What do you think of this Oscar Wilde quote?

Question

'Do it or don't do it, you'll regret it either way.'

Of course there is an element of humour but there's some substance to this as well.

Chasing pleasure can be a road to unhappiness, but then again maybe he's suggesting that denying pleasure is also a road to unhappiness.

What do you think?

Answer 1

I agree. Although, I disagree on the reason behind the remorse or regret.

Regret surfaces when we expected an outcome that didn't happen. Wilde's quote is true for those who aren't aware or who don't modify their expectations of others and the world.

Regret also surfaces when we assume responsibility for things over which we had no control to begin with.

Answer 2

I am not familiar with this quote but I tend to think that this may have been written with a particular reference to a character , in a particular situation . Persons such as Oscar wilde would not have been the kind of "sitting on the fence" people. Many such writers assert their views.

Whatever, I feel that this statement could be abetter way to persuade the No Doers rather than the Doers. To make them do a thing this is a way to tell them that they are going to regret it anyway for being non active. The suggestion here is they might as well be unhappy doing it. Who knows , in due course , they will turn out to do things!

Answer 3

Let's say you want a car, then you get a car, and that's it. Tomorrow you want something else and so on. Of course we get pleasure from these things, but it's a never-ending thingy. So, is that real pleasure? Is that the way it's supposed to be?

IF you think so, then that's it for you. You either have it or you don't. IF you don't have it, you want it. IF you have it, you want something else.

BUT if you're not satisfied with this situation, then you start looking for another solution...

Good luck!

Answer 4

Maybe he is saying there is no right or wrong way to do things. The grass is always greener etc....Oscar Wilde made quite a few quotes of this nature. Brilliant man. Love him.

Answer 5

I always felt that Wilde was always honest, especially in his ideas of morality.

He says here that we will end up with regrets for our actions either way. If we succumb to our desires, we will regret those desires eventually. And if we do not, we will also regret because of the path not pursued. In the end, it leads to regrets.

Answer 6

to paraphrase another old quote "of all the sad words said by men, the saddest are these "it might have been"". i think oscar was saying is that no matter what we decide to do we will always wonder if the other choice might not have been the better one and that life is basically full of regrets..

Answer 7

That was Oscar Wilde

Answer 8

I have no regrets. I have done things. I have not done things. I regret nothing I have done. I regret nothing I have not done. Perhaps I will come to regret something someday but I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.

Answer 9

Like catch 22 you are damned if you do and damned if you don't hahaha..........

I rather do it and at least say I tried whatever the outcome I tried in the end :)))

Answer 10

I think so: when choice is done, we don't really know what result would be in other case, in spite of what result is now. But do we really have possibility of choice? What done is done...