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Famous Quotes on Discernment and Well-Being

Motivational Quotes on How to Find Wisdom and Live Well

by Whitney Hopler, Communications Manager

Our world is full of interesting information. But discerning which information is actually true and valuable leads to wisdom, which leads to well-being. Practicing discernment empowers people to develop moral strength that improves well-being, research reveals. Let these famous quotes on discernment on and well-being motivate you to pursue wisdom:

“The supreme end of education is expert discernment in all things – the power to tell the good from the bad, the genuine from the counterfeit, and to prefer the good and the genuine to the bad and the counterfeit.” – Samuel Johnson

“An open mind must be mitigated by discernment. Knowing what to take in and what to discard or file away for future perusal is important to one’s growth.” – Safi Thomas

“Let discernment be your trustee, and mistakes your teacher.” – T.F. Hodge

“Compassionate action emerges from the sense of openness, connectedness, and discernment you have created.” – Joan Halifax

“The most important part of discernment is pinpointing the forces to be reckoned with, both the constructive and destructive.” – Criss Jami

“The best leaders are readers of people. They have the intuitive ability to understand others by discerning how they feel and recognizing what they sense.” – John C. Maxwell

“Some people think they have discernment when actually they are just suspicious. Suspicion comes out of the unrenewed mind; discernment comes out of the renewed spirit.” – Joyce Meyer

“We need discernment in what we see and what we hear and what we believe.” – Charles R. Swindoll

“Remember, anybody can say anything! Anybody can write anything! Practice discernment or intelligent evaluation.” – Choa Kok Sui

“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” – Warren Buffett

“Love and compassion don’t at all have to make us weak, or lead us to losing discernment and vision. We just have to learn how to find them. And see, in truth, what they bring us.” – Sharon Salzberg

“Seeing reality for what it is, is what we call discernment. The work of discernment is very hard.” – Lewis B. Smedes

“My choices, including those related to the day-to-day aspects of life like the use of a modest car, are related to a spiritual discernment that responds to a need that arises from looking at things, at people and from reading the signs of the times.” – Pope Francis

“When fake news is repeated, it becomes difficult for the public to discern what’s real.” – Jimmy Gomez

“The first point of wisdom is to discern that which is false; the second, to know that which is true.” – Lactantius

“In order to discern truth in our hearts, we must unpack the lies.” – Evinda Lepins

“To maintain a constant relationship with God is to be discernible.” – Sunday Adelaja

“Your ability to discern key people in your life and organization before you bring them in saves you lots of time, trouble, and regrets.” – Assegid Habtewold

“To resist the dangers of the world, you have to recognize the distortions and seductions of the world.” – Os Guinness

“The ability of discerning high quality unavoidably implies the ability of identifying shortcomings.” – Edsger Dijkstra

“The more observing ones may have seen, but discerning people are usually discreet and often kind, for we usually bleed a little before we begin to discern.” – Willa Cather

“Discerning our personal gifts is essential if we are to experience harmony in our lives.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach

“A great deal may be done by severity, more by love, but most by clear discernment and impartial justice.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“True discernment means not only distinguishing the right from the wrong; it means distinguishing the primary from the secondary, the essential from the indifferent, and the permanent from the transient. And, yes, it means distinguishing between the good and the better, and even between the better and the best.” – Sinclair Ferguson

“Love always seeks for betterment, for ways of making life more workable, joyful, whole, and beautiful. Love examines every option available to bring about an improvement in life. This kind of discernment is an act of decency, not an act of judgment.” – Glenda Green

“When a person goes into a relationship emotionally needy, they are not going to have discernment in choosing people.” – Jennifer O’Neill

“We should not fret for what is past, nor should we be anxious about the future. People of discernment deal only with the present moment.” – Chanakya

“As you meditate and become more spiritually attuned, you can better discern and recognize the sound of your higher self or the voice of God speaking to you through words, images, and sensations.” – Jack Canfield

“God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.” – Oswald Chambers

“A process for discernment: God is my ultimate source of truth and wisdom, and dwells forever at the center of my being. Therefore, any thought, emotion, or action that takes me further from my center can be neither truthful, nor wise.” – Bill Crawford

“All people deserve respect, but not all ideas do.” – Johann Hari

“Enlightenment is construed as seeing things as they really are rather than as they appear; it is a direct insight into, and discernment of, the nature of reality that is apprehended only by wisdom, which transcends and is prior to the activity of discriminative thought.” – Kim Hee-jin

“Obscurity is dispelled by augmenting the light of discernment, not by attacking the darkness.” – Socrates

“Gardening can become a spiritual exercise, teaching us discernment as we eliminate the weeds from our lives, giving what we value room to grow.” – Diane Dreher

“Be courageous and face this moment in time consciously and with all the discernment and clarity within your power.” – James O’Dea