--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've learned to think, I may succeed or…" description: "\"I've learned to think, I may succeed or fail, but I'm going to do so on the merit of my own instincts.\" — Ben Affleck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/ben-affleck-2043_fail_i-ve-learned-to-think-i-may-succeed-or-f_222786.jpg" --- # I've learned to think, I may succeed or fail, but I'm… ![“I've learned to think, I may succeed or fail, but I'm going to do so on the merit of my own instincts.” quote by Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/ben-affleck-2043_fail_i-ve-learned-to-think-i-may-succeed-or-f_222786.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/ben-affleck-2043_fail_i-ve-learned-to-think-i-may-succeed-or-f_222786.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/ben-affleck-2043_fail_i-ve-learned-to-think-i-may-succeed-or-f_222786.jpg) > “I've learned to think, I may succeed or fail, but I'm going to do so on the merit of my own instincts.” [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reliance on personal intuition guides actions despite uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Trust your instincts over doubt. Key Takeaway Act on your own judgment. Themes confidence self‑reliance decision‑making Mood determined confident Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - creative projects - personal challenges - entrepreneurial ventures Key Concepts intuition risk assessment personal agency Questions to Reflect On - Do you trust your gut in high‑stakes decisions? - How can you balance intuition with data? A Different Perspective Instincts can be biased; external advice may improve outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fail/) [Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) [Instincts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instincts/) [Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned/) [Learned Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-think-992414/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Merit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merit/) [Merit Instincts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merit-instincts-2272545/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [Own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/own/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-succeed-608612/) ## Related quotes > [“When the memory of one's predecessors is buried, the assumption persists that there were none and each generation of women believes itself to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/when-the-memory-of-one-s-predecessors-is-buried-the-assumption-2/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [When the memory of one's predecessors is buried, the assumption persists that there were none and each generation of women believes itself to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/when-the-memory-of-one-s-predecessors-is-buried-the-assumption/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [You pick a project. You think, 'I can succeed at this. I can help them. I can make it so that they'll want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lee-hancock/you-pick-a-project-you-think-i-can-succeed-at-this-i-can-help-them-i/) [John Lee Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lee-hancock/) > [Be aware of where your focus is. Where focus goes, energy flows. 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Whether you succeed or fail is determined in your mind long before we see it play out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-hale/you-will-eventually-become-what-you-think-whether-you-succeed-or-fail/) [Mandy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-hale/) > [Well there are those who think you can only succeed at someone else's expense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/well-there-are-those-who-think-you-can-only-succeed-at-someone-else-s/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [I always think it's better to be not taking drugs or drinking or anything. That's not saying I've never done it because I have.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-jagger/i-always-think-it-s-better-to-be-not-taking-drugs-or-drinking-or/) [Mick Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-jagger/) > [Don't just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a more discriminating and reflective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-just-say-you-have-read-books-show-that-through-them-you-have/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“And what makes humans so sure that thinking is the most important activity in the universe?...I on the contrary have never forgotten that first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabina-berman/and-what-makes-humans-so-sure-that-thinking-is-the-most-important/) [Sabina Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabina-berman/) > [Facebook became ubiquitous when I was 16, so I vaguely formed a sense of myself a little bit. I had kind of learned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/facebook-became-ubiquitous-when-i-was-16-so-i-vaguely-formed-a-sense/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) ## More by Ben Affleck > [School plays are fine. Theater in school is fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/school-plays-are-fine-theater-in-school-is-fine/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [What happens is this sort of bleed-over from the tabloids across your movie work. You go to a movie, you only go once. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/what-happens-is-this-sort-of-bleed-over-from-the-tabloids-across-your/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [Never film yourself having sex. You think you'll look powerful and vital, but you don't. You look like a sick, shivering polar bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/never-film-yourself-having-sex-you-think-you-ll-look-powerful-and/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [No matter how much you change, you still got to pay the price for the things you’ve done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/no-matter-how-much-you-change-you-still-got-to-pay-the-price-for-the/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [All I do, really, is go to work and try to be professional, be on time and be prepared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/all-i-do-really-is-go-to-work-and-try-to-be-professional-be-on-time/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [On the night of the awards, I carried the Oscar around waist-high. I never had so many women ask me 'Can I touch it?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/on-the-night-of-the-awards-i-carried-the-oscar-around-waist-high-i/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [Not that it entirely matters: There is a perception that all actors make their movies. A lot of people assume you're responsible. George Clooney…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/not-that-it-entirely-matters-there-is-a-perception-that-all-actors/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [I just feel like sometimes I'm a force to be dealt with. My talents are sometimes overused and also sometimes underused. It's not easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/i-just-feel-like-sometimes-i-m-a-force-to-be-dealt-with-my-talents/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/affleck-was-the-bomb-in-phantoms/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [Sometimes the people we meet change us forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/sometimes-the-people-we-meet-change-us-forever/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [To answer the question, though: I didn't always want to direct. I just liked the idea of it. If a friend was making a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/to-answer-the-question-though-i-didn-t-always-want-to-direct-i-just/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [But when I felt like I had something to prove? Then I got up early every morning and worked all day long. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/but-when-i-felt-like-i-had-something-to-prove-then-i-got-up-early/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [I feel things more deeply... anything to do with kids. It just makes a big difference in my life... Having a child is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/i-feel-things-more-deeply-anything-to-do-with-kids-it-just-makes-a/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [I flew back just in time to pick up a toilet seat for my girlfriend. It didn't go over that well. I thought, 'It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/i-flew-back-just-in-time-to-pick-up-a-toilet-seat-for-my-girlfriend/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [I'm not known for having great relationships with ex-girlfriends, but I've been able to continue one with (Gwyneth Paltrow) that's really valuable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/i-m-not-known-for-having-great-relationships-with-ex-girlfriends-but/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) [Explore all 189 Ben Affleck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) ## More Fail quotes > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Would you like a side of epic with that fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabi/would-you-like-a-side-of-epic-with-that-fail/) [Gabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabi/) > [Apologies are not pass/fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/apologies-are-not-pass-fail/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [My willingness to fail gives me the ability to succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/my-willingness-to-fail-gives-me-the-ability-to-succeed/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [If you have a good idea you must explain it or you will fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/if-you-have-a-good-idea-you-must-explain-it-or-you-will-fail/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [We can't afford any president to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/we-can-t-afford-any-president-to-fail/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [What I want is to be willing to fail rather than stagnate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dickey/what-i-want-is-to-be-willing-to-fail-rather-than-stagnate/) [James Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dickey/) > [“If you die, I will find you. I will never leave you. I will never let you go. I will not let you fall,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-harrison/if-you-die-i-will-find-you-i-will-never-leave-you-i-will-never-let/) [Thea Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-harrison/) > [“The worst outcome of not trying is never getting to fail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillip-gary-smith/the-worst-outcome-of-not-trying-is-never-getting-to-fail/) [Phillip Gary Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-gary-smith/) > [“Many people fail in their career, business and relationship, and others get stuck because of their inability to make quality decisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkem-mpamah/many-people-fail-in-their-career-business-and-relationship-and-others/) [Nkem Mpamah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkem-mpamah/) > [“Quitters don’t gain what they have started working on; waiters don’t start what they could have gained. 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