--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I love flying by the seat of my pants…" description: "\"I love flying by the seat of my pants, going at something instinctually.\" — Frances McDormand" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/frances-mcdormand-3814_flying_i-love-flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-go_2224782.jpg" --- # I love flying by the seat of my pants, going at something… ![“I love flying by the seat of my pants, going at something instinctually.” quote by Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/frances-mcdormand-3814_flying_i-love-flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-go_2224782.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/frances-mcdormand-3814_flying_i-love-flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-go_2224782.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/frances-mcdormand-3814_flying_i-love-flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-go_2224782.jpg) > “I love flying by the seat of my pants, going at something instinctually.” [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes intuitive, spontaneous approach to acting, trusting instinct over detailed planning. **In simple terms:** Act on instinct, embrace spontaneity. Key Takeaway Follow gut feelings in creative work. Themes creativity intuition performance spontaneity risk-taking Mood inspirational playful Type artistic motivational When to use this quote - theatre rehearsals - film improvisation - live music - public speaking - sports coaching Key Concepts improvisation embodied cognition flow state Questions to Reflect On - When does instinct override preparation? - How to balance spontaneity with structure? A Different Perspective Risk of insufficient preparation leading to errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [I'm flying by the seat of my pants, never creating with a thought to what's up ahead!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-toriyama/i-m-flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-never-creating-with-a-thought-to/) [Akira Toriyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-toriyama/) > [Flying by the seat of your pants precedes crashing by the seat of your pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walsh/flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-precedes-crashing-by-the-seat-of/) [Bill Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walsh/) > [What is joy? It is a bird That we all want to catch. It is the same bird That we all love to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/what-is-joy-it-is-a-bird-that-we-all-want-to-catch-it-is-the-same/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [I love flying so much. I even airplane food. No one bothers you and your phone never goes off and you can't have emails…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-robbie/i-love-flying-so-much-i-even-airplane-food-no-one-bothers-you-and/) [Margot Robbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-robbie/) > [I try to get in quiet time and book time, but really, the only time I ever get that is when I'm on an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesha/i-try-to-get-in-quiet-time-and-book-time-but-really-the-only-time-i/) [Kesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesha/) > [“You're pretty overdressed, yourself,pal." "If I take my pants off now, you're going to get pregnant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristina-wright/you-re-pretty-overdressed-yourself-pal-if-i-take-my-pants-off-now-you/) Kristina Wright > [“Put your hand out.” “You’re going to put my phone in it, right?” “No I have taken down my pants and I’m going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vi-keeland/put-your-hand-out-you-re-going-to-put-my-phone-in-it-right-no-i-have/) [Vi Keeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vi-keeland/) > [“We need to find something to hold your pants up or it's going to be a very scandalous evening. Well, more so than it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-cass/we-need-to-find-something-to-hold-your-pants-up-or-it-s-going-to-be-a/) [Kiera Cass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-cass/) > [“If I pee my pants I am going to be so pissed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-peeler/if-i-pee-my-pants-i-am-going-to-be-so-pissed/) [Nicole Peeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-peeler/) > [I love flying the flag for Irish designers like Joanne Hynes, Simone Rocha, Natalie B Coleman, Lennon Courtney and Helen Steele.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitmore/i-love-flying-the-flag-for-irish-designers-like-joanne-hynes-simone/) [Laura Whitmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitmore/) > [I started in live television and I've done a lot of live TV and that's really the thing that I love best. I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-henderson/i-started-in-live-television-and-i-ve-done-a-lot-of-live-tv-and-that/) [Florence Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-henderson/) > [I used to make my manager Jamie not tell me where I was going to be the next day, because I was so afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-goulding/i-used-to-make-my-manager-jamie-not-tell-me-where-i-was-going-to-be/) [Ellie Goulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-goulding/) > [Sometimes we feel like our love is flying away. it slips from our hans so fast we can not grab it before it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-we-feel-like-our-love-is-flying-away-it-slips-from-our-hans/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Love is not the limitation; love is the flying. I am love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/love-is-not-the-limitation-love-is-the-flying-i-am-love/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [We who fly do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with this miracle that lies in our hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-who-fly-do-so-for-the-love-of-flying-we-are-alive-in-the-air-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Frances McDormand > [There's only two givens with choosing acting as a profession: one is you will always be unemployed, always, and it doesn't matter how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/there-s-only-two-givens-with-choosing-acting-as-a-profession-one-is/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [I don't think of myself as a movie star and I can pretty easily convince other people that I'm not a movie star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-a-movie-star-and-i-can-pretty-easily/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [Guess what? I am an ordinary person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/guess-what-i-am-an-ordinary-person/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [There is simply too much of my life that is involved in my work that I couldn't replicate in any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/there-is-simply-too-much-of-my-life-that-is-involved-in-my-work-that/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [I think that cosmetic enhancements in my profession are just an occupational hazard. But I think, more culturally, I'm interested in starting the conversation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-think-that-cosmetic-enhancements-in-my-profession-are-just-an/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [I was completely naive about the business of being an actor. My family didn't go to the theater or to the movies. We watched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-was-completely-naive-about-the-business-of-being-an-actor-my-family/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [If, when I leave this earth, I'm remembered for 'Fargo,' so be it. But I think old Marge Gunderson is gonna get a run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/if-when-i-leave-this-earth-i-m-remembered-for-fargo-so-be-it-but-i/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [I never read books - and still don't read books - to develop them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-never-read-books-and-still-don-t-read-books-to-develop-them/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [I'm not really that interested in going back to playing small supporting roles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-m-not-really-that-interested-in-going-back-to-playing-small/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [I'm trained in the theater, and acting, for me, is about the imaginative life I create for myself, not about basing it on something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-m-trained-in-the-theater-and-acting-for-me-is-about-the-imaginative/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [No actor has complete freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/no-actor-has-complete-freedom/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [Long-format television is a better way to tell a female story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/long-format-television-is-a-better-way-to-tell-a-female-story/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [Female characters in literature are full. They're messy: they've got runny noses and burp and belch. Unfortunately, in film, female characters don't often have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/female-characters-in-literature-are-full-they-re-messy-they-ve-got/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [At least three times a week, I'm approached by someone who says something about 'Fargo.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/at-least-three-times-a-week-i-m-approached-by-someone-who-says/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [I would disagree that America is any more racist or ridiculous than anywhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-would-disagree-that-america-is-any-more-racist-or-ridiculous-than/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) [Explore all 121 Frances McDormand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) ## More Flying quotes > [A draft doesn't produce the people we need to satisfy our real manpower shortage. We need specialists to keep our jets flying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-schroeder/a-draft-doesn-t-produce-the-people-we-need-to-satisfy-our-real/) [Patricia Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-schroeder/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic carrying innumerable passengers in a way analogous to our modern steam ships.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-pickering/the-popular-mind-often-pictures-gigantic-flying-machines-speeding/) William Henry Pickering > [If life were like a competitive race, some people would be given a flying start and others would line up with weights tied to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mardy-grothe/if-life-were-like-a-competitive-race-some-people-would-be-given-a/) [Mardy Grothe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mardy-grothe/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/to-chase-the-glowing-hours-with-flying-feet/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [« He squeezed his hands into fists. I picked up a grapefruit-sized rock and handed it to him. It went flying. Home run, Beast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/he-squeezed-his-hands-into-fists-i-picked-up-a-grapefruit-sized-rock/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Being on a trapeze is like dreaming. I feel totally outside of myself when I'm flying. You know, designing shoes, my imagination is flying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-louboutin/being-on-a-trapeze-is-like-dreaming-i-feel-totally-outside-of-myself/) [Christian Louboutin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-louboutin/) > [Yeah, I'm the Brit who isn't Lewis Hamilton that woke up and realised he was good. I got that tag because I was young,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenson-button/yeah-i-m-the-brit-who-isn-t-lewis-hamilton-that-woke-up-and-realised/) [Jenson Button](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenson-button/) > [I was born imagining myself with an apron on, with pies cooling on the window sill and babies crying upstairs. I thought that all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/i-was-born-imagining-myself-with-an-apron-on-with-pies-cooling-on-the/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [“LOW-FLYING, QUICK-MOVING CLOUDS: I haven't long to live. TREETOPS, ROUNDED AND ROUGH: That's probably true. LOW-FLYING, QUICK-MOVING CLOUDS: I won't even make it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/low-flying-quick-moving-clouds-i-haven-t-long-to-live-treetops/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“You don’t see someone flying and you begin to bite yourself for not being able to do that. You do what you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-don-t-see-someone-flying-and-you-begin-to-bite-yourself-for-not/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Everything is winged in this universe, even a rock! When the time comes, rock crumbles into tiny pieces and starts flying in the air!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/everything-is-winged-in-this-universe-even-a-rock-when-the-time-comes/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) [Browse all 2,216 Flying quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I love flying by the seat of my pants, going at something instinctually.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frances McDormand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-love-flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-going-at-something-instinctually/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flying" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-love-flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-going-at-something-instinctually/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/frances-mcdormand-3814_flying_i-love-flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-go_2224782.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/frances-mcdormand-3814_flying_i-love-flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-go_2224782.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/frances-mcdormand-3814_flying_i-love-flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-go_2224782.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I love flying by the seat of my pants, going at something instinctually.” — Frances McDormand", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frances McDormand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I love flying by the seat...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-love-flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-going-at-something-instinctually/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-love-flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-going-at-something-instinctually/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```