--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We found ourselves discussing the three…" description: "\"“We found ourselves discussing the three kinds of fateful choices that exist in the two books: the ones characters make knowing that they can never be ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/will-schwalbe-3101_books_we-found-ourselves-discussing-the-three_2350144.jpg" --- # We found ourselves discussing the three kinds of fateful… ![“We found ourselves discussing the three kinds of fateful choices that exist in the two books: the ones characters make knowing that they can never be undone; the ones they make thinking they can but learn they can’t; and the ones they make thinking they can’t and only later come to understand…” quote by Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/will-schwalbe-3101_books_we-found-ourselves-discussing-the-three_2350144.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/will-schwalbe-3101_books_we-found-ourselves-discussing-the-three_2350144.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/will-schwalbe-3101_books_we-found-ourselves-discussing-the-three_2350144.jpg) > ““We found ourselves discussing the three kinds of fateful choices that exist in the two books: the ones characters make knowing that they can never be undone; the ones they make thinking they can but learn they can’t; and the ones they make thinking they can’t and only later come to understand, when it’s too late, when “nothing can be undone,” that they could have. Mom had always taught all of us to examine decisions by reversibility—that is, to hedge our bets. When you couldn’t decide between two things, she suggested you choose the one that allowed you to change course if necessary. Not the road less traveled but the road with the exit ramp.”” [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes three types of choices: irreversible, seemingly reversible but not, and irreversible only realized too late; advises choosing options with exit strategies. **In simple terms:** Choose choices that allow future changes. Key Takeaway Pick flexible options when uncertain. Themes decision‑making uncertainty future‑planning Mood analytical pragmatic Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - career planning - investment decisions - personal relationships - project management Key Concepts reversibility risk management choice theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you evaluate reversibility? - What exit strategies do you build into choices? A Different Perspective Not all decisions can truly be reversed; some constraints are fixed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Change Course](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-course/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Choices Exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices-exist-5719273/) [Decide Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide-things-613471/) [Decision making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) [Decisions Reversibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decisions-reversibility-613468/) [Fateful Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fateful-choices-5719272/) [Road less traveled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/road-less-traveled/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) ## Related quotes > [“Mom had always taught all of us to examine decisions by reversibility--that is, to hedge our bets. When you couldn't decide between two things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/mom-had-always-taught-all-of-us-to-examine-decisions-by-reversibility/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [“The moment we decide things don't have to be a certain way, we create the possibility that they could be better than we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-deschene/the-moment-we-decide-things-don-t-have-to-be-a-certain-way-we-create/) [Lori Deschene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-deschene/) > [I can't figure out how they decide on those things. So I don't have any regrets about anything that I did that didn't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petersen/i-can-t-figure-out-how-they-decide-on-those-things-so-i-don-t-have/) [William Petersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petersen/) > [“It isn’t fair that nothing has color!” “Not fair?” The Giver looked at Jonas curiously. “Explain what you mean.” “Well . . .” Jonas had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/it-isn-t-fair-that-nothing-has-color-not-fair-the-giver-looked-at/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [“Other people will try to decide things for you, she says. They'll try to tell you who you are. Remember, no matter what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-talley/other-people-will-try-to-decide-things-for-you-she-says-they-ll-try/) [Robin Talley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-talley/) > [“We underestimate the power of choice, our power to suddenly wake up one day bored of our own bullshit and decide to do things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saskia-lightstar/we-underestimate-the-power-of-choice-our-power-to-suddenly-wake-up/) [Saskia Lightstar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saskia-lightstar/) > [“If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time.” Chinese Proverb”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/if-you-must-play-decide-upon-three-things-at-the-start-the-rules-of/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“I keep waiting for the universe to decide things for me, and the thing is, the universe has better things to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/i-keep-waiting-for-the-universe-to-decide-things-for-me-and-the-thing/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“Yet after that, everybody seemed to know what to do, because they understood each other so well. Then they could get together in smaller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/yet-after-that-everybody-seemed-to-know-what-to-do-because-they/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Don’t play old tapes. Just cut the very root, just drop the whole idea of old patterns and old habits and start living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/don-t-play-old-tapes-just-cut-the-very-root-just-drop-the-whole-idea/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [“You cannot be responsible for some things that happen on earth. You may attempt to act, God alone will decide. Some things are mysteries!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-cannot-be-responsible-for-some-things-that-happen-on-earth-you/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“If everything's the same, then there aren't any choices! I want to wake up in the morning and decide things!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/if-everything-s-the-same-then-there-aren-t-any-choices-i-want-to-wake/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [If you must play, decide on three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverbs/if-you-must-play-decide-on-three-things-at-the-start-the-rules-of-the/) [Chinese Proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverbs/) > [Happiness is a choice. You can decide how things affect you. You can decide how you react. It's up to YOU.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-a-choice-you-can-decide-how-things-affect-you-you-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You decide the things that ultimately you do. You have choices in this world, and that's how I live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-labelle/you-decide-the-things-that-ultimately-you-do-you-have-choices-in-this/) [Leah LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-labelle/) ## More by Will Schwalbe > [And my first item on each day's list is this: Wake up. If I can check that off, I've already done something and can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/and-my-first-item-on-each-day-s-list-is-this-wake-up-if-i-can-check/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [“You can truly miss characters. Not like you miss people, but you can still miss them. I don’t think I’ll ever get over Melanie’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/you-can-truly-miss-characters-not-like-you-miss-people-but-you-can/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [“and sister and father and mother had. 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He says, "I don't even believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/in-gilead-the-narrator-s-friend-s-son-describes-himself-not-as-an/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [“I did manage to read some pages from a book that’s also about how people can find strength they didn’t know they had.” “What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/i-did-manage-to-read-some-pages-from-a-book-that-s-also-about-how/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [“I'm not the same reader when I finish a book as I was when I started, brains are tangles of pathways, and reading creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/i-m-not-the-same-reader-when-i-finish-a-book-as-i-was-when-i-started/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [“Connelly writes, “As long as there is paper, people will write, secretly, in small rooms, in the hidden chambers of their minds, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/connelly-writes-as-long-as-there-is-paper-people-will-write-secretly/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [“When I think back on all the refugee camps I visited, all over the world, the people always asked for the same thing: books.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/when-i-think-back-on-all-the-refugee-camps-i-visited-all-over-the/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [“asked: “And I was very surprised by the ending. Were you?” “Of course not—I’d read it first. I don’t think I could have stood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/asked-and-i-was-very-surprised-by-the-ending-were-you-of-course-not-i/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [“A father and his son are in a terrible car crash. The father is killed instantly—but the son survives, barely, his life hanging in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/a-father-and-his-son-are-in-a-terrible-car-crash-the-father-is-killed/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [...in the eyes of her oldest friends and colleagues and extended family, she wasn't a painfully thin seventy-five-year-old gray haired woman dying of cancer-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/in-the-eyes-of-her-oldest-friends-and-colleagues-and-extended-family/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [“I like books. I don't read them. But I like them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/i-like-books-i-don-t-read-them-but-i-like-them/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [“Lahiri's characters, just like people all around us, are constantly telling each other important things, but not necessarily in words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/lahiri-s-characters-just-like-people-all-around-us-are-constantly/) [will schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) [Explore all 139 Will Schwalbe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We found ourselves discussing the three kinds of fateful choices that exist in the two books: the ones characters make knowing that they can never be undone; the ones they make thinking they can but learn they can’t; and the ones they make thinking they can’t and only later come to understand, when it’s too late, when “nothing can be undone,” that they could have. Mom had always taught all of us to examine decisions by reversibility—that is, to hedge our bets. When you couldn’t decide between two things, she suggested you choose the one that allowed you to change course if necessary. Not the road less traveled but the road with the exit ramp.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Will Schwalbe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/we-found-ourselves-discussing-the-three-kinds-of-fateful-choices-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/we-found-ourselves-discussing-the-three-kinds-of-fateful-choices-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/will-schwalbe-3101_books_we-found-ourselves-discussing-the-three_2350144.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/will-schwalbe-3101_books_we-found-ourselves-discussing-the-three_2350144.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5c/will-schwalbe-3101_books_we-found-ourselves-discussing-the-three_2350144.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We found ourselves discussing the three kinds of fateful choices that exist in the two books: the ones…” — Will Schwalbe", "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": "Will Schwalbe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We found ourselves discussing the three...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/we-found-ourselves-discussing-the-three-kinds-of-fateful-choices-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/we-found-ourselves-discussing-the-three-kinds-of-fateful-choices-that/#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 } } ] } ```