--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's hard sometimes to remember why we do…" description: "\"It's hard sometimes to remember why we do anything in the first place. It's nice to think there's a purpose, or even a real decision that turns everyth..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58d/dinaw-mengestu-12378_decision_it-s-hard-sometimes-to-remember-why-we-d_1931274.jpg" --- # It's hard sometimes to remember why we do anything in the… ![“It's hard sometimes to remember why we do anything in the first place. It's nice to think there's a purpose, or even a real decision that turns everything in one direction, but that's not always true, is it? We just fall into our lives.” quote by Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58d/dinaw-mengestu-12378_decision_it-s-hard-sometimes-to-remember-why-we-d_1931274.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58d/dinaw-mengestu-12378_decision_it-s-hard-sometimes-to-remember-why-we-d_1931274.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58d/dinaw-mengestu-12378_decision_it-s-hard-sometimes-to-remember-why-we-d_1931274.jpg) > “It's hard sometimes to remember why we do anything in the first place. It's nice to think there's a purpose, or even a real decision that turns everything in one direction, but that's not always true, is it? We just fall into our lives.” [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often question the purpose behind our actions, feeling life is more drift than design. **In simple terms:** Life can feel directionless and lacking clear purpose. Key Takeaway Seek meaning in daily moments. Themes existential purpose self‑reflection Mood reflective contemplative Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choices - relationship decisions - personal crises - daily routines Key Concepts nihilism meaning‑making Questions to Reflect On - What small actions give you a sense of purpose? - How can you create meaning when none seems apparent? A Different Perspective Purpose may be constructed, not discovered. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [The decision to feed the world is the real decision. No revolution has chosen it. For that choice requires that women shall be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-decision-to-feed-the-world-is-the-real-decision-no-revolution-has/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [A man needs a purpose for real health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/a-man-needs-a-purpose-for-real-health/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [I believe there's a calling for all of us. I know that every human being has value and purpose. The real work of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-believe-there-s-a-calling-for-all-of-us-i-know-that-every-human/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [“The Game gives you a Purpose. The Real Game is, to Find a Purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vineet-raj-kapoor/the-game-gives-you-a-purpose-the-real-game-is-to-find-a-purpose/) [Vineet Raj Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vineet-raj-kapoor/) > [There is only one real purpose of a real revolution: To move forward!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/there-is-only-one-real-purpose-of-a-real-revolution-to-move-forward/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Your goals are constantly revised according to circumstance, but your purpose, your real reason for being, that supercedes everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-tressel/your-goals-are-constantly-revised-according-to-circumstance-but-your/) [Jim Tressel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-tressel/) > [Remember blessed children of men that the purpose of the real science should be to increase the happiness and to free the race from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/count-of-st-germain/remember-blessed-children-of-men-that-the-purpose-of-the-real-science/) Count of St. Germain > [My friends don't understand, whether it's belonging to a country club or playing golf, or whatever a vacation is, that should make you happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-wexner/my-friends-don-t-understand-whether-it-s-belonging-to-a-country-club/) [Les Wexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-wexner/) > [“When it comes down to it, though, the real decision is inevitable: If one of us has to be destroyed, let's make damn sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/when-it-comes-down-to-it-though-the-real-decision-is-inevitable-if/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [A real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken a new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/a-real-decision-is-measured-by-the-fact-that-you-ve-taken-a-new/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“If I think that I and I alone make the majority of my decisions, my real decision has been to be ignorant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/if-i-think-that-i-and-i-alone-make-the-majority-of-my-decisions-my/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“Don’t enter the workforce already looking for the exit. Don’t put on the brakes. Accelerate. Keep a foot on the gas pedal until a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/don-t-enter-the-workforce-already-looking-for-the-exit-don-t-put-on/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Anyone lucky enough to have options should keep them open. Don't enter the workforce already looking for the exit. Don't put on the breaks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/anyone-lucky-enough-to-have-options-should-keep-them-open-don-t-enter/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“I don't think I can stand it much longer,” he warned her. “Something will have to give way. And I fear it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-don-t-think-i-can-stand-it-much-longer-he-warned-her-something-will/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“A real decision makes one humble, one knows that it is at the mercy of more things that can be named.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/a-real-decision-makes-one-humble-one-knows-that-it-is-at-the-mercy-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## More by Dinaw Mengestu > [You see, at the beginning we weren't fighters. We weren't yellers or throwers, even if we eventually came to be. It would take time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/you-see-at-the-beginning-we-weren-t-fighters-we-weren-t-yellers-or/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [I told my parents I was going to be a doctor and then a lawyer, but I never believed it and never tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/i-told-my-parents-i-was-going-to-be-a-doctor-and-then-a-lawyer-but-i/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“You will never disappear," I said. "Even if it may feel like you have at some point. We're going to remain a part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/you-will-never-disappear-i-said-even-if-it-may-feel-like-you-have-at/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [The fact that I have always been deeply invested in politics, and African politics in particular, inevitably played a role in my first novel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/the-fact-that-i-have-always-been-deeply-invested-in-politics-and/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Writers, especially those of us with roots in other countries, are rarely left to ourselves. We are asked to declare our allegiances, or they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/writers-especially-those-of-us-with-roots-in-other-countries-are/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Personally, its a comfort and happiness to know that my work is taken seriously and is not marginalised and put in a box of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/personally-its-a-comfort-and-happiness-to-know-that-my-work-is-taken/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“If the last thing a man has to hold on to is his sense of pride and accompanying dignity, then more likely than not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/if-the-last-thing-a-man-has-to-hold-on-to-is-his-sense-of-pride-and/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“Have you seen a hungry man with a gun? Of course not. Such things don't exist. It's like saying, have you ever seen a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/have-you-seen-a-hungry-man-with-a-gun-of-course-not-such-things-don-t/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [There are those who wake up each morning to conquer the day, and then there are those of us who wake up only because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/there-are-those-who-wake-up-each-morning-to-conquer-the-day-and-then/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“She always thought Americans were too territorial. 'All those fences and flags,' she had once said, seeing very little difference between the two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/she-always-thought-americans-were-too-territorial-all-those-fences/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Ethnic divisions can definitely be exacerbated by a lack of natural resources, but those tensions become violent when people manipulate them for their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/ethnic-divisions-can-definitely-be-exacerbated-by-a-lack-of-natural/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“I remember another aphorism of my father's, one that he used to say whenever we passed someone pissing openly in the street: add color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/i-remember-another-aphorism-of-my-father-s-one-that-he-used-to-say/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“Through them, the story becomes an argument for a better way of seeing, which has always struck me as being one of the novel’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/through-them-the-story-becomes-an-argument-for-a-better-way-of-seeing/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [Obviously, in marketing, the best tool is to show the autobiography in fiction. It's inevitable how that happens, but it's generic. Say I've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/obviously-in-marketing-the-best-tool-is-to-show-the-autobiography-in/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [I had lost too much of the heart and all the faith needed to stay afloat in a job where every human encounter felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/i-had-lost-too-much-of-the-heart-and-all-the-faith-needed-to-stay/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) [Explore all 54 Dinaw Mengestu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) ## More Decision quotes > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [“How can you make an informed decision about whether to save the world if you never leave your tiny part of it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-david-hutchinson/how-can-you-make-an-informed-decision-about-whether-to-save-the-world/) [Shaun David Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-david-hutchinson/) > [Love is the foundation from which your decisions about your life should be made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-the-foundation-from-which-your-decisions-about-your-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Indecision becomes decision with time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indecision-becomes-decision-with-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you think of people as making decisions actively, every time we think about the cup of coffee, we say, "How much will I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-think-of-people-as-making-decisions-actively-every-time-we/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [It was a conscious decision on my part to take up fewer films. And if you're not seen that often on screen, nobody calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-lever/it-was-a-conscious-decision-on-my-part-to-take-up-fewer-films-and-if/) [Johnny Lever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-lever/) > [Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/decision-is-a-risk-rooted-in-the-courage-of-being-free/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [I never think of things rationally or intellectually. I swear, every single decision I make is just instinct and my instincts tend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/i-never-think-of-things-rationally-or-intellectually-i-swear-every/) [Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/) > [“it is either you happen to life or life happens to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sesan-kareem/it-is-either-you-happen-to-life-or-life-happens-to-you/) [Sesan Kareem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sesan-kareem/) > [How strange that something so simple could have been instrumental in my decision to ruin one of my most relationships and friendships, and damage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/how-strange-that-something-so-simple-could-have-been-instrumental-in/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [I am encouraged President Obama now says he will fulfill his constitutional obligation to seek authorization for any potential military action in Syria. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-am-encouraged-president-obama-now-says-he-will-fulfill-his/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [In New York, you are constantly faced with this very urgent decision that you have to make, about every twenty minutes...you have to decide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/in-new-york-you-are-constantly-faced-with-this-very-urgent-decision/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) [Browse all 9,145 Decision quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's hard sometimes to remember why we do anything in the first place. It's nice to think there's a purpose, or even a real decision that turns everything in one direction, but that's not always true, is it? 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