--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We rarely consider that we're also formed…" description: "\"“We rarely consider that we're also formed by the decisions we didn't make, by events that could have happened but didn't, or by our lack of choices, f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/rabih-alameddine-7394_choices_we-rarely-consider-that-we-re-also-forme_1750827.jpg" --- # We rarely consider that we're also formed by the decisions… ![“We rarely consider that we're also formed by the decisions we didn't make, by events that could have happened but didn't, or by our lack of choices, for that matter.” quote by Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/rabih-alameddine-7394_choices_we-rarely-consider-that-we-re-also-forme_1750827.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/rabih-alameddine-7394_choices_we-rarely-consider-that-we-re-also-forme_1750827.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/rabih-alameddine-7394_choices_we-rarely-consider-that-we-re-also-forme_1750827.jpg) > ““We rarely consider that we're also formed by the decisions we didn't make, by events that could have happened but didn't, or by our lack of choices, for that matter.”” [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unchosen paths and missed possibilities shape our identity as much as our actions. **In simple terms:** What we didn't do also defines us. Key Takeaway Reflect on the impact of your unmade choices. Themes identity choice possibility reflection Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - life planning - creative writing - personal therapy Key Concepts counterfactual thinking self‑construction narrative identity Questions to Reflect On - Which unchosen path haunts you? - Can you reframe missed chances as learning? A Different Perspective Focusing on regrets can hinder present growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Decision making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [We carefully count others offenses against us, but we rarely consider what others may suffer because of us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laine/we-carefully-count-others-offenses-against-us-but-we-rarely-consider/) [Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laine/) > [“Life was too short and too precious to waste making decisions you didn't really want.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-sterling/life-was-too-short-and-too-precious-to-waste-making-decisions-you/) [J. Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-sterling/) > [Many times an actor is stuck for the lack of choices. The same happened with me when I started my career. That was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjun-rampal/many-times-an-actor-is-stuck-for-the-lack-of-choices-the-same/) [Arjun Rampal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjun-rampal/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [My best business decision was to be independent as a musician and artist. 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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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [Indecision becomes decision with time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indecision-becomes-decision-with-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Rabih Alameddine > [“I like men and women who don't fit well in the dominant culture, or, as Alvar de Campos calls them, strangers in this place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/i-like-men-and-women-who-don-t-fit-well-in-the-dominant-culture-or-as/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [I believe one has to escape oneself to discover oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/i-believe-one-has-to-escape-oneself-to-discover-oneself/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“I was always alone, Doc, solitary whether I wished to be or not, ever since I could remember I wished to be lost in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/i-was-always-alone-doc-solitary-whether-i-wished-to-be-or-not-ever/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“When you write about the past, you lie with each letter, with every grapheme, including the goddamn comma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/when-you-write-about-the-past-you-lie-with-each-letter-with-every/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“Causation extraction makes Jack a dull reader.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/causation-extraction-makes-jack-a-dull-reader/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“He may be my half brother, but we're not related. A chasm of incommunicable worlds lies between us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/he-may-be-my-half-brother-but-we-re-not-related-a-chasm-of/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [You look at the Koran or the Bible, they all tell the same stories. You see them as the stories of the Middle East.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/you-look-at-the-koran-or-the-bible-they-all-tell-the-same-stories-you/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“Other people are hazy phenomena that become corporeal only in my memories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/other-people-are-hazy-phenomena-that-become-corporeal-only-in-my/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“In reality, the only true model of a successful woman was the Divine Sarah.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/in-reality-the-only-true-model-of-a-successful-woman-was-the-divine/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“I told her I was not sure I could bear living with memories, she said, Look up at the stars, look, they are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/i-told-her-i-was-not-sure-i-could-bear-living-with-memories-she-said/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“In Beirut, death’s unremitting light shines bright for all to see, brighter than the Mediterranean sun, brighter than the night’s Russian missiles, brighter than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/in-beirut-death-s-unremitting-light-shines-bright-for-all-to-see/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“I read books—read, read, one can learn everything from books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/i-read-books-read-read-one-can-learn-everything-from-books/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“In the summer of 1982, while Israeli armored tanks and gunships imposed a siege of another age on rampartless Beirut, cutting off the water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/in-the-summer-of-1982-while-israeli-armored-tanks-and-gunships/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [How can I expect readers to know who I am if I do not tell them about my family, my friends, the relationships in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/how-can-i-expect-readers-to-know-who-i-am-if-i-do-not-tell-them-about/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [By nature, a storyteller is a plagiarist. Everything one comes across--each incident, book, novel, life episode, story, person, news clip--is a coffee bean that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/by-nature-a-storyteller-is-a-plagiarist-everything-one-comes-across/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) [Explore all 85 Rabih Alameddine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) ## More Choices quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) Alison James > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [Clarissa," he said, "here with the vampire, I see. When things have settled a bit, we really must discuss you choice in pets..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clarissa-he-said-here-with-the-vampire-i-see-when-things-have-settled/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [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/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [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/) > [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/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [I don't know that any woman could ever not think about that at some point - even making the choice not to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/i-don-t-know-that-any-woman-could-ever-not-think-about-that-at-some/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Browse all 11,466 Choices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We rarely consider that we're also formed by the decisions we didn't make, by events that could have happened but didn't, or by our lack of choices, for that matter.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rabih Alameddine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/we-rarely-consider-that-we-re-also-formed-by-the-decisions-we-didn-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choices" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/we-rarely-consider-that-we-re-also-formed-by-the-decisions-we-didn-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/rabih-alameddine-7394_choices_we-rarely-consider-that-we-re-also-forme_1750827.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/rabih-alameddine-7394_choices_we-rarely-consider-that-we-re-also-forme_1750827.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/rabih-alameddine-7394_choices_we-rarely-consider-that-we-re-also-forme_1750827.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We rarely consider that we're also formed by the decisions we didn't make, by events that could have…” — Rabih Alameddine", "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": "Rabih Alameddine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We rarely consider that we're also...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/we-rarely-consider-that-we-re-also-formed-by-the-decisions-we-didn-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/we-rarely-consider-that-we-re-also-formed-by-the-decisions-we-didn-t/#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 } } ] } ```