--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The choice was whether to be sad and…" description: "\"“The choice was whether to be sad and foolish or sad and reasonable.”\" — Vicki Covington" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/vicki-covington-29699_choice_the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foo_226380.jpg" --- # The choice was whether to be sad and foolish or sad and… ![“The choice was whether to be sad and foolish or sad and reasonable.” quote by Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/vicki-covington-29699_choice_the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foo_226380.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/vicki-covington-29699_choice_the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foo_226380.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/vicki-covington-29699_choice_the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foo_226380.jpg) > ““The choice was whether to be sad and foolish or sad and reasonable.”” [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Faced with sadness, one must choose between irrational folly or rational acceptance of sorrow. **In simple terms:** Choose reason over foolishness when sad. Key Takeaway Embrace rational coping with sadness. Themes emotion reason sadness choice psychology Mood thoughtful empathetic Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - personal loss - mental health counseling - stress management Key Concepts cognitive therapy emotional intelligence philosophy of mind Questions to Reflect On - How can rationality aid grieving? - When is emotional expression preferable? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex emotional experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choice Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice-sad-2302917/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Foolish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolish/) [Foolish Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolish-sad-2302919/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Sad Foolish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-foolish-2302918/) [Sad Reasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-reasonable-2302920/) ## Related quotes > [...it isn't foolish or wicked to enjoy. Wickedness is hurting people on purpose. I love what you are and who you are and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/it-isn-t-foolish-or-wicked-to-enjoy-wickedness-is-hurting-people-on/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [You know what they say, 'You have to work at wisdom; you have to take pains to be reasonable, but to be foolish, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-colet/you-know-what-they-say-you-have-to-work-at-wisdom-you-have-to-take/) [Louise Colet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-colet/) > [Go then if you must, but remember, no matter how foolish your deeds, those who love you will love you still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/go-then-if-you-must-but-remember-no-matter-how-foolish-your-deeds/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Acknowledging foolishness is a very powerful and important experience. We could almost say that being willing to be a fool is one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/acknowledging-foolishness-is-a-very-powerful-and-important-experience/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [“I wish he were better at hailing taxis than I am; on the other hand, I realize that expectation is culturally conditioned, utterly foolish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/i-wish-he-were-better-at-hailing-taxis-than-i-am-on-the-other-hand-i/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [I have my good days and my bad days, but I don't have as much energy as I used to back when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey/i-have-my-good-days-and-my-bad-days-but-i-don-t-have-as-much-energy/) [Anne McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mccaffrey/) > [Foolish tongues talke by the dozen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/foolish-tongues-talke-by-the-dozen/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Right, and you point out something important which is that people who don’t want to pay, people who are pirates, don’t get bothered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/right-and-you-point-out-something-important-which-is-that-people-who/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The goal of the Creator is for each entity to make a conscious choice to again seek Oneness, out of our own free will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilcock/the-goal-of-the-creator-is-for-each-entity-to-make-a-conscious-choice/) [David Wilcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilcock/) > [Regrets are just a way for the foolish and the guilty to pass the time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gensoumaden-saiyuki/regrets-are-just-a-way-for-the-foolish-and-the-guilty-to-pass-the-time/) [Gensoumaden Saiyuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gensoumaden-saiyuki/) > [I was so foolish to ever leave your side, Searching for what was right before my eyes. It was me who didn't realize, 'til…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmine-sullivan/i-was-so-foolish-to-ever-leave-your-side-searching-for-what-was-right/) [Jazmine Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmine-sullivan/) > [Am I foolish and insignificant or am I great? I gave all the individuals in the world cause to kneel down in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-myung-moon/am-i-foolish-and-insignificant-or-am-i-great-i-gave-all-the/) [Sun Myung Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-myung-moon/) ## More by Vicki Covington > [“I was that kind of tired you feel when you’ve spent a day in a hospital while a loved one undergoes surgery and comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/i-was-that-kind-of-tired-you-feel-when-you-ve-spent-a-day-in-a/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“I’m serious, now let me know every time you see her cry. The thought brings me great joy. Hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/i-m-serious-now-let-me-know-every-time-you-see-her-cry-the-thought/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“If there’s one thing I learned in Alanon, it’s that you got to face the music because it just grows louder when you ignore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/if-there-s-one-thing-i-learned-in-alanon-it-s-that-you-got-to-face/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Old age breeds the miracle of recall. 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Don’t they always look like they just sat on a tack?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/i-ve-never-known-a-tranquil-atheist-don-t-they-always-look-like-they/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Dinah and I were raised to believe money taints ordinary people, obstructs virtue, and makes a fool out of you. So, the inheritance was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/dinah-and-i-were-raised-to-believe-money-taints-ordinary-people/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Mornings are fresh like babies, uncontaminated by events. I find them sad for that reason. They’re too fragile and naïve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/mornings-are-fresh-like-babies-uncontaminated-by-events-i-find-them/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“I allowed myself a microscopic view into his ice-colored eyes. 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It can arch your mental process to extremes so that, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/the-longing-for-a-man-as-you-know-is-a-grand-escape-it-can-arch-your/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“It was deep afternoon when shadows begin to grow, light becomes gold, and you realize that this particular day has reached its destiny. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/it-was-deep-afternoon-when-shadows-begin-to-grow-light-becomes-gold/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Neva ought to smile more. It breaks her anxiety into tiny pieces of joy you want to gather up and hand back to her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/neva-ought-to-smile-more-it-breaks-her-anxiety-into-tiny-pieces-of/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“All the men I know add that “hands that prepared it” line. 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“The choice was whether to be sad and foolish or sad and reasonable.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vicki Covington" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foolish-or-sad-and-reasonable/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foolish-or-sad-and-reasonable/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/vicki-covington-29699_choice_the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foo_226380.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/vicki-covington-29699_choice_the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foo_226380.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/vicki-covington-29699_choice_the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foo_226380.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The choice was whether to be sad and foolish or sad and reasonable.” — Vicki Covington", "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": "Vicki Covington", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The choice was whether to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foolish-or-sad-and-reasonable/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foolish-or-sad-and-reasonable/#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 } } ] } ```