--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We've stepped off the cliff and are…" description: "\"“We've stepped off the cliff and are falling into madness.”\" — Ted Dekker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/ted-dekker-1605_cliff_we-ve-stepped-off-the-cliff-and-are-fall_1078940.png" --- # We've stepped off the cliff and are falling into madness. ![“We've stepped off the cliff and are falling into madness.” quote by Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/ted-dekker-1605_cliff_we-ve-stepped-off-the-cliff-and-are-fall_1078940.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/ted-dekker-1605_cliff_we-ve-stepped-off-the-cliff-and-are-fall_1078940.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/ted-dekker-1605_cliff_we-ve-stepped-off-the-cliff-and-are-fall_1078940.png) > ““We've stepped off the cliff and are falling into madness.”” [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A sudden plunge into chaos can feel terrifying and uncontrollable. **In simple terms:** Falling into madness after a risky move. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty, seek grounding. Themes risk chaos psychology Mood anxious dramatic Type cautionary reflective When to use this quote - career crisis - relationship breakdown - creative projects Key Concepts existential dread loss of control Questions to Reflect On - What risks are you ignoring? - How can you create safety nets? A Different Perspective The quote dramatizes fear, but rational planning can mitigate panic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliff/) [Cliff Falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliff-falling-638718/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling/) [Falling Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-madness-2727830/) [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) ## Related quotes > [“When you jump off a cliff, falling can look a whole lot like flying, for a while anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elan-mastai/when-you-jump-off-a-cliff-falling-can-look-a-whole-lot-like-flying/) [Elan Mastai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elan-mastai/) > [“Not really suicide to jump off a cliff if you’re already falling. Bit of a rubbish metaphor, but you know what I mean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-w-ironmonger-john-ironmonger/not-really-suicide-to-jump-off-a-cliff-if-you-re-already-falling-bit/) [J.W. Ironmonger (John Ironmonger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-w-ironmonger-john-ironmonger/) > [I always likened retirement to falling off a cliff, and then you have to kind of brush yourself off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-young/i-always-likened-retirement-to-falling-off-a-cliff-and-then-you-have/) [Steve Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-young/) > [Now it is autumn and the falling fruit and the long journey towards oblivion. The apples falling like great drops of dew to bruise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/now-it-is-autumn-and-the-falling-fruit-and-the-long-journey-towards/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Life is like the dice that, falling, still show a different face. So life, though it remains the same, is always presenting different aspects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-sanchez/life-is-like-the-dice-that-falling-still-show-a-different-face-so/) [Alexis Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-sanchez/) > [Falling down is not a failure. Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/falling-down-is-not-a-failure-failure-comes-when-you-stay-where-you/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Stumbling is not falling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/stumbling-is-not-falling/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Commitment is taking the first step, even if it means falling the rest of the way down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-fesler/commitment-is-taking-the-first-step-even-if-it-means-falling-the-rest/) [Wes Fesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-fesler/) > [I'm falling into disrepair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/i-m-falling-into-disrepair/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [Sometimes when things seem to be falling apart, they are actually falling into place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-when-things-seem-to-be-falling-apart-they-are-actually/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a man as great as the gods… But even the great can tremble with fear. Even the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-man-as-great-as-the-gods-but-even-the/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [“If you ever falling but can't see the bottom be glad you can't because at the bottom it's either a soft land or rocks!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelseigh-ashton/if-you-ever-falling-but-can-t-see-the-bottom-be-glad-you-can-t/) [Kelseigh Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelseigh-ashton/) > [“We will all, at some point in our lives, fall. Every single one of us. We shouldn't spend our time trying to avoid falling.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/we-will-all-at-some-point-in-our-lives-fall-every-single-one-of-us-we/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) ## More by Ted Dekker > [Grow up? Get herself straightened out? Her mind reeled from the verbal battering. No matter what she did, her father would tell her she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/grow-up-get-herself-straightened-out-her-mind-reeled-from-the-verbal/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [My idea for 'BoneMan's Daughters' came from the loss of my own daughter when she left home to live with a monster at age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/my-idea-for-boneman-s-daughters-came-from-the-loss-of-my-own-daughter/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [And does man simply choose evil, or does he create it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/and-does-man-simply-choose-evil-or-does-he-create-it/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“doing good required taking risks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/doing-good-required-taking-risks/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“Pape called Basil his sanctuary. In truth we all exist in our own sanctuaries-but I don't mean cathedrals or prisons. I'm talking about our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/pape-called-basil-his-sanctuary-in-truth-we-all-exist-in-our-own/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“The physical power of real love is staggering, because real forgiveness is staggering...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/the-physical-power-of-real-love-is-staggering-because-real/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“The only barrier to apprehending the truth is our own unwillingness to see the world as it is instead of how we prefer it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/the-only-barrier-to-apprehending-the-truth-is-our-own-unwillingness/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [What is pure Bill? Or excellent or admirable? The death of a million people in a flood? God evidently through so. He is incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/what-is-pure-bill-or-excellent-or-admirable-the-death-of-a-million/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [It's critical that we use a very dark brush to paint evil. When you bring the light into that darkness as characterized in John…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/it-s-critical-that-we-use-a-very-dark-brush-to-paint-evil-when-you/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [Sin thrives in the dungeon, but slap it on the table for all to see, and it withers rather quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/sin-thrives-in-the-dungeon-but-slap-it-on-the-table-for-all-to-see/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“Elyon was restoring the Great Romance. Teeleh had stolen his first love, but now Justin had reclaimed her. The price had been his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/elyon-was-restoring-the-great-romance-teeleh-had-stolen-his-first/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [The good news is that even though we walk through this valley of death, we don't have to fear, at least not for ourselves!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/the-good-news-is-that-even-though-we-walk-through-this-valley-of/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“We become so used to the familiar that we begin to doubt the unfamiliar, until our eyes are opened and we see .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/we-become-so-used-to-the-familiar-that-we-begin-to-doubt-the/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [Perfect, that's our plan then. But you'll have to give up being a priest first. I wouldn't want to just sit around whispering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/perfect-that-s-our-plan-then-but-you-ll-have-to-give-up-being-a/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) [Explore all 222 Ted Dekker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) ## More Cliff quotes > [The unemployed in Greece can get a voucher and choose a training program somewhere in Europe to be retrained during this crisis and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-papandreou/the-unemployed-in-greece-can-get-a-voucher-and-choose-a-training/) [George Papandreou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-papandreou/) > [“Cliff took his arm from my shoulder and raised both hands high. "Go. Be gone!" All of the birds stopped shrieking”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-claflin/cliff-took-his-arm-from-my-shoulder-and-raised-both-hands-high-go-be/) [Stacy Claflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-claflin/) > [Sometimes I think my past life was unrealized. I met a tragic end - it might have been a car over a cliff. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-ebersole/sometimes-i-think-my-past-life-was-unrealized-i-met-a-tragic-end-it/) [Christine Ebersole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-ebersole/) > [Let's push the Pentagon off the fiscal cliff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sheehan/let-s-push-the-pentagon-off-the-fiscal-cliff/) [Cindy Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sheehan/) > [“She had what I'd call a lemming ass - that is, an ass that you would follow right over the edge of the cliff.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/she-had-what-i-d-call-a-lemming-ass-that-is-an-ass-that-you-would/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [I'm not a lemming about to run off the end of a cliff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-roeder/i-m-not-a-lemming-about-to-run-off-the-end-of-a-cliff/) [Glenn Roeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-roeder/) > [Wow! We beat him! I mean, yeah technically he fell off a cliff but, we still won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/po-the-dragon-warrior/wow-we-beat-him-i-mean-yeah-technically-he-fell-off-a-cliff-but-we/) [Po - The Dragon Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/po-the-dragon-warrior/) > [I've now met, I would say, almost every single one of my rock idols. I feel like I should just drive off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-schafer/i-ve-now-met-i-would-say-almost-every-single-one-of-my-rock-idols-i/) [Tim Schafer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-schafer/) > [People with high levels of wellbeing have been careful to work out early in the morning and not to have heavy meals throughout the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/people-with-high-levels-of-wellbeing-have-been-careful-to-work-out/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) > [Don't make me hang on to long I have the grip but this cliff is really steep but for you ill be like spiderman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-mcglory/don-t-make-me-hang-on-to-long-i-have-the-grip-but-this-cliff-is/) [Greg Mcglory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-mcglory/) > [“Feeling the Wind in Your Hair The peak of the cliff sits tantalizingly close. Your hands rest on your knees as you gasp, willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-kieran/feeling-the-wind-in-your-hair-the-peak-of-the-cliff-sits/) [Dan Kieran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-kieran/) > [I always likened retirement to falling off a cliff, and then you have to kind of brush yourself off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-young/i-always-likened-retirement-to-falling-off-a-cliff-and-then-you-have/) [Steve Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-young/) > [There is something about writing poetry that brings a man close to the cliff's edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-something-about-writing-poetry-that-brings-a-man-close-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Acting like it's a big deal because, hey, I don't who Cliff Bowyer is. -Si](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duck-dynasty/acting-like-it-s-a-big-deal-because-hey-i-don-t-who-cliff-bowyer-is-si/) [Duck Dynasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duck-dynasty/) > [“Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down.--Ray Bradbury”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-k-thorne/go-to-the-edge-of-the-cliff-and-jump-off-build-your-wings-on-the-way/) [T.K. Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-k-thorne/) [Browse all 159 Cliff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliff/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We've stepped off the cliff and are falling into madness.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ted Dekker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/we-ve-stepped-off-the-cliff-and-are-falling-into-madness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cliff" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/we-ve-stepped-off-the-cliff-and-are-falling-into-madness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/ted-dekker-1605_cliff_we-ve-stepped-off-the-cliff-and-are-fall_1078940.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/ted-dekker-1605_cliff_we-ve-stepped-off-the-cliff-and-are-fall_1078940.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/ted-dekker-1605_cliff_we-ve-stepped-off-the-cliff-and-are-fall_1078940.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We've stepped off the cliff and are falling into madness.” — Ted Dekker", "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": "Ted Dekker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We've stepped off the cliff and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/we-ve-stepped-off-the-cliff-and-are-falling-into-madness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/we-ve-stepped-off-the-cliff-and-are-falling-into-madness/#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 } } ] } ```