--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't really have a system or set of…" description: "\"I don't really have a system or set of principles. It's kind of common sense mixed up with instinct.\" — Tom Stoppard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/tom-stoppard-437_common_i-don-t-really-have-a-system-or-set-of-p_1099826.png" --- # I don't really have a system or set of principles. It's… ![“I don't really have a system or set of principles. It's kind of common sense mixed up with instinct.” quote by Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/tom-stoppard-437_common_i-don-t-really-have-a-system-or-set-of-p_1099826.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/tom-stoppard-437_common_i-don-t-really-have-a-system-or-set-of-p_1099826.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/tom-stoppard-437_common_i-don-t-really-have-a-system-or-set-of-p_1099826.png) > “I don't really have a system or set of principles. It's kind of common sense mixed up with instinct.” [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He relies on instinct and common sense rather than a formal system. **In simple terms:** He trusts gut feelings over strict rules. Key Takeaway Embrace intuition in decision‑making. Themes creativity intuition systems Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing process - problem solving - daily routines Key Concepts heuristics personal philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Do you have a personal heuristic you follow? - When does instinct fail you? A Different Perspective May lack consistency; intuition can be biased. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) ## Related quotes > [I won't lay down my principles for any kind of recognition or any kind of position or trying to be more famous. 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It’s part instinct, part common sense. Logic is as good a word as any, and I’ve absorbed what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/my-life-isn-t-theories-and-formulae-it-s-part-instinct-part-common/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [He knew he should have counted. It was the rule to count to ten in his head before he opened his mouth. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/he-knew-he-should-have-counted-it-was-the-rule-to-count-to-ten-in-his/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/common-sense-is-instinct-enough-of-it-is-genius/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A Positive Mental Attitude is the right mental attitude. What is the right mental attitude? It is most often comprised of the "plus" characteristics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-positive-mental-attitude-is-the-right-mental-attitude-what-is-the/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“Top 15 Things Money Can’t Buy Time. Happiness. Inner Peace. Integrity. Love. Character. Manners. Health. Respect. Morals. Trust. Patience. Class. Common sense. Dignity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-t-bennett/top-15-things-money-can-t-buy-time-happiness-inner-peace-integrity/) [Roy T. Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-t-bennett/) > [It is a strange irony that the principles of science should seem to deny the necessary conviction of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-joseph-henderson/it-is-a-strange-irony-that-the-principles-of-science-should-seem-to/) [Lawrence Joseph Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-joseph-henderson/) > [I'm a guy of strong principles and I think people respect that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-morgan/i-m-a-guy-of-strong-principles-and-i-think-people-respect-that/) [Eoin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-morgan/) > [Too much principle is often more harmful than too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/too-much-principle-is-often-more-harmful-than-too-little/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) ## More by Tom Stoppard > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/after-all-these-years-i-definitely-associate-having-a-pen-in-my-hand/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The universe is deterministic all right, just like Newton said, I mean it's trying to be, but the only thing going wrong is people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-universe-is-deterministic-all-right-just-like-newton-said-i-mean/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eight-year-old child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-me-human-rights-simply-endorse-a-view-of-life-and-a-set-of-moral/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“What is an artist? For every thousand people there's nine hundred doing the work, ninety doing well, nine doing good, and one lucky bastard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/what-is-an-artist-for-every-thousand-people-there-s-nine-hundred/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over... Death is not anything... death is not... It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/dying-is-not-romantic-and-death-is-not-a-game-which-will-soon-be-over/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I'm not interested in clothes; I just like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-m-not-interested-in-clothes-i-just-like-them/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For 10 years of my life, 3 times a day, I thanked the Lord for what I was about to receive and thanked him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-10-years-of-my-life-3-times-a-day-i-thanked-the-lord-for-what-i/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [You should not translate for more than two hours at a time. After that, you lose your edge, the language becomes clumsy, rigid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/you-should-not-translate-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time-after-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [No matter how imperfect things are, if you've got a free press everything is correctable, and without it everything is concealable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/no-matter-how-imperfect-things-are-if-you-ve-got-a-free-press/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-must-be-born-with-an-intuition-of-mortality-before-we-know-the/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/eternity-s-a-terrible-thought-i-mean-where-s-it-all-going-to-end/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There is truth and falsehood in a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/there-is-truth-and-falsehood-in-a-comma/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) [Explore all 559 Tom Stoppard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't really have a system or set of principles. 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