--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that any time a person comes…" description: "\"I think that any time a person comes face-to-face with their own mortality - close enough to Death that they can smell its breath - they have a choice:..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/jim-goad-4989_breaths_i-think-that-any-time-a-person-comes-fac_3114101.jpg" --- # I think that any time a person comes face-to-face with… ![“I think that any time a person comes face-to-face with their own mortality - close enough to Death that they can smell its breath - they have a choice: 1) Fall to pieces; 2) Reassemble yourself and keep walking.” quote by Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/jim-goad-4989_breaths_i-think-that-any-time-a-person-comes-fac_3114101.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/jim-goad-4989_breaths_i-think-that-any-time-a-person-comes-fac_3114101.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/jim-goad-4989_breaths_i-think-that-any-time-a-person-comes-fac_3114101.jpg) > “I think that any time a person comes face-to-face with their own mortality - close enough to Death that they can smell its breath - they have a choice: 1) Fall to pieces; 2) Reassemble yourself and keep walking.” [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Confronting death forces a choice between collapsing and rebuilding one’s resolve to continue living. **In simple terms:** Death prompts a decision to keep going. Key Takeaway Choose resilience over despair. Themes mortality resilience choice Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - grief counseling - personal crisis - career setbacks Key Concepts existential psychology self‑construction Questions to Reflect On - How will you rebuild after a loss? - What habits sustain you during hardship? A Different Perspective Resilience may be hard without support networks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Close Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-death-922845/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-smell-2549768/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Face Mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-mortality-3063620/) [Face to face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-to-face/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Mortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortality/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Walking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walking/) ## Related quotes > [Losing people does make you face up to your own mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-redman/losing-people-does-make-you-face-up-to-your-own-mortality/) [Amanda Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-redman/) > [There are ways of dying that don't end in funerals. Types of death you can't smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-are-ways-of-dying-that-don-t-end-in-funerals-types-of-death-you/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“How much of what we do, from the ridiculous to the sublime, would not be done if we did not die? In tha blank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lynch/how-much-of-what-we-do-from-the-ridiculous-to-the-sublime-would-not/) [Thomas Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lynch/) > [“Death—I’ve always thought the hospital smelled like death.  It’s a smell you never forget and one I have always hated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erika-ashby/death-i-ve-always-thought-the-hospital-smelled-like-death-it-s-a/) [Erika Ashby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erika-ashby/) > [Honestly, most of us can face almost anything except our own mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/honestly-most-of-us-can-face-almost-anything-except-our-own-mortality/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > ['They Both Die At The End' is about coming face to face with your own mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-silvera/they-both-die-at-the-end-is-about-coming-face-to-face-with-your-own/) [Adam Silvera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-silvera/) > [“With the smell of beer I try to get the smell of death off me. And only the smell of death will get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/with-the-smell-of-beer-i-try-to-get-the-smell-of-death-off-me-and/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Death normally has a stealthy way about it. It creeps up behind you and takes you over when you least expect it. But waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirthi-jayakumar/death-normally-has-a-stealthy-way-about-it-it-creeps-up-behind-you/) [Kirthi Jayakumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirthi-jayakumar/) > [People always speak beautifully when they are in love or close to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/people-always-speak-beautifully-when-they-are-in-love-or-close-to/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [The death of our close friends and relatives proves that how close the death is to us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javad-alizadeh/the-death-of-our-close-friends-and-relatives-proves-that-how-close/) [Javad Alizadeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javad-alizadeh/) > [“Is it not strange how quickly one can become detached from everything? How empty life appears when one is close to death!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/is-it-not-strange-how-quickly-one-can-become-detached-from-everything/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [It hurts to be around life. People don't understand how close death is, right over their shoulders, around the block, at the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-sorensen/it-hurts-to-be-around-life-people-don-t-understand-how-close-death-is/) [Jessica Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-sorensen/) > [In Mexico, you're close to death all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/in-mexico-you-re-close-to-death-all-the-time/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [I came so close to death in the search of love...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-came-so-close-to-death-in-the-search-of-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I glimpsed the man's face with the shine of death on it. They laid him down there in the open. They had brought him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/i-glimpsed-the-man-s-face-with-the-shine-of-death-on-it-they-laid-him/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) ## More by Jim Goad > [Homosexuality is genetically hardwired but race and gender are only ideas. OK. Just trying to keep up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/homosexuality-is-genetically-hardwired-but-race-and-gender-are-only/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [To think that humans evolved from lower species BUT the evolutionary process somehow came to a halt and we all arrived at the finish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/to-think-that-humans-evolved-from-lower-species-but-the-evolutionary/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [The vegan diet is obviously lacking whatever essential nutrient it is that makes people likeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-vegan-diet-is-obviously-lacking-whatever-essential-nutrient-it-is/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [The leftist drive for control is insatiable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-leftist-drive-for-control-is-insatiable/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [Hatespeak is usually more honest than lovespeak, and it's always better than doublespeak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/hatespeak-is-usually-more-honest-than-lovespeak-and-it-s-always/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [What you accomplish in life is limited only by your imagination and the fear of reprisal. Life is too fleeting and unrewarding to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/what-you-accomplish-in-life-is-limited-only-by-your-imagination-and/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [I could have completely lost my mind or became a junkie or abandoned all sense and judgment and committed some rash, stupid act that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-could-have-completely-lost-my-mind-or-became-a-junkie-or-abandoned/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [the fact that they stole their whole shtick from Woody Guthrie and the coal-mining bards. While the alternative nation meows about personal fashion angst,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-fact-that-they-stole-their-whole-shtick-from-woody-guthrie-and/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [Though your major media kept smacking me upside the head with the word "multicultural," you goddamned Australians are the most racist bunch of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/though-your-major-media-kept-smacking-me-upside-the-head-with-the/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [The criticism that has most consistently bothered me is the allegation that I'm a schlockmeister whose only objective is to shock people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-criticism-that-has-most-consistently-bothered-me-is-the/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [A primary flaw in my psychology is that I'll give people a hundred yards' worth of rope with which to hang themselves, but once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that-i-ll-give-people-a-hundred/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [I don't regret any of my transgressions, because I believe I paid for them a million times over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-don-t-regret-any-of-my-transgressions-because-i-believe-i-paid-for/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [My hatred is diamond-hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/my-hatred-is-diamond-hard/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [I think that 99% of the snipers who take shots at me from electronic foxholes also realize they could never withstand the sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-think-that-99-of-the-snipers-who-take-shots-at-me-from-electronic/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [Nowadays, you suffer the same risks - ostracism, career loss, possible assault - for being perceived as racist that you would have encountered a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/nowadays-you-suffer-the-same-risks-ostracism-career-loss-possible/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) [Explore all 104 Jim Goad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) ## More Breaths quotes > [Don't let a breath escape from your body without Krishna's name. That should be our determination throughout our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/don-t-let-a-breath-escape-from-your-body-without-krishna-s-name-that/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Many years ago I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realised, 'I am killing him - all for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/many-years-ago-i-was-fishing-and-as-i-was-reeling-in-the-poor-fish-i/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [God is greater than anything that man can do or has done. He is not undone by just a train of powder. "Our God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/god-is-greater-than-anything-that-man-can-do-or-has-done-he-is-not/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [One day I was running around playing with my son Connor when afterwards I was sweating, tired and out of breath. I was embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/one-day-i-was-running-around-playing-with-my-son-connor-when/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) > [Dave Wann's recipes from his own experience in Simple Prosperity are a breath of fresh air, and just what we need for a saner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-henderson/dave-wann-s-recipes-from-his-own-experience-in-simple-prosperity-are/) [Hazel Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-henderson/) > [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [The river is motion, turmoil, rage. As the river flows, it wonders what it would be like to be so still, to take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kekla-magoon/the-river-is-motion-turmoil-rage-as-the-river-flows-it-wonders-what/) [Kekla Magoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kekla-magoon/) > [Remember that no matter how selfish, how cruel, how unfeeling you have been today, every time you take a breath, you make a flower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/remember-that-no-matter-how-selfish-how-cruel-how-unfeeling-you-have/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“Listen to this, Nimit. Follow Coleman Hawkins' improvised lines very carefully. He is using them to tell us something. Pay very close attention. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/listen-to-this-nimit-follow-coleman-hawkins-improvised-lines-very/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Every body resisted (the slaughterer) in its own fashion, tried to escape and seemed to argue with the Creator to its last breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/every-body-resisted-the-slaughterer-in-its-own-fashion-tried-to/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [We had a dog, Apples. He was 13 years old, toothless, blind and had the worst breath this side of Jabba the Hut. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlee-matlin/we-had-a-dog-apples-he-was-13-years-old-toothless-blind-and-had-the/) [Marlee Matlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlee-matlin/) [Browse all 1,609 Breaths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that any time a person comes face-to-face with their own mortality - close enough to Death that they can smell its breath - they have a choice: 1) Fall to pieces; 2) Reassemble yourself and keep walking.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jim Goad" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-think-that-any-time-a-person-comes-face-to-face-with-their-own/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Breaths" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-think-that-any-time-a-person-comes-face-to-face-with-their-own/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/jim-goad-4989_breaths_i-think-that-any-time-a-person-comes-fac_3114101.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/jim-goad-4989_breaths_i-think-that-any-time-a-person-comes-fac_3114101.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/jim-goad-4989_breaths_i-think-that-any-time-a-person-comes-fac_3114101.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think that any time a person comes face-to-face with their own mortality - close enough to Death that they…” — Jim Goad", "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": "Jim Goad", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think that any time a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-think-that-any-time-a-person-comes-face-to-face-with-their-own/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-think-that-any-time-a-person-comes-face-to-face-with-their-own/#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 } } ] } ```