--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you have to make a choice and don't…" description: "\"When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice.\" — William James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-james-228_choice_when-you-have-to-make-a-choice-and-don-t_502553.png" --- # When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is… ![“When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-james-228_choice_when-you-have-to-make-a-choice-and-don-t_502553.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-james-228_choice_when-you-have-to-make-a-choice-and-don-t_502553.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-james-228_choice_when-you-have-to-make-a-choice-and-don-t_502553.png) > “When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoiding a decision is itself a decision that can lead to missed opportunities. **In simple terms:** Not choosing is still choosing. Key Takeaway Recognize and act on decisions. Themes choice responsibility consequences Mood reflective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career moves - relationship choices - daily errands - financial decisions Key Concepts free will decision theory Questions to Reflect On - What decision are you avoiding? - How does in affect your life? A Different Perspective Indecision can cause regret and stagnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choice Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice-don-1911714/) [Don Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-make/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Make Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-choice/) ## Related quotes > [If you don't have a basis on which to make the choice, then you don't have a style at all. You have a series…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-glass/if-you-don-t-have-a-basis-on-which-to-make-the-choice-then-you-don-t/) [Philip Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-glass/) > [Make a choice, don't leave your balls hanging on a fork in the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/make-a-choice-don-t-leave-your-balls-hanging-on-a-fork-in-the-road/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is always a choice, even when you don't think there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/themonsterace/there-is-always-a-choice-even-when-you-don-t-think-there-is/) [TheMonsterAce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/themonsterace/) > [I believe in my own choice. I don't need approval from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-in-my-own-choice-i-don-t-need-approval-from-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I might not be someone's first choice, but I am a great choice. 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Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [When I have the choice to do something I don't want to do, I most often – most always – do it anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/when-i-have-the-choice-to-do-something-i-don-t-want-to-do-i-most/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Happiness is a choice. Don't let anyone or anything take that away from you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-a-choice-don-t-let-anyone-or-anything-take-that-away/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The choice is yours, don't be late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirvana/the-choice-is-yours-don-t-be-late/) [Nirvana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirvana/) > [I'm done being a second choice. I don't need anyone in my life that acts that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-done-being-a-second-choice-i-don-t-need-anyone-in-my-life-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He’s my drug of choice, and I don’t think there’s a rehab for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-hutchins/he-s-my-drug-of-choice-and-i-don-t-think-there-s-a-rehab-for-it/) [Amelia Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-hutchins/) > [Hate is a choice, don't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-kermis/hate-is-a-choice-don-t-do-it/) [Samuel Kermis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-kermis/) > [I don't know if I'm even making the right choice. I don't even know if I should listen to my mind or my heart!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-if-i-m-even-making-the-right-choice-i-don-t-even-know-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't make music for TikTok.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lola-young/i-don-t-make-music-for-tiktok/) [Lola Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lola-young/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## 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](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": "When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/when-you-have-to-make-a-choice-and-don-t-make-it-that-is-in-itself-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/when-you-have-to-make-a-choice-and-don-t-make-it-that-is-in-itself-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-james-228_choice_when-you-have-to-make-a-choice-and-don-t_502553.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-james-228_choice_when-you-have-to-make-a-choice-and-don-t_502553.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/william-james-228_choice_when-you-have-to-make-a-choice-and-don-t_502553.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice.” — William James", "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": "William James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you have to make a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/when-you-have-to-make-a-choice-and-don-t-make-it-that-is-in-itself-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/when-you-have-to-make-a-choice-and-don-t-make-it-that-is-in-itself-a/#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 } } ] } ```