--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Was a struggle to choose one's own…" description: "\"“Was a struggle to choose one's own destiny less worthwhile than the necessity to stop a great evil?”\" — Diana Gabaldon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/diana-gabaldon-185_destiny_was-a-struggle-to-choose-one-s-own-desti_1287029.jpg" --- # Was a struggle to choose one's own destiny less worthwhile… ![“Was a struggle to choose one's own destiny less worthwhile than the necessity to stop a great evil?” quote by Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/diana-gabaldon-185_destiny_was-a-struggle-to-choose-one-s-own-desti_1287029.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/diana-gabaldon-185_destiny_was-a-struggle-to-choose-one-s-own-desti_1287029.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/diana-gabaldon-185_destiny_was-a-struggle-to-choose-one-s-own-desti_1287029.jpg) > ““Was a struggle to choose one's own destiny less worthwhile than the necessity to stop a great evil?”” [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing personal destiny may feel less urgent than preventing a larger evil, but both hold moral weight. **In simple terms:** Choosing destiny vs stopping evil. Key Takeaway Weigh personal choice against greater good. Themes morality choice destiny evil responsibility Mood thoughtful conflicted Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - political decision making - personal relationships - activism - career planning Key Concepts ethical dilemma free will consequentialism Questions to Reflect On - What would you sacrifice for the greater good? - How do you balance personal ambition with responsibility? A Different Perspective Personal desire may conflict with societal needs, making decisions complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Necessity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessity/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [“We are built to desire free will and to choose our own destiny. It's not about being right or wrong; it's about the celebration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deiamor-verus/we-are-built-to-desire-free-will-and-to-choose-our-own-destiny-it-s/) DeiAmor Verus > [“It's said that we can all choose our own destiny. But sometimes, for a special few, destiny has no choice but to choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-m-robinson-jr/it-s-said-that-we-can-all-choose-our-own-destiny-but-sometimes-for-a/) Steve M. Robinson Jr > [You will find so many turns on path of your life but it is you who have to choose the right one and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/you-will-find-so-many-turns-on-path-of-your-life-but-it-is-you-who/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Delving into the past had unveiled a cruel lesson - that in the book of life it is perhaps best not to turn back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/delving-into-the-past-had-unveiled-a-cruel-lesson-that-in-the-book-of/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“Do not live in the shadows of others. Do not let anyone determine your happiness either. It's either you choose your own destiny and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-m-edwards/do-not-live-in-the-shadows-of-others-do-not-let-anyone-determine-your/) [Marcia M Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-m-edwards/) > [“We pick and choose who to love. We pick and choose who to hate. We pick and choose our friends and ignore those that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-robinson/we-pick-and-choose-who-to-love-we-pick-and-choose-who-to-hate-we-pick/) Willis Robinson > [I can't say that I never will or would go back to the WWE. I honestly never intended on leaving until I retired. However…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickie-james/i-can-t-say-that-i-never-will-or-would-go-back-to-the-wwe-i-honestly/) [Mickie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickie-james/) > [I need not wait for I have the power to choose my own destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-need-not-wait-for-i-have-the-power-to-choose-my-own-destiny/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [“It is a great honour to be human. Humans have the capacity to freely choose their destiny and, one day, they will all choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-goddard/it-is-a-great-honour-to-be-human-humans-have-the-capacity-to-freely/) [Donna Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-goddard/) > [“When I had nothing more to lose, I was given everything. When I ceased to be who I am, I found myself. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-i-had-nothing-more-to-lose-i-was-given-everything-when-i-ceased/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I believe that we have free will. I believe we get the chance to make choices in our lives. Not everything is set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/i-believe-that-we-have-free-will-i-believe-we-get-the-chance-to-make/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [“Listen, Legs, I'm going to die anyway. I'm human. And I don't know about you, but I don't believe in visions of the future.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-de-la-cruz/listen-legs-i-m-going-to-die-anyway-i-m-human-and-i-don-t-know-about/) [Melissa de la Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-de-la-cruz/) > [“You can't choose someone else's destiny for them, Kelley. And you shouldn't let anyone choose yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-livingston/you-can-t-choose-someone-else-s-destiny-for-them-kelley-and-you/) [Lesley Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-livingston/) > [“What we call happiness is sometimes the accordance between our life and circumstances,our biography and history ,our personal aspirations and historical currents .If i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alija-izetbegovic/what-we-call-happiness-is-sometimes-the-accordance-between-our-life/) [Alija Izetbegović](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alija-izetbegovic/) > [When I had nothing more to lose, I was given everything. When I ceased to be who I am, I found myself. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-i-had-nothing-more-to-lose-i-was-given-everything-when-i-ceased-2/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by Diana Gabaldon > [Alright, all right," I said. "What if I tell you a story, instead?" Highlanders loved stories, and Jamie was no exception. "Oh, aye, "…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/alright-all-right-i-said-what-if-i-tell-you-a-story-instead/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [There were moments, of course. Those small spaces in time, too soon gone, when everything seems to stand still, and existence is balanced on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/there-were-moments-of-course-those-small-spaces-in-time-too-soon-gone/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [If it was a sin for you to choose me . . . then I would go to the Devil himself and bless him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/if-it-was-a-sin-for-you-to-choose-me-then-i-would-go-to-the-devil/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [When I turned 35, I thought, 'Mozart was dead at 36, so I set the bar: I'm going to start writing a book on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/when-i-turned-35-i-thought-mozart-was-dead-at-36-so-i-set-the-bar-i-m/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [I stagger out of bed, take the dogs outside, and then I'll get a Diet Coke and a couple of dog biscuits and go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/i-stagger-out-of-bed-take-the-dogs-outside-and-then-i-ll-get-a-diet/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“It was…hard. I didna call out, or let them see I was scairt, but I couldna keep my feet. Halfway through it, I fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/it-was-hard-i-didna-call-out-or-let-them-see-i-was-scairt-but-i/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [I have all the time and space in the world when I write a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/i-have-all-the-time-and-space-in-the-world-when-i-write-a-book/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [I discovered that, given the indescribable nature of what I write, the only way to sell it is to give people free samples.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/i-discovered-that-given-the-indescribable-nature-of-what-i-write-the/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“We are bound,you and I, and nothing on this earth shall part me from you."One large hand rose to stroke my hair. "D'ye mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/we-are-bound-you-and-i-and-nothing-on-this-earth-shall-part-me-from/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [I think characters are going to be, if not a reflection of the author, at least some refraction of some part of their personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/i-think-characters-are-going-to-be-if-not-a-reflection-of-the-author/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [My husband asked me once why I read so many mysteries, and part of it is just intellectual, part of it is the joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/my-husband-asked-me-once-why-i-read-so-many-mysteries-and-part-of-it/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“My Da says you’re never drunk, so long as ye can hold on to the floor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/my-da-says-you-re-never-drunk-so-long-as-ye-can-hold-on-to-the-floor/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [When you're an artist, you can't write with the intent of affecting anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/when-you-re-an-artist-you-can-t-write-with-the-intent-of-affecting/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“But a man is not forgotten, as long as there are two people left under the sky. One, to tell the story; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/but-a-man-is-not-forgotten-as-long-as-there-are-two-people-left-under/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“I didn’t answer, occupied in dissolving the penicillin tablets in the vial of sterile water. I selected a glass barrel, fitted a needle, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/i-didn-t-answer-occupied-in-dissolving-the-penicillin-tablets-in-the/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) [Explore all 952 Diana Gabaldon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) ## More Destiny quotes > [... War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“It's morning now, and I miss the soft rasp of her voice already. Ugh. I'm in trouble, aren't I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/it-s-morning-now-and-i-miss-the-soft-rasp-of-her-voice-already-ugh-i/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [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/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Destiny is the ordained intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/destiny-is-the-ordained-intention-god-has-sacredly-prepared-with-your/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [“There is no interaction without God with interaction with men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/there-is-no-interaction-without-god-with-interaction-with-men/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 7,925 Destiny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Was a struggle to choose one's own destiny less worthwhile than the necessity to stop a great evil?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Diana Gabaldon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/was-a-struggle-to-choose-one-s-own-destiny-less-worthwhile-than-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destiny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/was-a-struggle-to-choose-one-s-own-destiny-less-worthwhile-than-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/diana-gabaldon-185_destiny_was-a-struggle-to-choose-one-s-own-desti_1287029.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/diana-gabaldon-185_destiny_was-a-struggle-to-choose-one-s-own-desti_1287029.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/diana-gabaldon-185_destiny_was-a-struggle-to-choose-one-s-own-desti_1287029.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Was a struggle to choose one's own destiny less worthwhile than the necessity to stop a great evil?” — Diana Gabaldon", "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": "Diana Gabaldon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Was a struggle to choose one's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/was-a-struggle-to-choose-one-s-own-destiny-less-worthwhile-than-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/was-a-struggle-to-choose-one-s-own-destiny-less-worthwhile-than-the/#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 } } ] } ```