--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Though I can't change what happened, I…" description: "\"Though I can't change what happened, I can choose how to react. And I don't want to spend the rest of my life being bitter and locked up.\" — Tori Amos" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/tori-amos-679_bitter_though-i-can-t-change-what-happened-i-ca_58596.png" --- # Though I can't change what happened, I can choose how to… ![“Though I can't change what happened, I can choose how to react. And I don't want to spend the rest of my life being bitter and locked up.” quote by Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/tori-amos-679_bitter_though-i-can-t-change-what-happened-i-ca_58596.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/tori-amos-679_bitter_though-i-can-t-change-what-happened-i-ca_58596.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b4/tori-amos-679_bitter_though-i-can-t-change-what-happened-i-ca_58596.png) > “Though I can't change what happened, I can choose how to react. And I don't want to spend the rest of my life being bitter and locked up.” [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledges past events are immutable, but personal agency lies in emotional response, urging release from resentment. **In simple terms:** Choosing reaction over circumstance. Key Takeaway We control our emotional narrative. Themes resilience personal agency emotional health acceptance growth Mood reflective determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - after a breakup - following a career setback - dealing with loss - recovering from betrayal Key Concepts mindset self‑compassion Practical Applications - therapy journaling - mindfulness practice Questions to Reflect On - How does holding bitterness affect daily life? - What small step can shift your reaction? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) [Bitter Locked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter-locked-806416/) [Can't change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-t-change/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Choose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Happened Choose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened-choose-806417/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-bitter-283644/) [Locked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locked/) [Locked up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locked-up/) [Survivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivor/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [You cant change what has already happened so choose to look ahead instead of behind you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cant-change-what-has-already-happened-so-choose-to-look-ahead/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am not what has happened to me. I am what I choose to become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-not-what-has-happened-to-me-i-am-what-i-choose-to-become/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are not what happened to us, we are what we choose to become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-not-what-happened-to-us-we-are-what-we-choose-to-become/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can't change what has happened, but you can choose how you're going to deal with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/you-can-t-change-what-has-happened-but-you-can-choose-how-you-re/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [You are not what has happened to you. You are what you choose to become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-norris/you-are-not-what-has-happened-to-you-you-are-what-you-choose-to-become/) [Chuck Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-norris/) > [I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-not-what-happened-to-me-i-am-what-i-choose-to-become/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become. – Carl Jung”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amal-awad/i-am-not-what-happened-to-me-i-am-what-i-choose-to-become-carl-jung/) [Amal Awad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amal-awad/) > [Every moment you have a choice, regardless of what has happened before. Choose right now to move forward, positively and confidently into your incredible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akash-verma/every-moment-you-have-a-choice-regardless-of-what-has-happened-before/) [Akash Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akash-verma/) > [The mythology around colorblindness leads people to imagine that if poor kids of color are failing or getting locked up in large numbers, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mythology-around-colorblindness-leads-people-to-imagine-that-if/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Who knows where I would be if I didn't come to L.A. I probably would have been locked up or dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-leto/who-knows-where-i-would-be-if-i-didn-t-come-to-l-a-i-probably-would/) [Shannon Leto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-leto/) > [I had gone to jail, but I wasn't gettin' locked up for drugs then. I was gettin' locked up for guns. My moms kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-notorious-b-i-g/i-had-gone-to-jail-but-i-wasn-t-gettin-locked-up-for-drugs-then-i-was/) [The Notorious B.I.G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-notorious-b-i-g/) > [What we, thanks to Jung, call "synchronicity" (coincidence on steroids), Buddhists have long known as "the interpenetration of realities." Whether it's a natural law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/what-we-thanks-to-jung-call-synchronicity-coincidence-on-steroids/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [51 years ago, when Hillary Clinton was working on the Goldwater campaign, Bernie Sanders was getting locked up for my rights. 50 years later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/51-years-ago-when-hillary-clinton-was-working-on-the-goldwater/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [Genius, whether locked up in a cell or roaming at large, is always solitary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/genius-whether-locked-up-in-a-cell-or-roaming-at-large-is-always/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [A children's author on a soapbox is not a pleasant sight but I have become drawn into issues, slightly unwillingly, relating to young people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/a-children-s-author-on-a-soapbox-is-not-a-pleasant-sight-but-i-have/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) ## More by Tori Amos > [My childhood was extreme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/my-childhood-was-extreme/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [The truth lies in between the 1st and the 40th drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/the-truth-lies-in-between-the-1st-and-the-40th-drink/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [“Sometimes I fantasize backstage about how people do their laundry. Woolite? Mixed-color loads? Do they fold? Do they press? Do they Shout it out?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/sometimes-i-fantasize-backstage-about-how-people-do-their-laundry/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [I don't feel I'm as good a mum as my mum was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/i-don-t-feel-i-m-as-good-a-mum-as-my-mum-was/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [I'm obsessed with crocodiles and getting eaten by one. When I hear that someone's been eaten by a crocodile or shark, I just get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/i-m-obsessed-with-crocodiles-and-getting-eaten-by-one-when-i-hear/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Being stylish is about enjoying your life and expressing yourself and your inner light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/being-stylish-is-about-enjoying-your-life-and-expressing-yourself-and/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [There certainly are situations where I feel not empowered or uninspired. Particularly when the person's agenda is to intimidate through abusing their position or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/there-certainly-are-situations-where-i-feel-not-empowered-or/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [When I play live, it's a conversation that we're all having with the song, and the audience... their response and relationship with the songs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/when-i-play-live-it-s-a-conversation-that-we-re-all-having-with-the/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Parenting is not for everybody. It changes your life. Especially when they're little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/parenting-is-not-for-everybody-it-changes-your-life-especially-when/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Pretty is never beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/pretty-is-never-beautiful/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [When you don't have people in your life pushing you, can you push yourself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/when-you-don-t-have-people-in-your-life-pushing-you-can-you-push/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Boys are cute, but food is cuter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/boys-are-cute-but-food-is-cuter/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [My mother says I was two-and-a-half when I started playing. My father was a minister, and when he went to church in the morning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/my-mother-says-i-was-two-and-a-half-when-i-started-playing-my-father/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [A lot of the carols were not as you hear them now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/a-lot-of-the-carols-were-not-as-you-hear-them-now/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [“This is very simple in the world of chicks: some are hoochies, some are not, and some should never try to be. It's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/this-is-very-simple-in-the-world-of-chicks-some-are-hoochies-some-are/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) [Explore all 413 Tori Amos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) ## More Bitter quotes > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Troy was a sweet, good man. We just were never destined to be married. We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/) [Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [One may have been a fool, but there's no foolishness like being bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/one-may-have-been-a-fool-but-there-s-no-foolishness-like-being-bitter/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“I doubt taking in a sullen, bitter, teenage girl with more issues than National Geographic is at the center of the vision board for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-doubt-taking-in-a-sullen-bitter-teenage-girl-with-more-issues-than/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-too-bitter-already-without-territories-and-wars-and-noble/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With every interview you feel like you lose a piece of yourself, and with every bad review you become just that little bit more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-march/with-every-interview-you-feel-like-you-lose-a-piece-of-yourself-and/) [Jane March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-march/) > [“Without the bitter, the sweet ain’t as sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-the-bitter-the-sweet-ain-t-as-sweet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I refuse to be one of those artists who, 10 years from now, they're bitter about the rise and the fall of their career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-refuse-to-be-one-of-those-artists-who-10-years-from-now-they-re/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [“In these days in which we live, when existence has become a thing of infinite complexity and fate, if it slips us a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/in-these-days-in-which-we-live-when-existence-has-become-a-thing-of/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/if-a-sudden-jar-can-cause-me-to-speak-an-impatient-unloving-word-then/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) [Browse all 1,923 Bitter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Though I can't change what happened, I can choose how to react. 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