--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How do you know what you're going to do…" description: "\"“How do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't.”\" — J.D. Salinger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b76/j-d-salinger-560_answer_how-do-you-know-what-you-re-going-to-do_2975952.png" --- # How do you know what you're going to do till you do it?… ![“How do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't.” quote by J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b76/j-d-salinger-560_answer_how-do-you-know-what-you-re-going-to-do_2975952.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b76/j-d-salinger-560_answer_how-do-you-know-what-you-re-going-to-do_2975952.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b76/j-d-salinger-560_answer_how-do-you-know-what-you-re-going-to-do_2975952.png) > ““How do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't.”” [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uncertainty about future actions persists until we act; knowing comes from experience, not prediction. **In simple terms:** You only learn by doing. Key Takeaway Embrace action without over‑planning. Themes uncertainty action experience Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - creative projects - personal growth - risk taking Key Concepts existentialism self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - What would you try if fear of unknown vanished? - How can you test ideas safely? A Different Perspective Assuming action always leads to positive outcomes can be risky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“I mean how do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-mean-how-do-you-know-what-you-re-going-to-do-till-you-do-it-the/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“It's such a stupid question, in my opinion. I mean, how do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/it-s-such-a-stupid-question-in-my-opinion-i-mean-how-do-you-know-what/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [You cant know where your going till you know where you been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-velasquez/you-cant-know-where-your-going-till-you-know-where-you-been/) [Joy Velasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-velasquez/) > [I mean how do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't. I think I am,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-mean-how-do-you-know-what-you-re-going-to-do-till-you-do-it-the-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our very life depends on everything's Recurring till we answer from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/our-very-life-depends-on-everything-s-recurring-till-we-answer-from-2/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Sal, we gotta go and never stop going 'till we get there.' 'Where we going, man?' 'I don't know but we gotta go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/sal-we-gotta-go-and-never-stop-going-till-we-get-there-where-we-going/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [A sum can be put right: but only by going back till you find the error and working it afresh from that point, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-sum-can-be-put-right-but-only-by-going-back-till-you-find-the-error/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never tell anyone what you are going to do till you've done it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-vanderbilt/never-tell-anyone-what-you-are-going-to-do-till-you-ve-done-it/) [Cornelius Vanderbilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-vanderbilt/) > [I want to keep going till I drop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-eddy/i-want-to-keep-going-till-i-drop/) Nelson Eddy > [I'll keep going till my face falls off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-cartland/i-ll-keep-going-till-my-face-falls-off/) [Barbara Cartland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-cartland/) > [If you ask me anything I don't know, I'm not going to answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/if-you-ask-me-anything-i-don-t-know-i-m-not-going-to-answer/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [If you don't know where you've been, you don't know where you're going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ti/if-you-don-t-know-where-you-ve-been-you-don-t-know-where-you-re-going/) TI > [You don't know you're going to get a 'No' until you ask, and if you don't ask, you've given yourself the No.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/you-don-t-know-you-re-going-to-get-a-no-until-you-ask-and-if-you-don/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [With me, you never know what is going to happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goran-ivanisevic/with-me-you-never-know-what-is-going-to-happen/) [Goran Ivanisevic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goran-ivanisevic/) > [“Sometimes we don't know where we are going until we get there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-simon-gunn/sometimes-we-don-t-know-where-we-are-going-until-we-get-there/) [Jacqueline Simon Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-simon-gunn/) ## More by J.D. 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Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“He stuck around till around dinnertime, talking about all the guys at Pencey that he hated their guts, and squeezing this big pimple on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/he-stuck-around-till-around-dinnertime-talking-about-all-the-guys-at/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“For example, when Seymour told one of the twins or Zooey or Franny or even Mme. Boo Boo (who was only two years younger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/for-example-when-seymour-told-one-of-the-twins-or-zooey-or-franny-or/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“One thing? One thing I like? Okay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/one-thing-one-thing-i-like-okay/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“The cigars are ballast, sweetheart. Sheer ballast. If he didn’t have a cigar to hold on to, his feet would leave the ground. We’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/the-cigars-are-ballast-sweetheart-sheer-ballast-if-he-didn-t-have-a/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“They're just people that write poems that get published and anthologized all over the place but they're not poets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/they-re-just-people-that-write-poems-that-get-published-and/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“In certain Zen monasteries, it's a cardinal rule, if not the only serious enforced discipline, that when one monk calls out 'Hi!' to another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/in-certain-zen-monasteries-it-s-a-cardinal-rule-if-not-the-only/) [j.d. salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“And I hate to tell you... but I think that once you have a fair idea where you want to go, your first move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/and-i-hate-to-tell-you-but-i-think-that-once-you-have-a-fair-idea/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [“Hi,' he said. He always said it like he was terrifically bored or terrifically tired. He didn't want you to think he was visiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/hi-he-said-he-always-said-it-like-he-was-terrifically-bored-or/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [ “\[Y\]ou’re someone who took up birds in the first place because they fired your imagination; they fascinated you because ‘they seemed of all created… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/y-ou-re-someone-who-took-up-birds-in-the-first-place-because-they/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) [Explore all 416 J.D. Salinger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) ## More Answer quotes > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [What you are is a question only you can answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/what-you-are-is-a-question-only-you-can-answer/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [“And if you can’t say yes, answer anyway. Because I’d rather live with the answer than die with the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ellis/and-if-you-can-t-say-yes-answer-anyway-because-i-d-rather-live-with/) Jon Ellis > [“There is a cure and answer to everything, we just haven't found them yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-halimi/there-is-a-cure-and-answer-to-everything-we-just-haven-t-found-them/) [Eve Halimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-halimi/) > [Whenever I'm asked about Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, I always answer: 'Neymar is the best,' not just because of his goals but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-carlos/whenever-i-m-asked-about-cristiano-ronaldo-or-lionel-messi-i-always/) [Roberto Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-carlos/) > [A wiki works best where you're trying to answer a question that you can't easily pose, where there's not a natural structure that's known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-cunningham/a-wiki-works-best-where-you-re-trying-to-answer-a-question-that-you/) [Ward Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-cunningham/) > [“Those are good questions. I recognize good questions, because I can come up with them myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-brust/those-are-good-questions-i-recognize-good-questions-because-i-can/) [Steven Brust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-brust/) > [My answer is bring 'em on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/my-answer-is-bring-em-on/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I'll answer anything... I'm brutally honest, actually, which gets me in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-ll-answer-anything-i-m-brutally-honest-actually-which-gets-me-in/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [“...I guess I can put two and two together." 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But I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-mcguinness/i-play-along-myself-even-though-i-can-t-help-the-player-so-i-can-t/) [Paddy McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-mcguinness/) > [Sometimes the question is complicated, but the answers are simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-suess/sometimes-the-question-is-complicated-but-the-answers-are-simple/) [Dr Suess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-suess/) Browse all 2,090 Answer quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J.D. 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