--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I knew where I was going, I wouldn't…" description: "\"If I knew where I was going, I wouldn't do it. When I can predict or plan it, I don't do it.\" — Frank Gehry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/frank-gehry-2139_going_if-i-knew-where-i-was-going-i-wouldn-t-d_332189.png" --- # If I knew where I was going, I wouldn't do it. When I can… ![“If I knew where I was going, I wouldn't do it. When I can predict or plan it, I don't do it.” quote by Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/frank-gehry-2139_going_if-i-knew-where-i-was-going-i-wouldn-t-d_332189.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/frank-gehry-2139_going_if-i-knew-where-i-was-going-i-wouldn-t-d_332189.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/frank-gehry-2139_going_if-i-knew-where-i-was-going-i-wouldn-t-d_332189.png) > “If I knew where I was going, I wouldn't do it. When I can predict or plan it, I don't do it.” [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker avoids planning because it removes spontaneity and excitement. **In simple terms:** Avoiding plans to keep things spontaneous. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and act without over‑planning. Themes creativity risk spontaneity Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - design work - personal decisions - adventure travel Key Concepts improvisation intuition innovation Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance planning and spontaneity? - When is improvisation harmful? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on spontaneity can lead to chaos or missed deadlines. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) [Going Wouldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-wouldn-2483314/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Knew Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-going/) [Plan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plan/) [Plans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plans/) [Predict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predict/) [Predict Plan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predict-plan-3106022/) [Where](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where/) [Wouldn Predict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wouldn-predict-3106021/) ## Related quotes > [“Travis was going to be a part of that, and if he wouldn’t let me save him, I had to save myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/travis-was-going-to-be-a-part-of-that-and-if-he-wouldn-t-let-me-save/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [Not only do I not know what's going on, I wouldn't know what to do about it if I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/not-only-do-i-not-know-what-s-going-on-i-wouldn-t-know-what-to-do/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Perhaps, if you knew you were going to die, your senses crammed in as much detail as they could while they still had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/perhaps-if-you-knew-you-were-going-to-die-your-senses-crammed-in-as/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I never knew where I was going, but I ripped the tits off of everything that got in my way. 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Michael Straczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-michael-straczynski/) > [I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/i-knew-i-was-going-to-take-the-wrong-train-so-i-left-early/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [I knew I had the right material and I knew what I was going after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-thorogood/i-knew-i-had-the-right-material-and-i-knew-what-i-was-going-after/) [George Thorogood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-thorogood/) > [I always knew I was going to play with Messi one day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ousmane-dembele/i-always-knew-i-was-going-to-play-with-messi-one-day/) [Ousmane Dembele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ousmane-dembele/) > [By the time I was about 15, I was out playing gigs and knew I was going to be a musician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamasi-washington/by-the-time-i-was-about-15-i-was-out-playing-gigs-and-knew-i-was/) [Kamasi Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamasi-washington/) > [I was in fittings for the first costume even before I knew I was even going to be 'Deathlok.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-august-richards/i-was-in-fittings-for-the-first-costume-even-before-i-knew-i-was-even/) [J. August Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-august-richards/) > [I knew I was going to have to work my way back to coaching in the States, and I had a job offer here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwane-casey/i-knew-i-was-going-to-have-to-work-my-way-back-to-coaching-in-the/) [Dwane Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwane-casey/) > [It amazes me when I hear people say, 'I want to go out and find out who I am.' I always knew who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/it-amazes-me-when-i-hear-people-say-i-want-to-go-out-and-find-out-who/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [I knew I was going to go into the field and make fun of people to their faces. I knew what I was getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oliver/i-knew-i-was-going-to-go-into-the-field-and-make-fun-of-people-to/) [John Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oliver/) > [What about you three, where are you going?" Even before Halt answered, Will knew what he was going to say. But that didn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/what-about-you-three-where-are-you-going-even-before-halt-answered/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) ## More by Frank Gehry > [I think my attitudes about the past are very traditional. You can't ignore history; you can't escape it even if you want to. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-think-my-attitudes-about-the-past-are-very-traditional-you-can-t/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [In Tokyo, London or Los Angeles people go into McDonald's and the restaurants are identical and people are comfortable. It's unthreatening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/in-tokyo-london-or-los-angeles-people-go-into-mcdonald-s-and-the/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I'm inspired by a lot of stuff. I always was interested in sculpture and painting and music and literature and all those things. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-m-inspired-by-a-lot-of-stuff-i-always-was-interested-in-sculpture/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [One of my greatest influences is the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/one-of-my-greatest-influences-is-the-italian-artist-gian-lorenzo/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [People live and work in uninspiring environments, but look inside those rooms. Look at the painted walls and the decorations. 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Sometimes these green claims are completely meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/green-issues-have-been-used-as-a-marketing-tool-sometimes-these-green/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [There are a lot of questions about whether architecture is art. The people who ask that think pretty tract houses are architecture. But that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/there-are-a-lot-of-questions-about-whether-architecture-is-art-the/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I used to read more when I was a kid than I do now. It was all sort of fuel for the fire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-used-to-read-more-when-i-was-a-kid-than-i-do-now-it-was-all-sort-of/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I found myself starting architecture with a deep social, Jewish, liberal conscience, and the belief that architecture is for the people. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-found-myself-starting-architecture-with-a-deep-social-jewish/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [The message I hope to have sent is just the example of being yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/the-message-i-hope-to-have-sent-is-just-the-example-of-being-yourself/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [The whole can be greater than the sum of it's parts, that we all have something to put in the pie to make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/the-whole-can-be-greater-than-the-sum-of-it-s-parts-that-we-all-have/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I used to sketch - that's the way I thought out loud. Then they made a book of my sketches, and I got self-conscious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-used-to-sketch-that-s-the-way-i-thought-out-loud-then-they-made-a/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Bilbao opened in 1997. It was only ten years later that I was asked to do another museum. A lot of other people got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/bilbao-opened-in-1997-it-was-only-ten-years-later-that-i-was-asked-to/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) [Explore all 183 Frank Gehry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) ## More Going quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [Keep the faith, and keep going strong!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/keep-the-faith-and-keep-going-strong/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I really enjoy going to play for the national team and be with the guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedi-osman/i-really-enjoy-going-to-play-for-the-national-team-and-be-with-the/) [Cedi Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedi-osman/) > [“I’m not even going to ask you where you got that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mackey/i-m-not-even-going-to-ask-you-where-you-got-that/) [Mark Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mackey/) > [This is how McGregor is, waging mental warfare before the fights. There's no way that guy is going to get in my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-mendes/this-is-how-mcgregor-is-waging-mental-warfare-before-the-fights-there/) [Chad Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-mendes/) > [For me, going to Minneapolis is like going to Mecca.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/for-me-going-to-minneapolis-is-like-going-to-mecca/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [What I do miss that I don't get anymore? 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