In my experience, the best leaders are highly self-aware.
And the worst leaders?
The worst wouldn’t know themselves if they bit themselves on the . . . you know what I mean.
Indeed, servant-leaders in the workplace value self-awareness and cultivate it.*
So, without further ado, here (in alphabetical order by author) are 15 great self-awareness quotes.
- “Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?” – Marcus Aurelius
- “Self-awareness gives you the capacity to learn from your mistakes as well as your successes. It enables you to keep growing.” – Lawrence Bossidy
- “Wisdom tends to grow in proportion to one’s awareness of one’s ignorance.”– Anthony de Mello
- “When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” – Ralph Ellison
- “Self awareness is the ability to take an honest look at your life without any attachment to it being right or wrong, good or bad.” – Debbie Ford
- “If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.” – Daniel Goleman
- “You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.” – Ernest Hemingway
- “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” – Carl Jung
- “Of all deceivers fear most yourself!” – Søren Kierkegaard
- “I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.” – Billie Jean King
- “In the light of calm and steady self-awareness, inner energies wake up and work miracles without any effort on your part.” – Nisargadatta Maharaj
- “Humility is not about having a low self image or poor self esteem. Humility is about self-awareness.” – Erwin McManus
- “The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates
- “Explore thyself. Herein are demanded the eye and the nerve.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “Without self-awareness we are as babies in the cradles.” – Virginia Woolf
Let me add one more that I hope will make you smile:
“Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.” – Ann Landers
Do you like any of these quotes in particular? Do you have a favorite quote about self-awareness to add?
Let us know.
As always, we appreciate your views.
Thanks!
Joe
And don’t forget to download our latest ebook, Servant Leadership in the Workplace: A Brief Introduction. It’s free!
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* How do servant-leaders cultivate self-awareness? Here are some ideas: “5 Ways to Cultivate Better Self-Awareness.”
This one is relevant, too: “5 Reasons Admitting Mistakes Might Show You Are a Servant-Leader”
Thank you Joe..great and informative
This is highly informative,good work .want to give a quote that have just come to my mind,
”Many are slaves of themselves because of lack of self-awareness”