---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is our life. We get to decide the…"
description: "\"“This is our life. We get to decide the rules. We get to say what goes and what stays, what matters and what doesn’t.”\" — Sandhya Menon"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sandhya-menon-18831_choice_this-is-our-life-we-get-to-decide-the-ru_2797070.jpg"
---

#  This is our life. We get to decide the rules. We get to…

![“This is our life. We get to decide the rules. We get to say what goes and what stays, what matters and what doesn’t.” quote by Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sandhya-menon-18831_choice_this-is-our-life-we-get-to-decide-the-ru_2797070.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sandhya-menon-18831_choice_this-is-our-life-we-get-to-decide-the-ru_2797070.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sandhya-menon-18831_choice_this-is-our-life-we-get-to-decide-the-ru_2797070.jpg)

> ““This is our life. We get to decide the rules. We get to say what goes and what stays, what matters and what doesn’t.””

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

## About This Quote

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

Life is self‑determined; we choose its rules and values.

**In simple terms:** We set our own life rules.

Key Takeaway

Own your choices.

Themes

agency self‑determination life philosophy

Mood

empowering thoughtful

Type

fictional philosophical

When to use this quote

- goal setting
- self‑reflection
- empowerment

Key Concepts

personal decision‑making value setting

Questions to Reflect On

- What limits personal agency?
- How to respect others’ rules?

A Different Perspective

May ignore external constraints.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

## Related quotes

> [The Sudanese people decide who rules them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-al-bashir/the-sudanese-people-decide-who-rules-them/)

[Omar al-Bashir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-al-bashir/)

> [“In life, everyone must decide in what area of life he or she wants to be great. You must choose what territory you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/in-life-everyone-must-decide-in-what-area-of-life-he-or-she-wants-to/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [Sometime in life we must decide whether we should hold on or let go, because it makes no sense to hold on to someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/sometime-in-life-we-must-decide-whether-we-should-hold-on-or-let-go/)

[Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/)

> [Before you let go of something dear to your heart, try imagining life without it. Then decide whether or not it's worth holding on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-you-let-go-of-something-dear-to-your-heart-try-imagining-life/)

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

> [There comes a time in everyone's life where you must decide your worth. You may lose yourself waiting on the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-comes-a-time-in-everyone-s-life-where-you-must-decide-your/)

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

> [Fate controls who walks into your life, but you decide who you let walk out, who you let stay, and who you refuse to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fate-controls-who-walks-into-your-life-but-you-decide-who-you-let/)

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

> [The hardest thing about life is to decide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/insane-insomniac/the-hardest-thing-about-life-is-to-decide/)

[Insane &amp; Insomniac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/insane-insomniac/)

> [The first step to getting the things you want from life is to decide what you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-first-step-to-getting-the-things-you-want-from-life-is-to-decide/)

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

> [“your life is what you decide to make it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-piper/your-life-is-what-you-decide-to-make-it/)

[Katie Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-piper/)

> [God determines who walks into your life. You decide who stays and who walks out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldyna-threesya/god-determines-who-walks-into-your-life-you-decide-who-stays-and-who/)

[Aldyna Threesya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldyna-threesya/)

> [The first step in getting what you want from life-decide what you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stein/the-first-step-in-getting-what-you-want-from-life-decide-what-you-want/)

[Ben Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stein/)

> [“There comes a time in life when you must decide what is best for you. Sometimes, you have to get rid of distractions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/there-comes-a-time-in-life-when-you-must-decide-what-is-best-for-you/)

[Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/)

> [God determines who walks into your life. It's up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proudlesbian/god-determines-who-walks-into-your-life-it-s-up-to-you-to-decide-who/)

ProudLesbian

> [What you believe in, is the life you decide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keshia-chante/what-you-believe-in-is-the-life-you-decide/)

[Keshia Chante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keshia-chante/)

> [Fear is going to be a player in your life, but you get to decide how much!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/fear-is-going-to-be-a-player-in-your-life-but-you-get-to-decide-how/)

[Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/)

## More by Sandhya Menon

> [“With a lurch Rishi realized his brain was also diverting blood flow to other parts of his body. He immediately began to think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/with-a-lurch-rishi-realized-his-brain-was-also-diverting-blood-flow/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“You. Are. Beautiful. Lajawab. My only worry is that I might not be able to do you justice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/you-are-beautiful-lajawab-my-only-worry-is-that-i-might-not-be-able/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“When they finally pulled apart, Rishi’s mouth tingling still, Dimple smiled shyly and looked down at their hands, entwined between them on the bench.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/when-they-finally-pulled-apart-rishi-s-mouth-tingling-still-dimple/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“She’d say this for him: He had no guile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/she-d-say-this-for-him-he-had-no-guile/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“I feel like I need to speak out, because if no one speaks out, if no one says, this is me, this is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/i-feel-like-i-need-to-speak-out-because-if-no-one-speaks-out-if-no/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“And then he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him, one hand moving up to cup her cheek, thumb just under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/and-then-he-grabbed-her-around-the-waist-and-pulled-her-to-him-one/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“She wept for her hardheadedness, and for a world that couldn't just let her be both, a woman in love and a woman with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/she-wept-for-her-hardheadedness-and-for-a-world-that-couldn-t-just/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“It was like two invisible puppeteers, standing stage left and stage right, were yanking on strings to lift up the corners of her mouth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/it-was-like-two-invisible-puppeteers-standing-stage-left-and-stage/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“Dimple thought of Insomnia Con, of Jenny Lindt, of SFSU, of Stanford. Of all the things she’d jeopardize if she called Ritu auntie a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/dimple-thought-of-insomnia-con-of-jenny-lindt-of-sfsu-of-stanford-of/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“Dimple pointed the camera at the statue”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/dimple-pointed-the-camera-at-the-statue/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“Her body conveyed anger like a second language; she must have had a lot of practice”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/her-body-conveyed-anger-like-a-second-language-she-must-have-had-a/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“He’d just been waiting for her to catch up to him. And,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/he-d-just-been-waiting-for-her-to-catch-up-to-him-and/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“It was sort of nice that she didn’t need to explain the hovering, how it really came from a place of love. Rishi got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/it-was-sort-of-nice-that-she-didn-t-need-to-explain-the-hovering-how/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“She set her book carefully down, dog-earing a corner of her page with love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/she-set-her-book-carefully-down-dog-earing-a-corner-of-her-page-with/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

> [“Dimple could see, flush from the endorphins of a great performance, why actors and performers got addicted to this kind of thing. It had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/dimple-could-see-flush-from-the-endorphins-of-a-great-performance-why/)

[Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

[Explore all 34 Sandhya Menon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/)

## 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": "“This is our life. We get to decide the rules. We get to say what goes and what stays, what matters and what doesn’t.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sandhya Menon"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/this-is-our-life-we-get-to-decide-the-rules-we-get-to-say-what-goes/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Choice"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/this-is-our-life-we-get-to-decide-the-rules-we-get-to-say-what-goes/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sandhya-menon-18831_choice_this-is-our-life-we-get-to-decide-the-ru_2797070.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sandhya-menon-18831_choice_this-is-our-life-we-get-to-decide-the-ru_2797070.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/sandhya-menon-18831_choice_this-is-our-life-we-get-to-decide-the-ru_2797070.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“This is our life. We get to decide the rules. We get to say what goes and what stays, what matters and what…” — Sandhya Menon",
                "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": "Sandhya Menon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“This is our life. We get...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/this-is-our-life-we-get-to-decide-the-rules-we-get-to-say-what-goes/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/this-is-our-life-we-get-to-decide-the-rules-we-get-to-say-what-goes/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
