Help others solve their problems; standing farther away, you can often see matters more clearly than they do. . . The greatest service you can render someone else is helping him or her help themselves.
Baltasar GracianRead
It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards.
Interpretation
What this quote means
It's wise to consider decisions before making them to avoid regret later.
This quote emphasizes the importance of thoughtful consideration and careful planning before taking action. It suggests that it is far better to reflect and decide wisely on matters than to impulsively act and later find oneself filled with anxiety and regret, highlighting the value of foresight and the mental peace that comes from preparation.
Themes
ConsiderationRegretPlanningWisdomPeace
In practice
Example use cases
In a personal development seminar, when discussing the importance of decision-making, one might cite this quote.
More from Baltasar Gracian
All quotes βIt is a novel kind of supremacy, the best that life can offer, to have as servants by skill those who by nature are our masters.
Baltasar GracianRead
Advice is sometimes transmitted more successfully through a joke than grave teaching.
Baltasar GracianRead
Two kinds of people are good at foreseeing danger: those who have learned at their own expense, and the clever people who learn a great deal at the expense of others.
Baltasar GracianRead
The envious die not once, but as oft as the envied win applause.
Baltasar GracianRead
Never participate in the secrets of those above you; you think you share the fruit, and you share the stones - the confidence of a prince is not a grant, but a tax
Baltasar GracianRead
Similar quotes
Seek patience and passion in equal amounts. Patience alone will not build the temple. Passion alone will destroy its walls.
Maya AngelouRead
I just want to be a free writer. I think I am serving my country and my people by providing an independent narrative.
Jamal KhashoggiRead
When you realize that every stressful moment you experience is a gift that points you to your own freedom, life becomes very kind.
Byron KatieRead
No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has escaped the kingdom of night.
Elie WieselRead
These scars bear witness but whether to repair or to destruction I no longer know.
Adrienne RichRead
Losing can persuade you to change what doesn't need to be changed, and winning can convince you everything is fine even if you are on the brink of disaster.
Garry KasparovRead