--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Normal people choose their thoughts like…" description: "\"“Normal people choose their thoughts like they choose what to watch on TV.”\" — John Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/john-green-12_normal-people_normal-people-choose-their-thoughts-like_1184798.jpg" --- # Normal people choose their thoughts like they choose what… ![“Normal people choose their thoughts like they choose what to watch on TV.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/john-green-12_normal-people_normal-people-choose-their-thoughts-like_1184798.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/john-green-12_normal-people_normal-people-choose-their-thoughts-like_1184798.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/john-green-12_normal-people_normal-people-choose-their-thoughts-like_1184798.jpg) > ““Normal people choose their thoughts like they choose what to watch on TV.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People treat thoughts like TV choices, selecting them selectively. **In simple terms:** Thoughts are chosen like TV shows. Key Takeaway Choose thoughts deliberately. Themes mindfulness choice media influence Mood contemplative insightful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - stress management - creative work - education Key Concepts cognitive bias attention habit formation Questions to Reflect On - How do you curate your thoughts? - What influences your mental diet? A Different Perspective Thought selection is not always conscious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choose Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-thoughts-743426/) [Normal people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal-people/) [People Choose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-choose/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Thoughts Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-like/) [Watch Tv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watch-tv/) ## Related quotes > [“I don't know what superpower William James enjoyed, but I can no more choose my thoughts than choose my name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-don-t-know-what-superpower-william-james-enjoyed-but-i-can-no-more/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I play computer games, watch TV and do what normal people do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-bale/i-play-computer-games-watch-tv-and-do-what-normal-people-do/) [Gareth Bale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-bale/) > [I love what I think, and I'm never tempted to believe it. Thoughts are like the wind or the leaves on the trees or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/i-love-what-i-think-and-i-m-never-tempted-to-believe-it-thoughts-are/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [“maybe if I could just say and do whatever normal people say and do, then he would believe me to be one, or maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/maybe-if-i-could-just-say-and-do-whatever-normal-people-say-and-do/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“You're just not a soldier. You're a...you're a nerd. I mean, even the way you work out is nerdy. You don't have like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-re-just-not-a-soldier-you-re-a-you-re-a-nerd-i-mean-even-the-way/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He’s trying to treat you like you’re normal and you’re trying to respond like you’re normal but everyone involved knows you are definitely not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-s-trying-to-treat-you-like-you-re-normal-and-you-re-trying-to/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“We choose our thoughts. We choose our perceptions. We choose our attitudes…And our lives become defined by our choices. - chief inspector Armand Gamache…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-choose-our-thoughts-we-choose-our-perceptions-we-choose-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is so much about my fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under the jurisdiction. I can decide how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/there-is-so-much-about-my-fate-that-i-cannot-control-but-other-things/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I seriously believed that my last hour was approaching, and yet, so strange is imagination, all I thought of was some childish hypothesis or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/i-seriously-believed-that-my-last-hour-was-approaching-and-yet-so/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [Choose your thoughts carefully. Keep what brings you peace, release what brings you suffering. And know that happiness is just a thought away!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/choose-your-thoughts-carefully-keep-what-brings-you-peace-release/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our greatest human freedom is that, despite whatever our physical situation is in life, WE ARE ALWAYS FREE TO CHOOSE OUR THOUGHTS!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/our-greatest-human-freedom-is-that-despite-whatever-our-physical/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“Every thought we think is like a brush stroke on the canvas of our lives. Let’s choose our thoughts, then, as a great artist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/every-thought-we-think-is-like-a-brush-stroke-on-the-canvas-of-our/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [You... and only you choose your thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/you-and-only-you-choose-your-thoughts/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“You want to become aware of your thoughts and choose your thoughts carefully and you want to have fun with this, because you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/you-want-to-become-aware-of-your-thoughts-and-choose-your-thoughts/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [If you make your relationship with your Inner Being your top priority, and you deliberately choose thoughts that allow your alignment, you will consistently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/if-you-make-your-relationship-with-your-inner-being-your-top-priority/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Normal people quotes > [Most conservatives - by which I mean normal people - have little conception of the aggressive and revolutionary force that confronts them. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bethell/most-conservatives-by-which-i-mean-normal-people-have-little/) [Tom Bethell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bethell/) > [The only normal people you know are the ones you dont know very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-normal-people-you-know-are-the-ones-you-dont-know-very-well/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Carol, I thought you didn't liked playing with the minds of normal people.” “Yes, but the press don't count as normal.” “She’s got you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zakour/carol-i-thought-you-didn-t-liked-playing-with-the-minds-of-normal/) [John Zakour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-zakour/) > [“How have individuals been affected by the technological advances of recent years? Here is the answer to this question given by a philosopher-psychiatrist, Dr.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/how-have-individuals-been-affected-by-the-technological-advances-of/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Despite what you might think, NORMAL people do NOT cause problems, misfortunes, conflicts, distress or accidents. And when they do, they CAN apologize and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sacredfire/despite-what-you-might-think-normal-people-do-not-cause-problems/) [Robin Sacredfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sacredfire/) > [I abhor crime novels in which the main character can behave however he or she pleases, or do things that normal people do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-abhor-crime-novels-in-which-the-main-character-can-behave-however/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The real secret, though, is that nobody belongs, whether they are natives or not. After expulsion from paradise all humans are in exile. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-codrescu/the-real-secret-though-is-that-nobody-belongs-whether-they-are/) [Andrei Codrescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-codrescu/) > [“Normal people don’t know how lucky—how blessed—they are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-shan/normal-people-don-t-know-how-lucky-how-blessed-they-are/) [Darren Shan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-shan/) > [“Most psychologists believe that nature—genetics—accounts for about half of the reason why we tend to act the way we do. His point is simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/most-psychologists-believe-that-nature-genetics-accounts-for-about/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I don't have to pad my resume. Normal people are astounded by my resume, because normal people never let their dreams get beyond their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-layfield/i-don-t-have-to-pad-my-resume-normal-people-are-astounded-by-my/) [John Layfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-layfield/) > [The church is so subnormal that if it ever got back to the New Testament normal it would seem to people to be abnormal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/the-church-is-so-subnormal-that-if-it-ever-got-back-to-the-new/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [I think because I was the first Chinese player to win a grand slam, people were thinking: 'She's not like normal people.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-na/i-think-because-i-was-the-first-chinese-player-to-win-a-grand-slam/) [Li Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-na/) > [“Normal people don’t want me to honestly answer the question “What’s up?” Not many people are equipped to handle answers like “A fanatical juice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-quinn/normal-people-don-t-want-me-to-honestly-answer-the-question-what-s-up/) [Zoe Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-quinn/) > [People who work with me think I should cut my hair. They say casting directors are less likely to hire me with long hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-culkin/people-who-work-with-me-think-i-should-cut-my-hair-they-say-casting/) [Rory Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-culkin/) > [“Normal people can become very annoying if put in annoying situations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-park/normal-people-can-become-very-annoying-if-put-in-annoying-situations/) [Jessica Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-park/) [Browse all 456 Normal people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Normal people choose their thoughts like they choose what to watch on TV.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/normal-people-choose-their-thoughts-like-they-choose-what-to-watch-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Normal people" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/normal-people-choose-their-thoughts-like-they-choose-what-to-watch-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/john-green-12_normal-people_normal-people-choose-their-thoughts-like_1184798.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/john-green-12_normal-people_normal-people-choose-their-thoughts-like_1184798.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/john-green-12_normal-people_normal-people-choose-their-thoughts-like_1184798.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Normal people choose their thoughts like they choose what to watch on TV.” — John Green", "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": "John Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Normal people choose their thoughts like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/normal-people-choose-their-thoughts-like-they-choose-what-to-watch-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/normal-people-choose-their-thoughts-like-they-choose-what-to-watch-on/#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 } } ] } ```