---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: a person must sometimes choose what he…"
description: "\"“a person must sometimes choose what he will see and what he will not; look away, look away from there now.”\" — Salman Rushdie"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/salman-rushdie-153_choose_a-person-must-sometimes-choose-what-he-w_706732.jpg"
---

#  a person must sometimes choose what he will see and what…

![“a person must sometimes choose what he will see and what he will not; look away, look away from there now.” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/salman-rushdie-153_choose_a-person-must-sometimes-choose-what-he-w_706732.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/salman-rushdie-153_choose_a-person-must-sometimes-choose-what-he-w_706732.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/salman-rushdie-153_choose_a-person-must-sometimes-choose-what-he-w_706732.jpg)

> ““a person must sometimes choose what he will see and what he will not; look away, look away from there now.””

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Choosing what to notice shapes reality; sometimes we must deliberately ignore certain things to protect ourselves or focus on what matters.

**In simple terms:** We decide what we see and what we ignore.

Key Takeaway

Be intentional about your focus.

Themes

perception choice mental health

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical advisory

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- media consumption
- stress management

Key Concepts

cognitive bias attention control

Questions to Reflect On

- What do you choose to look away from?
- How does selective seeing affect your wellbeing?

A Different Perspective

Ignoring can lead to missing important information.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [Every time you look at me, I look away Every time you look away, I look at you ^^](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan/every-time-you-look-at-me-i-look-away-every-time-you-look-away-i-look/)

[Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan/)

> [“When I'd see him I'd look at him, then look away, then look at him again. I never got closer than twenty feet, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-heaney/when-i-d-see-him-i-d-look-at-him-then-look-away-then-look-at-him/)

[Katie Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-heaney/)

> [“Look away, look away, look away …”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percival-everett/look-away-look-away-look-away/)

[Percival Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percival-everett/)

> [The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-well-of-your-incompleteness-runs-deep-but-make-the-effort-to-look/)

[Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/)

> [His eyes are so intense I want to look away . . . or never look away, I cant decide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/his-eyes-are-so-intense-i-want-to-look-away-or-never-look-away-i-cant/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You can spend your life looking over your shoulder or you can look ahead. I choose to look ahead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pleasant-rowland/you-can-spend-your-life-looking-over-your-shoulder-or-you-can-look/)

Pleasant Rowland

> [Style has become a crucial differentiating factor for most actors in the industry. I generally choose my look based on the character I essay.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akkineni-nagarjuna/style-has-become-a-crucial-differentiating-factor-for-most-actors-in/)

[Akkineni Nagarjuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akkineni-nagarjuna/)

> [“sometimes we see, and sometimes we simply choose not to look. Sometimes we just close our eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-seeber/sometimes-we-see-and-sometimes-we-simply-choose-not-to-look-sometimes/)

[Claire Seeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-seeber/)

> [“Silver linings are always there, even when we don't choose to look up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/silver-linings-are-always-there-even-when-we-don-t-choose-to-look-up/)

[Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/)

> [“Inner beauty doesn't try to be seen, it's obvious to all that choose to look”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-cambridge-counsellor/inner-beauty-doesn-t-try-to-be-seen-it-s-obvious-to-all-that-choose/)

The Cambridge Counsellor

> [The world is a busy place.you will always have to choose something to look at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kumar-anupam/the-world-is-a-busy-place-you-will-always-have-to-choose-something-to/)

[Kumar Anupam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kumar-anupam/)

> [You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/you-may-choose-to-look-the-other-way-but-you-can-never-say-again-that/)

[William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/)

> [“We all choose how to look at life. -- A Prologue to Love ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-caldwell/we-all-choose-how-to-look-at-life-a-prologue-to-love/)

[Taylor Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-caldwell/)

> [“As a teenager, I loved how I looked in the outfit of using drugs and exercising poor judgement. I had tried it on, spun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-bolz-weber/as-a-teenager-i-loved-how-i-looked-in-the-outfit-of-using-drugs-and/)

[Nadia Bolz-Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-bolz-weber/)

> [I want to see gay couples stuck with their significant other at Home Depot with that far away look in their eye, get me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-alan-grier/i-want-to-see-gay-couples-stuck-with-their-significant-other-at-home/)

[David Alan Grier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-alan-grier/)

## More by Salman Rushdie

> [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

[Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

## More Choose quotes

> [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [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/)

> [If somebody asks me to choose a biopic, it would be Narain Karthikeyan because I love racing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naga-chaitanya/if-somebody-asks-me-to-choose-a-biopic-it-would-be-narain-karthikeyan/)

[Naga Chaitanya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naga-chaitanya/)

> [“Either you soften your ego, or the world will do it for you. Choose!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-mccoy/either-you-soften-your-ego-or-the-world-will-do-it-for-you-choose/)

[Bert McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-mccoy/)

> [I'm aware of who I am and I'm comfortable with who I choose to date.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shibani-dandekar/i-m-aware-of-who-i-am-and-i-m-comfortable-with-who-i-choose-to-date/)

[Shibani Dandekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shibani-dandekar/)

> [No actor wants to choose - they just want all of the options available to them all the time; we tend to be pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/no-actor-wants-to-choose-they-just-want-all-of-the-options-available/)

[Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/)

> [If you choose to work at a larger company over a smaller company, you are more likely to be higher paid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-sweet/if-you-choose-to-work-at-a-larger-company-over-a-smaller-company-you/)

[Julie Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-sweet/)

> [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/)

[Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/)

> [It's only a thought and a thought can be changed. Choose good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/it-s-only-a-thought-and-a-thought-can-be-changed-choose-good-ones/)

[Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/)

> [People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime...so you gotta choose who is good for you! Be wise, be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-come-into-your-life-for-a-reason-a-season-or-a-lifetime-so-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'm not opposed - we manufacture a lot of socks in North Carolina - I just choose not to wear them. It's a Southern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-burr/i-m-not-opposed-we-manufacture-a-lot-of-socks-in-north-carolina-i/)

[Richard Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-burr/)

> [Having too many options is bad. I want one person, just one. Not a whole bunch to choose from,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roderickthefirst/having-too-many-options-is-bad-i-want-one-person-just-one-not-a-whole/)

RoderickTheFirst

> [If I could be anyone, I'd choose the lead singer of Arcade Fire, Win Butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-kardashian/if-i-could-be-anyone-i-d-choose-the-lead-singer-of-arcade-fire-win/)

[Rob Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-kardashian/)

> [People are as happy as they choose to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/people-are-as-happy-as-they-choose-to-be/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

Browse all 3,851 Choose quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“a person must sometimes choose what he will see and what he will not; look away, look away from there now.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Salman Rushdie"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-person-must-sometimes-choose-what-he-will-see-and-what-he-will-not/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Choose"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-person-must-sometimes-choose-what-he-will-see-and-what-he-will-not/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/salman-rushdie-153_choose_a-person-must-sometimes-choose-what-he-w_706732.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/salman-rushdie-153_choose_a-person-must-sometimes-choose-what-he-w_706732.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/salman-rushdie-153_choose_a-person-must-sometimes-choose-what-he-w_706732.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“a person must sometimes choose what he will see and what he will not; look away, look away from there now.” — Salman Rushdie",
                "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": "Salman Rushdie",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“a person must sometimes choose what...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-person-must-sometimes-choose-what-he-will-see-and-what-he-will-not/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-person-must-sometimes-choose-what-he-will-see-and-what-he-will-not/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
