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About this quote

What does it mean?
Every moment is shaped by past choices; there is no truly free point in time.
In plain terms
Your current choices are built from all your past choices.
What can you take from it?
Acknowledge how your past shapes your present decisions.

Where it applies

  • making life decisions
  • reflecting on regrets
  • planning future

Putting it to work

  • review past choices
  • trace decision paths
  • accept influence

Questions to consider

  • Which past choice influenced your current situation most?
  • Can you ever truly start fresh?

Another view

People can still make new choices despite past constraints.

More from Joan Didion

  1. The writer is always tricking the reader into listening to their dream.

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  2. We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget.

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  3. The willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life is the source from which self-respect springs.

    Permalink to quote #6

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