--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were certain moments upon which the…" description: "\"“There were certain moments upon which the whole of the future course of one's life might turn. And almost inevitably they popped out at one without an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/mary-balogh-914_decision-making_there-were-certain-moments-upon-which-th_1927761.png" --- # There were certain moments upon which the whole of the… ![“There were certain moments upon which the whole of the future course of one's life might turn. And almost inevitably they popped out at one without any warning at all, leaving one with no time to consider or engage in a reasoned debate with oneself. One had to make a split second decision, and…” quote by Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/mary-balogh-914_decision-making_there-were-certain-moments-upon-which-th_1927761.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/mary-balogh-914_decision-making_there-were-certain-moments-upon-which-th_1927761.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/mary-balogh-914_decision-making_there-were-certain-moments-upon-which-th_1927761.png) > ““There were certain moments upon which the whole of the future course of one's life might turn. And almost inevitably they popped out at one without any warning at all, leaving one with no time to consider or engage in a reasoned debate with oneself. One had to make a split second decision, and much depended upon it. Perhaps everything.”” [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critical moments can appear without warning, forcing immediate decisions that shape one’s future. **In simple terms:** Unexpected events demand quick choices that affect life. Key Takeaway Act decisively when faced with sudden choices. Themes choice fate decisionmaking Mood anxious determined reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career crossroads - emergency response - personal relationships - investment decisions - creative projects Key Concepts contingency agency uncertainty Questions to Reflect On - What unexpected moment has defined your path? - How do you prepare for sudden decisions? A Different Perspective Even with a split‑second choice, outcomes remain uncertain and may be influenced by factors beyond control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decision making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Capture yesterday's moments,they are future memories”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penwell-chiloane/capture-yesterday-s-moments-they-are-future-memories/) Penwell Chiloane > [I enjoy every minute, because there are going to be a lot of moments in your future that you're going to wish you held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-nichols/i-enjoy-every-minute-because-there-are-going-to-be-a-lot-of-moments/) [Joe Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-nichols/) > [Every time you consider a job, you have to check in with your inner compass and say, ‘Does this fit in with how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/every-time-you-consider-a-job-you-have-to-check-in-with-your-inner/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [We all have exactly 24 hours in one day. No more; no less. You will use that time on what you consider to be important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-williams/we-all-have-exactly-24-hours-in-one-day-no-more-no-less-you-will-use/) [Craig Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-williams/) > [It is better to take time to consider before than to find time to repent after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/it-is-better-to-take-time-to-consider-before-than-to-find-time-to/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [1\_ There is a right time for everything, and everything happen at its only right time. 2\_There is a time to be born and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/1-there-is-a-right-time-for-everything-and-everything-happen-at-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The aim of demanding quick responses or decisions is to limit time to consider options.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/the-aim-of-demanding-quick-responses-or-decisions-is-to-limit-time-to/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [“It often happens that men pull in a certain political, social, or familiar harness simply because they never have time to ask themselves whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kropotkin/it-often-happens-that-men-pull-in-a-certain-political-social-or/) [Peter Kropotkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kropotkin/) > [It is better to take time to consider, than find time to repent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/it-is-better-to-take-time-to-consider-than-find-time-to-repent/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [Procrastination gives you time to consider divergent ideas, to think in nonlinear ways, to make unexpected leaps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-grant/procrastination-gives-you-time-to-consider-divergent-ideas-to-think/) [Adam Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-grant/) > [As I recall, my life as a child was so all-consuming that I barely had time to consider the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-johansen/as-i-recall-my-life-as-a-child-was-so-all-consuming-that-i-barely-had/) [David Johansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-johansen/) > [A time for reflection, a time for preparation, a time to consider, a time for decision, a time to get time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/a-time-for-reflection-a-time-for-preparation-a-time-to-consider-a/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [“In an environment where there are too many choices, too many decisions, too much information, and too many demands on our cognition, it pays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-d-costa/in-an-environment-where-there-are-too-many-choices-too-many-decisions/) Rebecca D. Costa > [“When dark clouds gather and on the horizon we see a storm coming, it is time to consider the most important things in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-agutter/when-dark-clouds-gather-and-on-the-horizon-we-see-a-storm-coming-it/) [Alastair Agutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-agutter/) > [A fresh mind keeps the body fresh. Take in the ideas of the day, drain off those of yesterday. As to the morrow, time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-fresh-mind-keeps-the-body-fresh-take-in-the-ideas-of-the-day-drain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Mary Balogh > [“Why is it," she asked, snuggling closer, "that I so often imagine myself running away and running free?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/why-is-it-she-asked-snuggling-closer-that-i-so-often-imagine-myself/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“Ah, but dreams cannot be captured with promises," he said. "Like water, they elude our grasp. But water is the staff of life. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/ah-but-dreams-cannot-be-captured-with-promises-he-said-like-water/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“What sort of man could you love for a lifetime?" he asked her. She was silent for a while. He guessed that she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/what-sort-of-man-could-you-love-for-a-lifetime-he-asked-her-she-was/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“Even at its darkest moment, life was a precious gift.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/even-at-its-darkest-moment-life-was-a-precious-gift/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“Sometimes children do not realize by how fragile a thread their security hangs. Perhaps it is as well they do not - most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/sometimes-children-do-not-realize-by-how-fragile-a-thread-their/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“Would she be able to bear never seeing him again? Never in this life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/would-she-be-able-to-bear-never-seeing-him-again-never-in-this-life/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“Sometimes love was to be grasped in any form and in any manner it was offered. And sometimes love must be given in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/sometimes-love-was-to-be-grasped-in-any-form-and-in-any-manner-it-was/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“When we last out at ourselves for having lost control, we are reminded that we never can be in total control, that all life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/when-we-last-out-at-ourselves-for-having-lost-control-we-are-reminded/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“Love does not deck the beloved in chains. It just is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/love-does-not-deck-the-beloved-in-chains-it-just-is/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“This is your home,’ he said. ‘You are mistress of Finchley Park, Vanessa. You may do whatever you wish.’ Her smile broadened. ‘Within reason,’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/this-is-your-home-he-said-you-are-mistress-of-finchley-park-vanessa/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“She bit her lower lip hard and blinked her eyes. There was such wistfulness and longing in his voice. Oh, she was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/she-bit-her-lower-lip-hard-and-blinked-her-eyes-there-was-such/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“following spring to find himself a”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/following-spring-to-find-himself-a/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“But that is what life is all about, he said. "It is about dreaming and making those dreams come true with effort and determination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/but-that-is-what-life-is-all-about-he-said-it-is-about-dreaming-and/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“One could not change the past anyway. Why let it blight the present and the future?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/one-could-not-change-the-past-anyway-why-let-it-blight-the-present/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [I prefer to believe the opposite - that there is always an indestructible beauty at the heart of darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/i-prefer-to-believe-the-opposite-that-there-is-always-an/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) [Explore all 298 Mary Balogh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) ## More Decision making 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/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“Slow down your thinking so you can note the criteria you are using to make your decision. 2. Write the criteria down as a principle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/slow-down-your-thinking-so-you-can-note-the-criteria-you-are-using-to/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [My best business decision was to be independent as a musician and artist. My worst was compromising on certain aspects of a deal for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/my-best-business-decision-was-to-be-independent-as-a-musician-and/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [“Making a decision takes a moment, living a decision takes a life-time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherif-a-el-mawardy/making-a-decision-takes-a-moment-living-a-decision-takes-a-life-time/) [Sherif A. El-Mawardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherif-a-el-mawardy/) > [Cheshvan starts tonight," Rixon said, "What are you doing arsing around in a graveyard?" "Thinking." "Thinking?" "A process by which I use my brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/cheshvan-starts-tonight-rixon-said-what-are-you-doing-arsing-around/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [The right decision is the wrong decision if it's made too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-right-decision-is-the-wrong-decision-if-it-s-made-too-late/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [“The decisions we take reflects our belief and our charachter”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajnish-borah/the-decisions-we-take-reflects-our-belief-and-our-charachter/) Rajnish Borah > [I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we're supposed to make. We waste so much time making decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-think-most-of-us-are-raised-with-preconceived-notions-of-the/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) [Browse all 4,912 Decision making quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There were certain moments upon which the whole of the future course of one's life might turn. And almost inevitably they popped out at one without any warning at all, leaving one with no time to consider or engage in a reasoned debate with oneself. One had to make a split second decision, and much depended upon it. Perhaps everything.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Balogh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/there-were-certain-moments-upon-which-the-whole-of-the-future-course/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decision making" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/there-were-certain-moments-upon-which-the-whole-of-the-future-course/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/mary-balogh-914_decision-making_there-were-certain-moments-upon-which-th_1927761.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/mary-balogh-914_decision-making_there-were-certain-moments-upon-which-th_1927761.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/mary-balogh-914_decision-making_there-were-certain-moments-upon-which-th_1927761.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There were certain moments upon which the whole of the future course of one's life might turn. And almost…” — Mary Balogh", "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": "Mary Balogh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There were certain moments upon which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/there-were-certain-moments-upon-which-the-whole-of-the-future-course/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/there-were-certain-moments-upon-which-the-whole-of-the-future-course/#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 } } ] } ```