaping our lives, similar to quantum trajectories, influencing choices before birth and after death. **In simple terms:** Our inner forces guide life paths like unseen physics. Key Takeaway Recognize and reflect on the unseen forces shaping decisions. Themes philosophy psychology quantum metaphor Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - relationships - self‑discovery Key Concepts free will determinism personal destiny Questions to Reflect On - What unseen forces drive your major life choices? - Can love be understood as a physical force? A Different Perspective Complex metaphors can obscure practical insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Time and space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-and-space/) [Uncertainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertainty/) ## Related quotes > [The life-force may be the least understood force on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/the-life-force-may-be-the-least-understood-force-on-earth/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [“I have learned never to underestimate the capacity of the human mind and body to regenerate -- even when prospects seem most wretched. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/i-have-learned-never-to-underestimate-the-capacity-of-the-human-mind/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [I have learned never to underestimate the capacity of the human mind and body to regenerate - even when prospects seem most wretched. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/i-have-learned-never-to-underestimate-the-capacity-of-the-human-mind-2/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [“Belief is like that, a circle, and often I find that the seemingly simplistic explanations from childhood for the unexplainable have merit, maybe more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-a-washburn/belief-is-like-that-a-circle-and-often-i-find-that-the-seemingly/) Frances A. Washburn > [The only way to store information is by agreement. The belief system is like a Book of Law that rules our mind. Our biggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/the-only-way-to-store-information-is-by-agreement-the-belief-system/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [“A limiting belief is practically invisible to us – it hides in habit and custom and mores. It is the way we live. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-armstrong/a-limiting-belief-is-practically-invisible-to-us-it-hides-in-habit/) [Linda Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-armstrong/) > [Belief is like plastic flowers, which look like flowers from far away. Trust is real rose. It has roots, and roots go deep into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/belief-is-like-plastic-flowers-which-look-like-flowers-from-far-away/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Belief is a very peculiar thing: we tend to put more store in a belief we like than a fact we hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-tobolowsky/belief-is-a-very-peculiar-thing-we-tend-to-put-more-store-in-a-belief/) [Stephen Tobolowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-tobolowsky/) > [I think belief is like having the first Microsoft Windows - it's so rudimentary, in the human brainwork, it's so obviously a sham.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-everett/i-think-belief-is-like-having-the-first-microsoft-windows-it-s-so/) [Rupert Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-everett/) > [An old belief is like an old shoe. We so value its comfort that we fail to notice the hole in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/an-old-belief-is-like-an-old-shoe-we-so-value-its-comfort-that-we/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Saying atheism is a belief system is like saying not going skiing is a hobby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/saying-atheism-is-a-belief-system-is-like-saying-not-going-skiing-is/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [A belief is like a guillotine, just as heavy, just as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-belief-is-like-a-guillotine-just-as-heavy-just-as-light/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have a very strong belief in what I like, or a very strong opinion in genre films that I like to watch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-stahelski/i-have-a-very-strong-belief-in-what-i-like-or-a-very-strong-opinion/) [Chad Stahelski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-stahelski/) > [The right belief is like a good cloak, I think. If it fits you well, it keeps you warm and safe. The wrong fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/the-right-belief-is-like-a-good-cloak-i-think-if-it-fits-you-well-it/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Belief, like love, must be voluntary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/belief-like-love-must-be-voluntary/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More by David Mitchell > [“In the next room a freckly girl Julia's age sat in a wheelchair. One of her legs wasn't there. She'd probably love to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/in-the-next-room-a-freckly-girl-julia-s-age-sat-in-a-wheelchair-one/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I envied my uncritical, unthinking sisters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-envied-my-uncritical-unthinking-sisters/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“... Ethical cyberexplorers are responsible, yeah? We are friendly ghosts in the machine, not poltergeists or hooligans. We are a growing breed. Over sixty-five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/ethical-cyberexplorers-are-responsible-yeah-we-are-friendly-ghosts-in/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I succumbed. Late-fifteenth-century verb, Old French succomber or Latin succumbere, but a basic necessity of the human condition, especially mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-succumbed-late-fifteenth-century-verb-old-french-succomber-or-latin/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Your environment affects you wherever you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/your-environment-affects-you-wherever-you-are/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“The second tunnel’s a Ministry of Defence tunnel...dug for a nuclear bomb shelter. The entrance is in the garden center at Woolworth’s in Great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-second-tunnel-s-a-ministry-of-defence-tunnel-dug-for-a-nuclear/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Loyalty looks simple... but it ain't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/loyalty-looks-simple-but-it-ain-t/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Only the trombonist played on. That's trombonists for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/only-the-trombonist-played-on-that-s-trombonists-for-you/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [War's an auction where whoever can pay the most in damage and still be standing wins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/war-s-an-auction-where-whoever-can-pay-the-most-in-damage-and-still/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [The human world is made of stories, not people. The people the stories use to tell themselves are not to be blamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-human-world-is-made-of-stories-not-people-the-people-the-stories/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [So little is actually worthy of belief or disbelief. Better to strive to coexist than seek to disapprove . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/so-little-is-actually-worthy-of-belief-or-disbelief-better-to-strive/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [I elbowed my way into the grubby café, bought a pie that tasted of shoe polish and a pot of tea with cork crumbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-elbowed-my-way-into-the-grubby-caf-bought-a-pie-that-tasted-of-shoe/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“A classical LP was playing... ... Jealous and sweet, this music was, sobbing and gorgeous, muddy and crystal. But if the right words existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/a-classical-lp-was-playing-jealous-and-sweet-this-music-was-sobbing/) [david mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [How lazily "xperts" dismiss what they fail to understand!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/how-lazily-xperts-dismiss-what-they-fail-to-understand/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Writing poetry's,' I looked around the solarium, but Madame Crommelynck's got a tractor beam, 'sort of . . . gay.' '"Gay"? A merry activity?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/writing-poetry-s-i-looked-around-the-solarium-but-madame-crommelynck/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) [Explore all 748 David Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## More Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/) [Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/) > [“Here is a fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is 'of the world', judges everything by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/here-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-the-man-of-faith-and-the-man/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Rigid traditions capture souls prisons of spiritual thought man’s religion has captured a god grown too small and very weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle/rigid-traditions-capture-souls-prisons-of-spiritual-thought-man-s/) [David W Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [In business, as in politics, it is never easy to go against the beliefs and attitudes held by the majority. The businessman who moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/in-business-as-in-politics-it-is-never-easy-to-go-against-the-beliefs/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [There's no greatest moment in the arts. It's a life; it's a continuity thing. You can't have a great moment because it's spiritual. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/there-s-no-greatest-moment-in-the-arts-it-s-a-life-it-s-a-continuity/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 10,268 Belief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Belief, like fear or love, is a force to be understood as we understand the theory of relativity and principals of uncertainty. Phenomena that determine the course of our lives. Yesterday, my life was headed in one direction. Today, it is headed in another. 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