--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a mistake to believe that the…" description: "\"“It is a mistake to believe that the decisive moments of a life when its direction changes for ever must be marked by sentimental loud and shrill drama..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/pascal-mercier-4197_decisive-moments_it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that-the-deci_679269.png" --- # It is a mistake to believe that the decisive moments of a… ![“It is a mistake to believe that the decisive moments of a life when its direction changes for ever must be marked by sentimental loud and shrill dramatics… In truth, the dramatic moments of a life-determining experience are often unbelievably low-key. It has so little in common with the bang, the…” quote by Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/pascal-mercier-4197_decisive-moments_it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that-the-deci_679269.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/pascal-mercier-4197_decisive-moments_it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that-the-deci_679269.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/pascal-mercier-4197_decisive-moments_it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that-the-deci_679269.png) > ““It is a mistake to believe that the decisive moments of a life when its direction changes for ever must be marked by sentimental loud and shrill dramatics… In truth, the dramatic moments of a life-determining experience are often unbelievably low-key. It has so little in common with the bang, the flash, or the volcanic eruption that, at the moment it happens, the experience is often not even noticed. When it unfolds its revolutionary effect, and ensures that a life is revealed in a brand-new light, with a brand-new melody, it does that silently and in this wonderful silence resides its special nobility.”” [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life‑changing moments are usually subtle, not dramatic, and their impact is felt later as a quiet transformation. **In simple terms:** Big changes often happen quietly. Key Takeaway Notice subtle shifts. Themes change subtlety transformation reflection Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career pivots - relationship turning points - health revelations - creative breakthroughs Key Concepts existentialism quiet impact personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How can you become more aware of subtle shifts? - What quiet changes have reshaped your life? A Different Perspective Quiet moments may be missed, delaying recognition of their importance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decisive moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decisive-moments/) [Dramatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dramatic/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [For 'I Used to Be Funny,' there are really funny moments in that script, but there's also more dramatic moments and I think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-sennott/for-i-used-to-be-funny-there-are-really-funny-moments-in-that-script/) [Rachel Sennott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-sennott/) > [People love miracle stories and dramatic moments of transcendence or transformation, and may then pursue their own dramatic "awakenings."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/people-love-miracle-stories-and-dramatic-moments-of-transcendence-or/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [I love attempting to play real people. I like to try and have dramatic moments as well as comedic moments, and my favorite thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rudd/i-love-attempting-to-play-real-people-i-like-to-try-and-have-dramatic/) [Paul Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rudd/) > [I like stories with a collision of disparate tones. Look at 'Shameless' or 'House of Lies'. They go from big, silly, and comedic to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/i-like-stories-with-a-collision-of-disparate-tones-look-at-shameless/) [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) > [I am interested in the non-dramatic moments in life. I'm not at all attracted to making films that are about drama. A few years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/i-am-interested-in-the-non-dramatic-moments-in-life-i-m-not-at-all/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [Those final weeks, spanning end of summer and the beginning of another autumn, are blurred in memory, perhaps because our understanding of each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/those-final-weeks-spanning-end-of-summer-and-the-beginning-of-another/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [There is too great a tendency (perhaps encouraged by popular journalism) to deal with the dramatic moments, forgetting that these are not always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-parker-follett/there-is-too-great-a-tendency-perhaps-encouraged-by-popular/) [Mary Parker Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-parker-follett/) > [I was in the play 'Fat Pig in the West End,' which is a comedy but has dramatic moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-webb/i-was-in-the-play-fat-pig-in-the-west-end-which-is-a-comedy-but-has/) [Robert Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-webb/) > [My character Milly in 'The Boy Who Could Fly' was a very strong part. There were dramatic moments, and there were humorous moments, too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-deakins/my-character-milly-in-the-boy-who-could-fly-was-a-very-strong-part/) [Lucy Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-deakins/) > [“It’s a plié. You do it on all the positions. It’s very good for dramatic moments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/it-s-a-pli-you-do-it-on-all-the-positions-it-s-very-good-for-dramatic/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [In a film, there are dramatic moments and a bunch of different moments that lead up to a dramatic moment. On some songs, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giveon/in-a-film-there-are-dramatic-moments-and-a-bunch-of-different-moments/) [Giveon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giveon/) > ['Life Is Good' represents the most beautiful, dramatic and heavy moments in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/life-is-good-represents-the-most-beautiful-dramatic-and-heavy-moments/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are cavalry charges in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/civilization-advances-by-extending-the-number-of-important-operations/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [One never gets to know a person's character better than by watching his behavior during decisive moments… It is always only danger which forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/one-never-gets-to-know-a-person-s-character-better-than-by-watching/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [Even though fixed in time, a photograph evokes as much feeling as that which comes from music or dance. Whatever the mode - from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-gibson/even-though-fixed-in-time-a-photograph-evokes-as-much-feeling-as-that/) [Ralph Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-gibson/) ## More by Pascal Mercier > [To live for the moment: it sounds so right and so beautiful. But the more I want to, the less I understand what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/to-live-for-the-moment-it-sounds-so-right-and-so-beautiful-but-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [What did i know of your fantasies? Why do we know so little about the fantasies of our parents? What do we know of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/what-did-i-know-of-your-fantasies-why-do-we-know-so-little-about-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“One who would really like to know himself would have to be a restless, fanatical collector of disappointments, and seeking disappointing experiences must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/one-who-would-really-like-to-know-himself-would-have-to-be-a-restless/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [SOLIDAO, LONELINESS. What is it that we call loneliness. It can't simply be the absence of others, you can be alone and not lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/solidao-loneliness-what-is-it-that-we-call-loneliness-it-can-t-simply/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Then there was a silence he had never before experienced: in it, you could hear the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/then-there-was-a-silence-he-had-never-before-experienced-in-it-you/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“For that is the meaning of a farewell in the full, important sense of the word: that the two people, because they part, come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/for-that-is-the-meaning-of-a-farewell-in-the-full-important-sense-of/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Gregorius was never to forget this scene. They were his first Portuguese words in the real world and they worked. That words could cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/gregorius-was-never-to-forget-this-scene-they-were-his-first/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“After a while, he understood that he was experiencing a great liberation; the liberation from his self-imposed limitation, from a slowness and heaviness expressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/after-a-while-he-understood-that-he-was-experiencing-a-great/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“We can be sure that we will hold on to the deathbed as part of the last balance sheet – and this part will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/we-can-be-sure-that-we-will-hold-on-to-the-deathbed-as-part-of-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“NOBREZA SILENCIOSA. SILENT NOBILITY. It is a mistake to believe that the crucial moments of a life when its habitual direction changes forever must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/nobreza-silenciosa-silent-nobility-it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“Because the one who wishes it – isn’t the one who, still untouched by the future, stands at the crossroads. Instead, it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/because-the-one-who-wishes-it-isn-t-the-one-who-still-untouched-by/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [It is not the pain and the wounds that are the worst. The worst is the humiliation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/it-is-not-the-pain-and-the-wounds-that-are-the-worst-the-worst-is-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Isn't it true that it's not people who meet, but rather the shadows cast by their imaginations?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/isn-t-it-true-that-it-s-not-people-who-meet-but-rather-the-shadows/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Loyalty... A will, a decision, a resolution of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/loyalty-a-will-a-decision-a-resolution-of-the-soul/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“Should we be grateful for the protection that guards us from the strangeness of one another? And for the freedom it makes possible? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/should-we-be-grateful-for-the-protection-that-guards-us-from-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) [Explore all 69 Pascal Mercier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) ## More Decisive moments quotes > [Even though fixed in time, a photograph evokes as much feeling as that which comes from music or dance. Whatever the mode - from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-gibson/even-though-fixed-in-time-a-photograph-evokes-as-much-feeling-as-that/) [Ralph Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-gibson/) > [One never gets to know a person's character better than by watching his behavior during decisive moments… It is always only danger which forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/one-never-gets-to-know-a-person-s-character-better-than-by-watching/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are cavalry charges in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/civilization-advances-by-extending-the-number-of-important-operations/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [I am courageous at the decisive moment. But I need a good deal of start-up time, and I try to take as much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/i-am-courageous-at-the-decisive-moment-but-i-need-a-good-deal-of/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [Running makes you an athlete in all areas of life...trained in the basics, prepared for whatever comes, ready to fill each hour and deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-sheehan/running-makes-you-an-athlete-in-all-areas-of-life-trained-in-the/) [George A. Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-sheehan/) > [I wanted to make myself the most valuable player by making my presence felt at the decisive moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravichandran-ashwin/i-wanted-to-make-myself-the-most-valuable-player-by-making-my/) [Ravichandran Ashwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravichandran-ashwin/) > [Photographs offer more than decisive moments. They are not alone, they add and subtract and change with time. They are metaphors for our lives...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmundo-desnoes/photographs-offer-more-than-decisive-moments-they-are-not-alone-they/) [Edmundo Desnoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmundo-desnoes/) > [I'm a big fan of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the French photographer who had that whole "decisive moment" approach to taking pictures, of having multiple elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-zinner/i-m-a-big-fan-of-henri-cartier-bresson-the-french-photographer-who/) [Nick Zinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-zinner/) > [In the decisive moment I won the victory over myself. I chose to live. And believe me, it takes courage to choose life under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/in-the-decisive-moment-i-won-the-victory-over-myself-i-chose-to-live/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [Cartier-Bresson has said that photography seizes a 'decisive moment', that's true except that it shouldn't be taken too narrowly...does my picture of a cobweb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-strand/cartier-bresson-has-said-that-photography-seizes-a-decisive-moment/) [Paul Strand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-strand/) > [Decisive moment: the one when you will be really alone. And it is perhaps this that makes her hesitate: not the void, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/decisive-moment-the-one-when-you-will-be-really-alone-and-it-is/) [Helene Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/there-is-a-creative-fraction-of-a-second-when-you-are-taking-a/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) > [... a mysterious intersection of chance and attention that goes well beyond the existential surrealism of the 'decisive moment'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/a-mysterious-intersection-of-chance-and-attention-that-goes-well/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [The male clerk with his quill pen and copper-plate handwriting had gone for good. The female short-hand typist took his place. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/the-male-clerk-with-his-quill-pen-and-copper-plate-handwriting-had/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/oop-the-moment-once-you-miss-it-it-is-gone-forever/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) [Browse all 30 Decisive moments quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decisive-moments/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is a mistake to believe that the decisive moments of a life when its direction changes for ever must be marked by sentimental loud and shrill dramatics… In truth, the dramatic moments of a life-determining experience are often unbelievably low-key. It has so little in common with the bang, the flash, or the volcanic eruption that, at the moment it happens, the experience is often not even noticed. 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