--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are moments when one has to choose…" description: "\"There are moments when one has to choose between living one's own life, fully, entirely, completely-or dragging out some false, shallow, degrading exis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/oscar-wilde-16_choice_there-are-moments-when-one-has-to-choose_340698.jpg" --- # There are moments when one has to choose between living… ![“There are moments when one has to choose between living one's own life, fully, entirely, completely-or dragging out some false, shallow, degrading existence that the world in its hypocrisy demands.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/oscar-wilde-16_choice_there-are-moments-when-one-has-to-choose_340698.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/oscar-wilde-16_choice_there-are-moments-when-one-has-to-choose_340698.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/oscar-wilde-16_choice_there-are-moments-when-one-has-to-choose_340698.jpg) > “There are moments when one has to choose between living one's own life, fully, entirely, completely-or dragging out some false, shallow, degrading existence that the world in its hypocrisy demands.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing authentic existence over a superficial life imposed by societal hypocrisy is essential for true fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Live truly or live a lie. Key Takeaway Embrace authenticity. Themes authenticity individualism societal pressure Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal decisions - career choices - social conformity - artistic expression Key Concepts existentialism self‑realization Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of your life feel inauthentic? - How can you resist pressure to conform? A Different Perspective Societal expectations can be overwhelming and may cause fear of isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Hypocrisy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrisy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“I won't tell you that the world matters nothing, or the world's voice, or the voice of society. They matter a good deal. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-won-t-tell-you-that-the-world-matters-nothing-or-the-world-s-voice/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who but the mad would choose to keep on living? In the end, aren't we all just a little crazy?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/who-but-the-mad-would-choose-to-keep-on-living-in-the-end-aren-t-we/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [“Yeah, well, who but the mad would choose to keep on living? In the end, aren't we all just a little crazy?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/yeah-well-who-but-the-mad-would-choose-to-keep-on-living-in-the-end/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [This world is so full of hypocrisy, the only way you can be honest is to be a hermit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/this-world-is-so-full-of-hypocrisy-the-only-way-you-can-be-honest-is/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [When you're young and you first see the extent and depth of the world's hypocrisy, it's fun to go after it. But by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-ramis/when-you-re-young-and-you-first-see-the-extent-and-depth-of-the-world/) [Harold Ramis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-ramis/) > [“The world is truly a terrible place. Every one of my generation is lost, filling the holes which are their lives with seditious and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-s-hornsby/the-world-is-truly-a-terrible-place-every-one-of-my-generation-is/) Jason S. Hornsby > [Why does the rest of the world put up with the hypocrisy, the need to put a happy face on sorrow, the need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/why-does-the-rest-of-the-world-put-up-with-the-hypocrisy-the-need-to-2/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [The English are always degrading truths into facts. When a truth becomes a fact it loses all its intellectual value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-english-are-always-degrading-truths-into-facts-when-a-truth/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“All authority is quite degrading. It degrades those who exercise it, and degrades those over whom it is exercised. When it is violently, grossly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/all-authority-is-quite-degrading-it-degrades-those-who-exercise-it-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Misery and poverty are so absolutely degrading, and exercise such a paralysing effect over the nature of men, that no class is ever really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/misery-and-poverty-are-so-absolutely-degrading-and-exercise-such-a/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [All modes of government are failures. Despotism is unjust to everybody, including the despot, who was probably made for better things. Oligarchies are unjust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/all-modes-of-government-are-failures-despotism-is-unjust-to-everybody/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Newspapers. . . give us the bald, sordid, disgusting facts of life. They chronicle, with degrading avidity, the sins of the second-rate, and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/newspapers-give-us-the-bald-sordid-disgusting-facts-of-life-they/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [All authority is quite degrading. It degrades those who exercise it, and it degrades those over whom it is exercised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/all-authority-is-quite-degrading-it-degrades-those-who-exercise-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Authority is quite degrading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/authority-is-quite-degrading/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/seriousness-is-the-only-refuge-of-the-shallow/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## 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 > [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 > [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": "There are moments when one has to choose between living one's own life, fully, entirely, completely-or dragging out some false, shallow, degrading existence that the world in its hypocrisy demands.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-are-moments-when-one-has-to-choose-between-living-one-s-own/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-are-moments-when-one-has-to-choose-between-living-one-s-own/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/oscar-wilde-16_choice_there-are-moments-when-one-has-to-choose_340698.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/oscar-wilde-16_choice_there-are-moments-when-one-has-to-choose_340698.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/oscar-wilde-16_choice_there-are-moments-when-one-has-to-choose_340698.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are moments when one has to choose between living one's own life, fully, entirely, completely-or…” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are moments when one has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-are-moments-when-one-has-to-choose-between-living-one-s-own/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-are-moments-when-one-has-to-choose-between-living-one-s-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 } } ] } ```