--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have a theory that every time you make…" description: "\"“I have a theory that every time you make an important choice, the part of you left behind continues the other life you could have had. Some people's e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/jeanette-winterson-166_choice_i-have-a-theory-that-every-time-you-make_1111761.png" --- # I have a theory that every time you make an important… ![“I have a theory that every time you make an important choice, the part of you left behind continues the other life you could have had. Some people's emanations are very strong, some people create themselves afresh outside of their own body.” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/jeanette-winterson-166_choice_i-have-a-theory-that-every-time-you-make_1111761.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/jeanette-winterson-166_choice_i-have-a-theory-that-every-time-you-make_1111761.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/jeanette-winterson-166_choice_i-have-a-theory-that-every-time-you-make_1111761.png) > ““I have a theory that every time you make an important choice, the part of you left behind continues the other life you could have had. Some people's emanations are very strong, some people create themselves afresh outside of their own body.”” [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Every pivotal decision creates an alternate version of our life, and remnants of those unrealized paths linger within us. **In simple terms:** Choices spawn parallel lives that echo inside us. Key Takeaway Recognize and integrate the shadows of missed possibilities. Themes choice identity alternate realities self‑reflection Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - relationship crossroads - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts multiverse theory psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor the paths you didn't take? - What can you learn from the parts of yourself left behind? A Different Perspective These alternate selves can cause regret or paralysis if not acknowledged. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Continues Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continues-life-2964525/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Important Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-choice-978457/) [Left behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-behind/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Strong people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-people/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I have a theory that every time you make an important choice, the part of you left behind continues the other life you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-have-a-theory-that-every-time-you-make-an-important-choice-the-part-2/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [It's kind of wild and wonderful that 'West Side Story' continues to have a life after all these years. And when you see young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-chakiris/it-s-kind-of-wild-and-wonderful-that-west-side-story-continues-to/) [George Chakiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-chakiris/) > [Adversity tests us from time to time and it is inevitable that this testing continues during life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/adversity-tests-us-from-time-to-time-and-it-is-inevitable-that-this/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [The most important choice you make is what you choose to make important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-neill/the-most-important-choice-you-make-is-what-you-choose-to-make/) [Michael Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-neill/) > [When you have children is the most important choice affecting your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-coles/when-you-have-children-is-the-most-important-choice-affecting-your/) [Joanna Coles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-coles/) > [The first assistant director is just so important that the choice of that person is critical to the movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frankenheimer/the-first-assistant-director-is-just-so-important-that-the-choice-of/) [John Frankenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frankenheimer/) > [“how much choice the animals technically had was far less important than how much choice they felt they had”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/how-much-choice-the-animals-technically-had-was-far-less-important/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [Almost every important choice in our lives is really just an expression of hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-twelve-hawks/almost-every-important-choice-in-our-lives-is-really-just-an/) [John Twelve Hawks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-twelve-hawks/) > [What should be the future of Israel? Is the land the most important choice, and for that reason to keep the whole of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/what-should-be-the-future-of-israel-is-the-land-the-most-important/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [The decision to believe is the most important choice we ever make. It shapes all our other decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-whitney-clayton/the-decision-to-believe-is-the-most-important-choice-we-ever-make-it/) [L. Whitney Clayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-whitney-clayton/) > [Every important choice we make is being guided by one of two places: either it is an act of faith or it is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/every-important-choice-we-make-is-being-guided-by-one-of-two-places/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [I believe your attitude is the most important choice you can make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/i-believe-your-attitude-is-the-most-important-choice-you-can-make/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [I think it's wonderful and important for there to be so much choice for customers. Wouldn't it be such a bore if we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anya-hindmarch/i-think-it-s-wonderful-and-important-for-there-to-be-so-much-choice/) [Anya Hindmarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anya-hindmarch/) > [Whether it's trivial or important, every choice has a moral aspect to it to a certain degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-chan-wook/whether-it-s-trivial-or-important-every-choice-has-a-moral-aspect-to/) [Park Chan-wook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-chan-wook/) > [People do go back, but they don't survive, because two realities are claiming them at the same time. Such things are too much. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/people-do-go-back-but-they-don-t-survive-because-two-realities-are/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## More by Jeanette Winterson > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I have found that I am not a space where people want to live, at least not without decorating first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-have-found-that-i-am-not-a-space-where-people-want-to-live-at-least/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Yes. Just pass me my leg will you? It's on top of the wardrobe where he threw it, and I think my right arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/yes-just-pass-me-my-leg-will-you-it-s-on-top-of-the-wardrobe-where-he/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Every second the Universe divides into possibilities and most of those possibilities never happen. It is not a uni-verse -- there is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/every-second-the-universe-divides-into-possibilities-and-most-of/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You are a pool of clear water where the light plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-are-a-pool-of-clear-water-where-the-light-plays/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It's the cliches that cause the trouble. A precise emotion seeks a precise expression. 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What would it have meant if things had been bright, clear, good between us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-would-it-have-meant-to-be-happy-what-would-it-have-meant-if/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Mrs Ratlow was a widow, and she was head of English, but she still did all the cooking and cleaning for her two sons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/mrs-ratlow-was-a-widow-and-she-was-head-of-english-but-she-still-did/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“I shall have nowt to talk to now the baby is boiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-shall-have-nowt-to-talk-to-now-the-baby-is-boiled/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“What art does is to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. 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I shall call myself Alice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/a-curse-on-this-game-how-can-you-stick-at-a-game-when-the-rules-keep/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“He turned away and I turned to him in vivid heat to look on the sun-dried world. The groves and towers were gone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/he-turned-away-and-i-turned-to-him-in-vivid-heat-to-look-on-the-sun/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Explore all 1,016 Jeanette Winterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## More Choice 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/) > [“That’s all! Now either leave us alone or join us as a father rather than a receiver of sacrifices. You have the choice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/that-s-all-now-either-leave-us-alone-or-join-us-as-a-father-rather/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“Exactly. So, what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way, no matter how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/exactly-so-what-can-t-you-take-decide-which-of-the-two-options-is/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) [Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/there-has-always-been-a-feeling-with-people-that-they-love-my-singing/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [I have too many options when it comes to guitars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-nielsen/i-have-too-many-options-when-it-comes-to-guitars/) [Rick Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-nielsen/) > [“Amazing how a small choice can change your life forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-c-dockens/amazing-how-a-small-choice-can-change-your-life-forever/) [Randy C. Dockens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-c-dockens/) > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Since I don't outline my books very much, I feel like sometimes I don't have a choice in what the characters do; they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-todd/since-i-don-t-outline-my-books-very-much-i-feel-like-sometimes-i-don/) [Anna Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-todd/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Words can only have an effect on you if you choose to listen to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/words-can-only-have-an-effect-on-you-if-you-choose-to-listen-to-them/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) [Browse all 8,092 Choice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have a theory that every time you make an important choice, the part of you left behind continues the other life you could have had. 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