Philip Pullman Quote

What work have I got to do, then? said Will, but went on at once, No, on second thought, don't tell me. I shall decide what I do. If you say my work is fighting, or healing, or exploring, or whatever you might say, I'll always be thinking about it. And if I do end up doing that, I'll be resentful because it'll feel as if I didn't have a choice, and if I don't do it, I'll feel guilty because I should. Whatever I do, I will choose it, no one else.
Then you have already taken the first steps toward wisdom, said Xaphania.

Ch. 37 : The Dunes - His Dark Materials - The Amber Spyglass (2000)