Normal, in our house, is like a blanket too short for a bed--sometimes it covers you just fine, and other times it leaves you cold and shaking; and worst of all, you never know which of the two it's going to be.
Jodi PicoultRead
Risk always looks different when you're beating the system than when you've been beaten.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Risk is perceived differently depending on the outcomes of one's actions; success creates a different perspective than failure.
This quote by Jodi Picoult emphasizes the subjective nature of risk perception. When someone is succeeding and 'beating the system,' they often view risks as manageable and worthwhile, showcasing a sense of confidence and control. Conversely, after experiencing setbacks or failures, especially if one has 'been beaten,' the same risks can appear daunting and overwhelming, highlighting how outcomes shape our understanding and willingness to take risks in life.
Themes
RiskPerceptionOutcomeSuccessFailure
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about taking chances in business ventures, this quote could serve to illustrate the variance in risk perception.
More from Jodi Picoult
All quotes →Whether it was power they sought, or revenge, or love-well, those were all just different forms of hunger. The bigger the hole inside you, the more desperate you became to fill it.
Jodi PicoultRead
she told me she'd be a phoenix." The image of the mythical creature rising from the ashes glitters in my mind. "They don't really exist." "She said that depends on whether or not there's someone who can see them.
Jodi PicoultRead
for 100,000 (dollars), you [can] flatten a house with a wrecking ball. Imagine how much less it [takes] to destroy something than it [does] to build it in the first place.
Jodi PicoultRead
But if you seek forgiveness, doesn't that automatically mean you cannot be a monster? By definition, doesn't that desperation make you human again?
Jodi PicoultRead
when you [lose someone], it feels like the hole in your gum when a tooth falls out. You can chew, you can eat, you have plenty of other teeth, but your tongue keeps going back to that empty place, where all nerves are still a little raw
Jodi PicoultRead
Similar quotes
A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.
Margaret AtwoodRead
Imagination is an almost divine faculty which, without recourse to any philosophical method, immediately perceives everything: the secret and intimate connections between things, correspondences and analogies.
Charles BaudelaireRead
It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don’t like something, it is empirically not good. I don’t like Chinese food, but I don’t write articles trying to prove it doesn’t exist.
Tina FeyRead
Coffee is a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to your older self.
Terry PratchettRead
I know those little phrases that seem so innocuous, and, once you let them in, pollute the whole of speech. 'Nothing is more real than nothing.' They rise up out of the pit and know no rest until they drag you down into its dark.
Samuel BeckettRead
I know this world is ruled by infinite intelligence. Everything that surrounds us- everything that exists - proves that there are infinite laws behind it. There can be no denying this fact. It is mathematical in its precision.
Thomas A. EdisonRead