When we are young, we look to our families for guidance in decision-making situations and learn to choose wisely. For those among us who grew up without much guidance, learning to make decisions wisely is a matter of learning what great people have said about it throughout history.
The quotes that follow are gathered from great minds ranging from Aristotle (Alexander the Great’s teacher) to modern speakers and authors. Aristotle tells us that “choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” Charles Dickens reminds us that we build our own chains and willingly lock ourselves in them with unwise decisions. The philosopher Bertrand Russell advises comically “Chose your parents wisely.”
It’s never too late or too early to learn the critical skill of choosing wisely.
These 65 inspiring quotes about choosing wisely are great reminders to us all to remain true to ourselves when we make choices.
Choosing Wisely Quotes
- “Your life is not a simulation; it’s the real game. Play wisely.” Richelle E. Goodrich
- “One cannot choose wisely for a life unless he dares to listen to himself, his own self, at each moment of his life.” Abraham Maslow
- “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” Aristotle
- “Your choices decide your fate. Take the time to make the right ones. If you make a mistake, that’s fine; learn from it & don’t make it again.” Robert Kiyosaki
- “Choose a challenge instead of competence.” Eleanor Roosevelt
- “You have never been and you won’t ever be wrong for choosing yourself! Read that again …” Samiha Totanji
- “It is easy to give up than to endure. Always choose the latter.” Lailah Gifty Akita
- “Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.” William Shakespeare
- “Choose your parents wisely.” Bertrand Russell
- “The decisions you make today matter. Every decision points your life in the direction you are about to travel. No decision is an isolated choice. It’s a chain of events. If you choose wisely, your future will reflect that. But if you don’t choose wisely, the decisions you make now will take you to places you don’t want to be later.” Lysa TerKeurst
- “When it comes to making friends, it is never about how many that you have, but about the kind of energy that they bring. Please choose wisely.” Edmond Mbiaka
- “Everyone has influence. Use it wisely.” Johnny Hunt
- “Some habits are self-destructive, even if they look attractive in the beginning, they often lead to a traumatic destiny in the end. Choose your habits as if your life depends on them, because it does.” Gift Gugu Mona
- “Sacrifice or Selfishness. The Crucial Choice,” Henna Sohail
- “Use wisely your power of choice.” Og Mandino
- “Every time we choose our past over our present we kill our future.” TemitOpe Ibrahim
- “Choose to be happy, because you always have the choice.” Auliq Ice
- “It took me a long time to realize this: We get to choose what defines us.” Sarah Addison Allen
- “As time goes by, I realized that, words actually enact as a motivator and at the same time as the heartbreaker in a person’s life. Hence, choose your words wisely. Let people be inspired by your words, don’t dash someone’s heart.” SoulWanderer
- “The time has come to get clear about who you are and what you choose. There must come moments in every person’s life when a decision is necessary. A big decision. A major choice. Such a time is now. What you get to choose today is who you are and who you choose to be, and what you wish to experience in your life. Remember, not to decide is to decide.” Neale Donald Walsch
- “Mindfulness is attentiveness, moment to moment. What’s happening right now and what’s coming up in me in response to what’s happening right now. Importantly, this is in the service of being able to choose wisely so that I avoid complicating my own life and the lives of others.” Sylvia Boorstein
- “When passion rules, she never rules wisely.” Benjamin Franklin
- “All is context. Choose yours carefully, where you have a choice.” Mike Young
- “If thou wouldst marry wisely, marry thine equal.” Ovid
- “Who you spend time with is who you become! Change your life by consciously choosing to surround yourself with people with higher standards!” Tony Robbins
- “Where our thoughts dwell, so becomes our reality. Choose wisely!” Nanette Mathews
- “Because with every action, comment, conversation, we have the choice to invite Heaven or Hell to Earth.” Rob Bell
- “Only you can determine your choice of attitude. Choose wisely, choose carefully, choose confidently!” Charles R. Swindoll
- “In a choice between love and fear, choose love.” Marianne Williamson
- “Therefore, be honest with yourself as to why you are choosing to do a particular thing. Then, do it gladly, knowing that you are always getting to do what you want. The statement “I have no choice” is a lie. You can choose. You simply do not prefer the alternatives available to you, for whatever reason. So you select the outcome that you most prefer.” Neale Donald Walsch
- “Your pen is your sword. Wield it wisely.” C.A. Simonson
- “Failure is only an option; so is success. Please choose wisely.” Edmond Mbiaka
- “You are what you choose to be today. Not what you’ve chosen to be before.” Wayne Dyer
- “Every action has an impact; choose wisely the impact you want to have.” Mindy Hall
- “God has devised ways for all of us to live, but it is for us to choose how.” Neeraj Singhvi
- “This fork in the road happens over a hundred times a day, and it’s the choices that you make that will determine the shape of your life.” Liz Murray
- “Where our thoughts dwell, so becomes our reality. Choose wisely!” Nanette Mathews
- “Ultimately, happiness comes down to choosing between the discomfort of becoming aware of your mental afflictions and the discomfort of being ruled by them.” Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
- “You are always walking in the direction of either love or fear. Choose wisely.” Oprah Winfrey
- “Pause and remember– Every moment is a choice. Every thought, word, and deed is creating your future. Choose wisely and positively!” Jennifer Young
- “Always pick your battles carefully, and let karma take care of the rest.” Anthon St. Maarten
- “Evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of any relationship is your responsibility. You do not have to passively accept what is brought to you. You can choose.” Deborah
- “We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level best to keep up with them.” Oswald Chambers
- “Taking the path with the least resistance does NOT mean take any opportunity that comes to you. Some opportunities are traps!” TemitOpe Ibrahim
- “Hold yourself back, or heal yourself back together. You decide.” Brittany Burgunder
- “Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.” Roy T. Bennett
- “Your capacity to say “No” determines your capacity to say “Yes” to greater things.” E. Stanley Jones
- “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives, the cumulative experience of many masters of craftsmanship. Quality also marks the search for an ideal after necessity has been satisfied and mere usefulness achieved.” John Ruskin
- “In the end that was the choice you made, and it doesn’t matter how hard it was to make it. It matters that you did.” Cassandra Clare
- “Sometimes it’s the words we choose not to say that speak most loudly about our character.” Lysa TerKeurst
- “Your energy is a valuable resource, distribute it wisely.” Jay Samit
- “Always choose attitude over experience. Always.” Barbara Corcoran
- “We are our choices.” Jean-Paul Sartre
- “Each day you’re presented with a choice. You can either keep your greatness hidden under a pile of fears, regrets, and excuses, or you can let it out. So the best way to begin unlocking inner greatness is to make a conscious choice to live out the rest of today, with the best you.” Lewis Howes
- “You are not the victim of the world, but rather the master of your own destiny. It is your choices and decisions that determine your destiny.” Roy T. Bennett
- “Words are confessions of your actions. Choose them wisely.” Anum Sattar
- “One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.” Shannon L. Alder
- “Each day you’re presented with a choice. You can either keep your greatness hidden under a pile of fears, regrets, and excuses, or you can let it out. So the best way to begin unlocking inner greatness is to make a conscious choice to live out the rest of today, with the best you.” Lewis Howes
- “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.” Theodore Roosevelt
- “Your Mentors in life are important, so choose them wisely.” Robert Kiyosaki
- “People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it very simply; by the lives they lead.” James Baldwin
- “We don’t get to chose what is true. We only get to choose what we do about it.” Kami Garcia
- “You are fettered,” said Scrooge, trembling. “Tell me why?” “I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.” Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
- “The choices you make now, the people you surround yourself with, they all have the potential to affect your life, even who you are, forever.” Sarah Dessen
- “It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” Roy Disney
Summary
Some of the people we quoted had to make decisions for their country, and others influenced thousands with their inspirational words about choosing wisely. Some became famous because of their decisions, and some became extraordinary role models.
Please feel free to use these quotes are reminders of the importance of choosing wisely. You can write them on sticky notes for your office and make a practice of remembering every decision you make impacts your life and the lives of others.
I’m Alice Judy and AnQuotes is a fun hobby for me. We know that everyone loves a great quote and our mission here is simple – to be the best and most interesting quote site in the world! If you have quotes you would like us to cover, please contact us.