You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing, no one to blame.

The quote frames autonomy as a double-edged condition. To “take your life in your own hands” suggests agency and freedom, but the “terrible thing” is the burden of responsibility that follows: if you choose, you also own the consequences. The sting of “no one to blame” points to how blame can function as emotional shelter—parents, partners, society, fate—whereas mature freedom is isolating because it eliminates excuses. Jong’s phrasing captures an existential insight: self-authorship is empowering, yet it can be frightening precisely because it demands accountability and leaves you alone with outcomes.