The small wisdom is like water in a glass: clear, transparent, pure. The great wisdom is like the water in the sea: dark, mysterious, impenetrable.
Rabindranath TagoreRead
Compliments win friends, honesty loses them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Compliments can help build friendships, while being overly honest may drive people away.
This quote by Rabindranath Tagore highlights the delicate balance between kindness and honesty in relationships. It suggests that while flattery and compliments can foster connections and win people over, harsh truths or blunt honesty might alienate others, indicating the complexity of human interactions and the impact of our words on relationships.
Themes
ComplimentsHonestyFriendshipRelationshipsCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about building strong teams, one might say, 'Remember, compliments win friends, while honesty may sometimes lose them.'
More from Rabindranath Tagore
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True deliverance of man is the deliverance from Avidya i.e. ignorance. It is not in destroying anything that is positive and real, for that cannot be possible, but that which is negative, which obstructs our vision of truth.
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The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.
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If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars.
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To be outspoken is easy when you do not wait to speak the complete truth.
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