Quotes About Decision-making

Some portion of the decision-making that influences the future of our civilization is plainly in the hands of charlatans.

If you don't have a plan, you become part of somebody else's plan.

But much of life didn't allow for knowing things in advance, and you had to trust to your instincts and common sense.

You did what you should have done. Accept that sometimes the consequences are harsh and unforeseen. Accept that you cannot always allow for every result. There is nothing wrong in this.

He knew how to tell a lie when it was needed and a greater good would be served.

You are a girl becoming a woman, but you are not there yet. You will get there more quickly and smoothly if you question your choices before acting on them.

A poem is a fictional, verbally inventive moral statement in which it is the author, rather than the printer or word processor, who decides where the lines should end. This dreary-sounding definition, unpoetic to a fault, may well turn out to be the best we can do.

But in the end, we can't live our lives by 'what if' and 'if only.' We can only do the best we can to the best of our ability based on what we know. That's why the truth is so important.

There are times when there is no choice but to act immediately; even then it must be with your best judgment, using all your experience and everything you do know.

But you know how Richard feels. He thinks it would be wrong—more than that, he thinks it would be irresponsible to give in to such a wish when reason tells him he must not.

No. As Zedd is fond of saying, nothing is ever easy. How can we justify going after one little girl, to solve the riddle of her loaf of bread, while Rahl goes after the box?

Wizard's Third Rule: Passion rules reason.

What kind of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.

The consensus seemed to be that if really large numbers of men were sent to storm the mountain, then enough might survive the rocks to take the citadel. This is essentially the basis of all military thinking.

One of the hardest lessons in young Sam's life had been finding out that the people in charge weren't in charge. It had been finding out that governments were not, on the whole, staffed by people who had a grip, and that plans were what people made instead of thinking.

And no practical definition of freedom would be complete without the freedom to take the consequences. Indeed, it is the freedom upon which all the others are based.

Don't do anything I wouldn't do, if you ever find anything I wouldn't do.

Once you had a good excuse, you opened the door to bad excuses.

Vimes had once discussed the Ephebian idea of 'democracy' with Carrot, and had been rather interested in the idea that everyone had a vote until he found out that while he, Vimes, would have a vote, there was no way in the rules that anyone could prevent Nobby Nobbs from having one as well. Vimes could see the flaw there straight away.

They obeyed, as wise men do when a woman puts her foot down . . .

Everyone says it's going to be Snapcase at the palace. He listens to the people. Yeah, right, said Vimes. And I listen to the thunder. But I don't do anything about it.

men that age aren't known for their superior judgment.

When you understand what's involved in winning, as do professional gamblers, you'll tend to bet more during a winning streak and less during a losing streak. However, the average person does exactly the opposite: he or she bets more after a series of losses and less after a series of wins.

I also hold a settling of questions by the referendum to be an unsatisfactory procedure, because there are no simple political questions which can be answered merely by Yes and No. The masses are also more prone even than Parliaments to be led away by heterodox opinions, and to be swayed by vigorous ranting. It is impossible to formulate a wise internal or external policy in a popular assembly.