---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By unnerving definition, anything that…"
description: "\"By unnerving definition, anything that the heart has chosen for its own mysterious reasons it can always unchoose later—again, for its own mysterious r..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/elizabeth-gilbert-131_chosen_by-unnerving-definition-anything-that-th_1230519.jpg"
---

#  By unnerving definition, anything that the heart has…

![“By unnerving definition, anything that the heart has chosen for its own mysterious reasons it can always unchoose later—again, for its own mysterious reasons.” quote by Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/elizabeth-gilbert-131_chosen_by-unnerving-definition-anything-that-th_1230519.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/elizabeth-gilbert-131_chosen_by-unnerving-definition-anything-that-th_1230519.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/elizabeth-gilbert-131_chosen_by-unnerving-definition-anything-that-th_1230519.jpg)

> “By unnerving definition, anything that the heart has chosen for its own mysterious reasons it can always unchoose later—again, for its own mysterious reasons.”

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Our hearts make choices for mysterious reasons, and those choices can later be reversed for equally mysterious reasons.

**In simple terms:** Heart choices are mysterious and reversible.

Key Takeaway

Accept uncertainty in decisions.

Themes

choice heart mystery reversal

Mood

introspective thoughtful

Type

personal philosophical

When to use this quote

- relationship decisions
- career changes
- personal growth
- creative projects

Key Concepts

psychology free will emotional intelligence

Questions to Reflect On

- What drives your heart’s mysterious choices?
- How do you handle the uncertainty of changing decisions?

A Different Perspective

Reversing choices can cause regret or instability.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heartbreak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartbreak/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/)

## Related quotes

> [People fall in love for mysterious reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bridges/people-fall-in-love-for-mysterious-reasons/)

[Jeff Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bridges/)

> [The human heart is a mysterious and sometimes dark place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-yoffe/the-human-heart-is-a-mysterious-and-sometimes-dark-place/)

[Emily Yoffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-yoffe/)

> [“As Israel made the wants of his national existence the law of the world, as under the dominance of these wants he deified even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/as-israel-made-the-wants-of-his-national-existence-the-law-of-the/)

[Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/)

> [Peter Cooper looks at the world with an artist's eye and a human heart and soul. His songs are the work of an original,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/peter-cooper-looks-at-the-world-with-an-artist-s-eye-and-a-human/)

[Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/)

> [“Civil wars...are the best wars for the writer...because they have a way of continuing long afterwl wars between nations are resolved; because, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/civil-wars-are-the-best-wars-for-the-writer-because-they-have-a-way/)

[Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/)

> [A heart to resolve, a head to contrive, and a hand to execute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/a-heart-to-resolve-a-head-to-contrive-and-a-hand-to-execute/)

[Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/)

> [“I could say the world is ending tomorrow, and no one would care. I could say the world will go forever, and no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/i-could-say-the-world-is-ending-tomorrow-and-no-one-would-care-i/)

[Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/)

> [The human heart is not yet so corroded that it can read off the extinction of these two men without a shock to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-human-heart-is-not-yet-so-corroded-that-it-can-read-off-the/)

[Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/)

> [“Despite the fact that, the idea of religion has been filled by the human society with all sorts of garbage, and thus been made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/despite-the-fact-that-the-idea-of-religion-has-been-filled-by-the/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/)

[Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/)

> [“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble. Sometimes both are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/the-heart-s-blind-it-s-the-head-that-causes-all-the-trouble-sometimes/)

[K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/)

> [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/)

[Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/)

> [“human heart only sweetens when broken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/human-heart-only-sweetens-when-broken/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [“God delights in beauty, Islam teaches at its core, and is beauty. Beauty is in creation, not destruction, and in balance. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-tippett/god-delights-in-beauty-islam-teaches-at-its-core-and-is-beauty-beauty/)

[Krista Tippett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-tippett/)

> [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

## More by Elizabeth Gilbert

> [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“Not to mention that I have finally arrived at that age where a woman starts to question whether the wisest way to get over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/not-to-mention-that-i-have-finally-arrived-at-that-age-where-a-woman/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“The Buddha taught that all human suffering is rooted in desire. Don't we all know this to be true? Any of us who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-buddha-taught-that-all-human-suffering-is-rooted-in-desire-don-t/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [ “And while \[we\] do have possibilities that are vast and magnificent and almost infinite in scope, it's important to remember that our choice-rich lives… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/and-while-we-do-have-possibilities-that-are-vast-and-magnificent-and/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/learn-your-way-around-loneliness-make-a-map-of-it-sit-with-it-for/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [If we never leave our house except to drive to work, do we need to be even remotely aware of this powerful, humbling, extraordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-we-never-leave-our-house-except-to-drive-to-work-do-we-need-to-be/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [I will tell you why we have these extraordinary minds and souls, Miss Whittaker," he continued, as though he had not heard her. "We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-will-tell-you-why-we-have-these-extraordinary-minds-and-souls-miss/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/both-the-five-year-olds-looked-at-me-with-bewilderment-and-a-bit-of/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/clearing-out-all-your-misery-gets-you-out-of-the-way-you-cease-being/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [The ingredients of both darkness and light are equally present in all of us,...The madness of this planet is largely a result of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-ingredients-of-both-darkness-and-light-are-equally-present-in-all/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-was-full-of-a-hot-powerful-sadness-and-would-have-loved-to-burst/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“I live in nature where everything is connected, circular. The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-live-in-nature-where-everything-is-connected-circular-the-seasons/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“His spelling was several degrees beyond arbitrary, and his punctuation brought reason to sigh with unhappiness. But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/his-spelling-was-several-degrees-beyond-arbitrary-and-his-punctuation/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [Before you realize this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair, a notion nicely expressed in this exasperated line from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/before-you-realize-this-truth-say-the-yogis-you-will-always-be-in/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [I actually have a great deal of respect for antidepressants; I think they can be enormously mighty tools toward recovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-actually-have-a-great-deal-of-respect-for-antidepressants-i-think/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

[Explore all 1,156 Elizabeth Gilbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

## More Chosen quotes

> [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/)

[Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/)

> [My Chosen Daughter, No one can define you without your permission. I want you to be so secure in who you are in Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/god/my-chosen-daughter-no-one-can-define-you-without-your-permission-i/)

God

> [I would have let you shoot me without further ado! But it is not possible to hang the German Reichsmarschall! I cannot permit this.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/i-would-have-let-you-shoot-me-without-further-ado-but-it-is-not/)

[Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/)

> [People have a whole lot more choices than they've had in the past, and I have only earned the right to be considered -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-cole/people-have-a-whole-lot-more-choices-than-they-ve-had-in-the-past-and/)

[Kenneth Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-cole/)

> [You basically have a group of four spies who are chosen for a mission they feel for the fact of how competent they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-leblanc/you-basically-have-a-group-of-four-spies-who-are-chosen-for-a-mission/)

[Matt LeBlanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-leblanc/)

> [ \[In science any model depends on a pre-chosen taxonomy\] a set of classifications into which we divide the enormous complexity of the real world...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/in-science-any-model-depends-on-a-pre-chosen-taxonomy-a-set-of/)

[Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/)

> [It seems that the whole world is beginning to decay, and that its putrefaction has chosen to spread outward from here, from the land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmina-khadra/it-seems-that-the-whole-world-is-beginning-to-decay-and-that-its/)

[Yasmina Khadra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmina-khadra/)

> [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/)

Edward Lucie-Smith

> [Love your country. Your country is the land where your parents sleep, where is spoken that language in which the chosen of your heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-mazzini/love-your-country-your-country-is-the-land-where-your-parents-sleep/)

[Giuseppe Mazzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-mazzini/)

> [You'd chosen to be an upright biped on the surface of a small planet of a minor sun on the edge of a minor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/you-d-chosen-to-be-an-upright-biped-on-the-surface-of-a-small-planet/)

[Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/)

> [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [The Republicans have chosen to neglect young Americans who need assistance with the costs of higher education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-conyers/the-republicans-have-chosen-to-neglect-young-americans-who-need/)

[John Conyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-conyers/)

> [When adults come together to form an intimate relationship, each person releases into it unresolved issues from their trans-generational pool of unconscious fantasies. Partners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-raphael-leff/when-adults-come-together-to-form-an-intimate-relationship-each/)

[Joan Raphael-Leff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-raphael-leff/)

> [Here's my advice to you: don't marry until you can tell yourself that you've done all you could, and until you've stopped loving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/here-s-my-advice-to-you-don-t-marry-until-you-can-tell-yourself-that/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [I am responsible. Yes, I have chosen to be single.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadya-suleman/i-am-responsible-yes-i-have-chosen-to-be-single/)

[Nadya Suleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadya-suleman/)

Browse all 1,955 Chosen quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "By unnerving definition, anything that the heart has chosen for its own mysterious reasons it can always unchoose later—again, for its own mysterious reasons.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Elizabeth Gilbert"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/by-unnerving-definition-anything-that-the-heart-has-chosen-for-its/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Chosen"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/by-unnerving-definition-anything-that-the-heart-has-chosen-for-its/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/elizabeth-gilbert-131_chosen_by-unnerving-definition-anything-that-th_1230519.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/elizabeth-gilbert-131_chosen_by-unnerving-definition-anything-that-th_1230519.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/elizabeth-gilbert-131_chosen_by-unnerving-definition-anything-that-th_1230519.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“By unnerving definition, anything that the heart has chosen for its own mysterious reasons it can always…” — Elizabeth Gilbert",
                "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": "Elizabeth Gilbert",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "By unnerving definition, anything that the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/by-unnerving-definition-anything-that-the-heart-has-chosen-for-its/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/by-unnerving-definition-anything-that-the-heart-has-chosen-for-its/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
