---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have always moved by intuition alone. I…"
description: "\"I have always moved by intuition alone. I have no system, literary or political. I have no guiding political idea.\" — V. S. Naipaul"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/v-s-naipaul-3828_alone_i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i_365497.png"
---

#  I have always moved by intuition alone. I have no system…

![“I have always moved by intuition alone. I have no system, literary or political. I have no guiding political idea.” quote by V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/v-s-naipaul-3828_alone_i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i_365497.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/v-s-naipaul-3828_alone_i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i_365497.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/v-s-naipaul-3828_alone_i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i_365497.png)

> “I have always moved by intuition alone. I have no system, literary or political. I have no guiding political idea.”

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

## 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 relies solely on instinct, rejecting formal systems or political doctrines as guides.

**In simple terms:** Intuition over systems.

Key Takeaway

Trust your gut.

Themes

intuition individualism nonconformity

Mood

reflective independent

Type

philosophical personal

When to use this quote

- creative work
- personal decision making
- political discourse
- career choices

Key Concepts

existentialism personal autonomy

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you verify intuitive choices?
- When might a system be beneficial?

A Different Perspective

Intuition can be unreliable without critical reflection.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Intuition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuition/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/)

## Related quotes

> [I think that the idea that I'm writing for many more people than I ever imagined has created a certain general responsibility that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-think-that-the-idea-that-i-m-writing-for-many-more-people-than-i/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [“the skin of her naked throat was as perfect as a political idea. She”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/the-skin-of-her-naked-throat-was-as-perfect-as-a-political-idea-she/)

[William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/)

> [“The Levantine political idea, which grew naturally among the communities of the eastern Mediterranean, was an original way of dealing with diverse tribal, village,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/the-levantine-political-idea-which-grew-naturally-among-the/)

[Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/)

> [I hate to express political ideas directly in a book. I don't want my books to be seen as an expression of this or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdellah-taia/i-hate-to-express-political-ideas-directly-in-a-book-i-don-t-want-my/)

[Abdellah Taia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdellah-taia/)

> [Remember, the political idea being expressed a year ago was that because the GOP interpreted its 1994 mandate as a call to budget-balancing austerity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-wanniski/remember-the-political-idea-being-expressed-a-year-ago-was-that/)

[Jude Wanniski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-wanniski/)

> [If you want to explore a political idea in the highest possible way, you embody it in the personal, because that's something that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/if-you-want-to-explore-a-political-idea-in-the-highest-possible-way/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [The core idea that underlies all of our democratic states, the core political idea, is this idea that it's not that one person is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/the-core-idea-that-underlies-all-of-our-democratic-states-the-core/)

[Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/)

> [“In a way he was lucky. He was a member of a generation that thought it was a good, even joyous, political idea to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/in-a-way-he-was-lucky-he-was-a-member-of-a-generation-that-thought-it/)

[Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/)

> [That great political idea, sanctifying freedom and consecrating it to God, teaching men to treasure the liberties of others as their own and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/that-great-political-idea-sanctifying-freedom-and-consecrating-it-to/)

[Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/)

> [The average educated man in America has about as much knowledge of what a political idea is as he has of the principles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jay-chapman/the-average-educated-man-in-america-has-about-as-much-knowledge-of/)

[John Jay Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jay-chapman/)

> [I have one great political idea. . . . That idea is an old one. It is widely and generally assented to; nevertheless, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-one-great-political-idea-that-idea-is-an-old-one-it-is-widely/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [Sometimes I just have to follow my intuition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joachim-low/sometimes-i-just-have-to-follow-my-intuition/)

[Joachim Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joachim-low/)

> [The more that you act on your intuition fearlessly, the more your intuition will serve you. Intuition is the ear of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-more-that-you-act-on-your-intuition-fearlessly-the-more-your/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [Although religion might be useful in developing a solid moral framework - and enforcing it - we can quite easily develop moral intuitions without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-winston/although-religion-might-be-useful-in-developing-a-solid-moral/)

[Robert Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-winston/)

> [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/)

Deanna L. Lawlis

## More by V. S. Naipaul

> [In Trinidad, where as new arrivals we were a disadvantaged community, that excluding idea was a kind of protection; it enabled us - for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/in-trinidad-where-as-new-arrivals-we-were-a-disadvantaged-community/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [Many writers tend to write summing-up books at the end of their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/many-writers-tend-to-write-summing-up-books-at-the-end-of-their-lives/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [My life is short. I can't listen to banality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/my-life-is-short-i-can-t-listen-to-banality/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [If you decide to move to another country and to live within its laws you don't express your disregard for the essence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/if-you-decide-to-move-to-another-country-and-to-live-within-its-laws/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [I don't feel I can speak with authority for many other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-don-t-feel-i-can-speak-with-authority-for-many-other-people/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [To this day, if you ask me how I became a writer, I cannot give you an answer. To this day, if you ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/to-this-day-if-you-ask-me-how-i-became-a-writer-i-cannot-give-you-an/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [The world is always in movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/the-world-is-always-in-movement/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [At school I had only admirers; I had no friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/at-school-i-had-only-admirers-i-had-no-friends/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [I'm very content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-m-very-content/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [In our island myth this was the prescribed end of marriages like mine: the wife goes off with someone from the Cercle Sportif, outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/in-our-island-myth-this-was-the-prescribed-end-of-marriages-like-mine/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [In the beginning, before the arrival of the white men, I had considered myself neutral. I had wanted neither side to win, neither the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/in-the-beginning-before-the-arrival-of-the-white-men-i-had-considered/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [I'm my own writer. My material means I'm entirely separate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-m-my-own-writer-my-material-means-i-m-entirely-separate/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [The only lies for which we are truly punished are those we tell ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/the-only-lies-for-which-we-are-truly-punished-are-those-we-tell/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [Where jargon turns living issues into abstractions, and where jargon ends by competing with jargon, people don't have causes. They only have enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/where-jargon-turns-living-issues-into-abstractions-and-where-jargon/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

> [Africa is not a fun place, you know. A fun place is somewhere that lifts the spirits, that cossets the senses. I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/africa-is-not-a-fun-place-you-know-a-fun-place-is-somewhere-that/)

[V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

[Explore all 121 V. S. Naipaul quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/)

## More Alone quotes

> [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/)

[Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/)

> [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/)

[Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/)

> [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/)

[Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/)

> [With my songs, the question is always, 'Can you pull it off live, alone on just an acoustic guitar?' That's the litmus test. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-colvin/with-my-songs-the-question-is-always-can-you-pull-it-off-live-alone/)

[Shawn Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-colvin/)

> [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/)

[Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/)

> [I am not alone in that I've had times of unemployment - unemployment is huge amongst disabled people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-jones/i-am-not-alone-in-that-i-ve-had-times-of-unemployment-unemployment-is/)

[Rosie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-jones/)

> [I never knew a heart could feel so cold so empty so broken until now , I don't know what to say I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-knew-a-heart-could-feel-so-cold-so-empty-so-broken-until-now/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If you're disabled or different from what general society deems normal, it's fine. There will always be people who won't accept you, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-simmonds/if-you-re-disabled-or-different-from-what-general-society-deems/)

[Millicent Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-simmonds/)

> [Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience…A Journey With My Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luckybannu/real-love-is-a-permanently-self-enlarging-experience-a-journey-with/)

Luckybannu

> [“What I'm trying to say is that I spent the last four months learning to be alone, avoiding the world, hating pretty much anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/what-i-m-trying-to-say-is-that-i-spent-the-last-four-months-learning/)

[Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/)

> [I'm used to being alone in a quiet, isolated environment - I'm kind of a low-energy, low-vibration, low-stamina person to begin with - so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-m-used-to-being-alone-in-a-quiet-isolated-environment-i-m-kind-of-a/)

[Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/)

> [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [I have developed a nasty habit of losing to the guy who wins the tournament, and that alone makes you think what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-robertson/i-have-developed-a-nasty-habit-of-losing-to-the-guy-who-wins-the/)

[Neil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-robertson/)

> [As a child, I was this record collector/listener that would sit in a room and listen to the entire Beatles catalog alone, over and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/as-a-child-i-was-this-record-collector-listener-that-would-sit-in-a/)

[Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/)

> [How one hates to think of oneself as alone. How one avoids it. It seems to imply rejection or unpopularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/how-one-hates-to-think-of-oneself-as-alone-how-one-avoids-it-it-seems/)

[Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/)

[Browse all 3,082 Alone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I have always moved by intuition alone. I have no system, literary or political. I have no guiding political idea.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "V. S. Naipaul"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i-have-no-system-literary-or/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Alone"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i-have-no-system-literary-or/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/v-s-naipaul-3828_alone_i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i_365497.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/v-s-naipaul-3828_alone_i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i_365497.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/v-s-naipaul-3828_alone_i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i_365497.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I have always moved by intuition alone. I have no system, literary or political. I have no guiding political…” — V. S. Naipaul",
                "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": "V. S. Naipaul",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I have always moved by intuition...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i-have-no-system-literary-or/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i-have-no-system-literary-or/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
