--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As soon as your mind knows that it's on…" description: "\"As soon as your mind knows that it's on and it's supposed to produce some lines, either it doesn't or it produces things that are very predictable. And..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/paul-simon-1703_discovering_as-soon-as-your-mind-knows-that-it-s-on_2030150.png" --- # As soon as your mind knows that it's on and it's supposed… ![“As soon as your mind knows that it's on and it's supposed to produce some lines, either it doesn't or it produces things that are very predictable. And that's why I say I'm not interested in writing something that I thought about. I'm interested in discovering where my mind wants to go, or what…” quote by Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/paul-simon-1703_discovering_as-soon-as-your-mind-knows-that-it-s-on_2030150.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/paul-simon-1703_discovering_as-soon-as-your-mind-knows-that-it-s-on_2030150.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/paul-simon-1703_discovering_as-soon-as-your-mind-knows-that-it-s-on_2030150.png) > “As soon as your mind knows that it's on and it's supposed to produce some lines, either it doesn't or it produces things that are very predictable. And that's why I say I'm not interested in writing something that I thought about. I'm interested in discovering where my mind wants to go, or what object it wants to pick up.” [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The mind often defaults to predictable output unless we let it explore unknown directions. **In simple terms:** Predictable writing happens when we force ideas. Key Takeaway Allow the mind to wander and discover unexpected ideas. Themes creativity exploration mindset Mood curious reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - improvisation - artistic brainstorming Key Concepts spontaneity intuition flow Questions to Reflect On - What would happen if you stopped planning your writing? - How can you trust your subconscious choices? A Different Perspective Predictability can limit originality and lead to stale work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Most advances in technology occur because they’re either trying to impress women or blow things up. It’s as predictable as the sunrise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hunter/most-advances-in-technology-occur-because-they-re-either-trying-to/) [Elizabeth Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hunter/) > [“She glared at Tensin. "Thanks, that's reassuring." Tensin shrugged. "It should be. I've been alive over five thousand years. If there's one thing predictable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hunter/she-glared-at-tensin-thanks-that-s-reassuring-tensin-shrugged-it/) [elizabeth hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hunter/) > [As soon as things become predictable, they become boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/as-soon-as-things-become-predictable-they-become-boring/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [“Well, we all like things to be predictable, don't we? We expect things to be safe and to keep on happening just the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-voake/well-we-all-like-things-to-be-predictable-don-t-we-we-expect-things/) [Steve Voake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-voake/) > [For years following the death of my mother, I wanted to write about her. I started writing what I thought of as personal essays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/for-years-following-the-death-of-my-mother-i-wanted-to-write-about/) [Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/) > [Writing is nothing less than thought transference, the ability to send one's ideas out into the world, beyond time and distance, taken at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-jolly/writing-is-nothing-less-than-thought-transference-the-ability-to-send/) [Arthur M. Jolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-jolly/) > [Was it only by dreaming or writing that I could find out what I thought?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-it-only-by-dreaming-or-writing-that-i-could-find-out-what-i/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“The Invisible Writer (Sonnet 2654) When I unveil a new book cover, you'd naturally assume that I know what I'm gonna write, but let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-invisible-writer-sonnet-2654-when-i-unveil-a-new-book-cover-you-d/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Expediency of literature, reason of literature, lawfulness of writing down a thought, is questioned; much is to say on both sides,and, while the fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/expediency-of-literature-reason-of-literature-lawfulness-of-writing/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I realized Michael was right. I mean, I am always writing in this journal. And I do compose a lot of poetry, and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/i-realized-michael-was-right-i-mean-i-am-always-writing-in-this/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [Sometimes I would write while inspired and sometimes I would write through sheer force of will, and in revision the writing that I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-michaels/sometimes-i-would-write-while-inspired-and-sometimes-i-would-write/) [Jesse Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-michaels/) > [I didn't really think I would be a musician. I always thought I'd be a writer. I wanted to be a writer in college,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-siegel/i-didn-t-really-think-i-would-be-a-musician-i-always-thought-i-d-be-a/) [Leah Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-siegel/) > [ It was very interesting time to be in England. Even at that point \[John\] Lennon and \[Paul\] McCartney influenced my writing. I thought, "maybe… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lightfoot/it-was-very-interesting-time-to-be-in-england-even-at-that-point-john/) [Gordon Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lightfoot/) > [I had feelings that I didn't know what to do with, and I felt better when I started writing them. I thought of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-had-feelings-that-i-didn-t-know-what-to-do-with-and-i-felt-better/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Screenwriting is always about what people say or do, whereas good writing is about a thought process or an abstract image or an internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/screenwriting-is-always-about-what-people-say-or-do-whereas-good/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## More by Paul Simon > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [It's pointless to be critical of your stuff once it's done. I don't spend a lot of time agonising over it. It's of no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/it-s-pointless-to-be-critical-of-your-stuff-once-it-s-done-i-don-t/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [Medicine is magical and magical is art, the boy in the bubble, and the baby with the baboon heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/medicine-is-magical-and-magical-is-art-the-boy-in-the-bubble-and-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [Two times two is twenty-two, four times four is forty-four. When numbers get serious, they leave a mark on your door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/two-times-two-is-twenty-two-four-times-four-is-forty-four-when/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [...what threatens us today in the world of computers and other invasions of privacy is not a national ID card but a number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/what-threatens-us-today-in-the-world-of-computers-and-other-invasions/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [Life I love you, all is groovy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/life-i-love-you-all-is-groovy/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [I would be willing to do almost anything to make Art happy. I care about our friendship. The only thing I won't do is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-would-be-willing-to-do-almost-anything-to-make-art-happy-i-care/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [I don't very often think I've done a good job. I don't like the majority of what I do. I shouldn't say I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-don-t-very-often-think-i-ve-done-a-good-job-i-don-t-like-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [I rate each album as better than the last one. That's how I see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-rate-each-album-as-better-than-the-last-one-that-s-how-i-see-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [ I don't think \[Dylan and the Beatles\] influenced me a lot. I think it was inevitable; they were so powerful that you couldn't really… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-don-t-think-dylan-and-the-beatles-influenced-me-a-lot-i-think-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenements halls and whispered in the sounds of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/the-words-of-the-prophets-are-written-on-the-subway-walls-and/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [I'm not in it for the money. I like music. I love to write music. I can't imagine myself not playing or singing or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-m-not-in-it-for-the-money-i-like-music-i-love-to-write-music-i-can/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [No one dare disturb the sound of silence...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/no-one-dare-disturb-the-sound-of-silence/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [A fundamental requirement, overriding any other for this job, is an understanding of deafness-what it is and how it affects the educational experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-fundamental-requirement-overriding-any-other-for-this-job-is-an/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) [Explore all 214 Paul Simon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) ## More Discovering quotes > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/discovering-witnesses-is-just-as-important-as-catching-criminals/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [I think the best SF writers are very aware of what we, in the scientific community, are doing, thinking, and discovering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/i-think-the-best-sf-writers-are-very-aware-of-what-we-in-the/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-j-wheatley/there-is-no-power-for-change-greater-than-a-community-discovering/) [Margaret J. Wheatley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-j-wheatley/) > [The future teachers I try to recruit are those show have refused to let themselves be neutered in this way, either in their private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/the-future-teachers-i-try-to-recruit-are-those-show-have-refused-to/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [There are people I'll always love to listen to, and I'm always ending up discovering new songs by them, which is crazy. Like Stevie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/there-are-people-i-ll-always-love-to-listen-to-and-i-m-always-ending/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [TV is, as I'm discovering now, a marathon. You have to keep going and going and going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-nolan/tv-is-as-i-m-discovering-now-a-marathon-you-have-to-keep-going-and/) [Jonathan Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-nolan/) > [ “d\] One speaks in a language one doesn't understand, uses money whose worth one does not know, and wanders down streets for the very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/d-one-speaks-in-a-language-one-doesn-t-understand-uses-money-whose/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [We can go up or we can do down. I think generally the world is going on an upward swing. We're in a part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/we-can-go-up-or-we-can-do-down-i-think-generally-the-world-is-going/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [“There were a lot of stressed out people in the company as we were discovering how dangerous the DeSoto Solar Farm was!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/there-were-a-lot-of-stressed-out-people-in-the-company-as-we-were/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Coming to appreciate your worth can, in some cases, dramatically improve your circumstances by changing the choices you make and the actions you take.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/coming-to-appreciate-your-worth-can-in-some-cases-dramatically/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [Melbourne, where I grew up, is one of the street art capitals of the world. Something about discovering freshly painted walls always fills me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-mitchell/melbourne-where-i-grew-up-is-one-of-the-street-art-capitals-of-the/) [Penelope Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-mitchell/) > [“It's kind of impressive...you know, the idea of discovering something that, for all intents and purposes, goes against your abilities, and yet still deciding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/it-s-kind-of-impressive-you-know-the-idea-of-discovering-something/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) Browse all 881 Discovering quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As soon as your mind knows that it's on and it's supposed to produce some lines, either it doesn't or it produces things that are very predictable. And that's why I say I'm not interested in writing something that I thought about. I'm interested in discovering where my mind wants to go, or what object it wants to pick up.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Simon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/as-soon-as-your-mind-knows-that-it-s-on-and-it-s-supposed-to-produce/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discovering" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/as-soon-as-your-mind-knows-that-it-s-on-and-it-s-supposed-to-produce/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/paul-simon-1703_discovering_as-soon-as-your-mind-knows-that-it-s-on_2030150.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/paul-simon-1703_discovering_as-soon-as-your-mind-knows-that-it-s-on_2030150.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/paul-simon-1703_discovering_as-soon-as-your-mind-knows-that-it-s-on_2030150.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As soon as your mind knows that it's on and it's supposed to produce some lines, either it doesn't or it…” — Paul Simon", "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": "Paul Simon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As soon as your mind knows...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/as-soon-as-your-mind-knows-that-it-s-on-and-it-s-supposed-to-produce/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/as-soon-as-your-mind-knows-that-it-s-on-and-it-s-supposed-to-produce/#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 } } ] } ```