--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is far more useful to be aware of a…" description: "\"It is far more useful to be aware of a single shortcoming in ourselves than it is to be aware of a thousand in someone else.\" — Dalai Lama" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/dalai-lama-89_advice_it-is-far-more-useful-to-be-aware-of-a-s_1957633.jpg" --- # It is far more useful to be aware of a single shortcoming… ![“It is far more useful to be aware of a single shortcoming in ourselves than it is to be aware of a thousand in someone else.” quote by Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/dalai-lama-89_advice_it-is-far-more-useful-to-be-aware-of-a-s_1957633.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/dalai-lama-89_advice_it-is-far-more-useful-to-be-aware-of-a-s_1957633.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/dalai-lama-89_advice_it-is-far-more-useful-to-be-aware-of-a-s_1957633.jpg) > “It is far more useful to be aware of a single shortcoming in ourselves than it is to be aware of a thousand in someone else.” [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowing one personal flaw is more valuable than judging many flaws in others. **In simple terms:** Focus on your own shortcoming. Key Takeaway Improve yourself before critiquing others. Themes self‑awareness humility compassion growth Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teamwork - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology ethics self‑improvement Questions to Reflect On - What shortcoming will you address? - How can you help others without judgment? A Different Perspective Over‑focus on self can cause paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Know yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-yourself/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Shortcoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shortcoming/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/) ## Related quotes > [To be aware of a single shortcoming within oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/to-be-aware-of-a-single-shortcoming-within-oneself-is-more-useful-2/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [To be aware of a single shortcoming in oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/to-be-aware-of-a-single-shortcoming-in-oneself-is-more-useful-than-to/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [To be aware of a single shortcoming within oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in somebody else. Rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/to-be-aware-of-a-single-shortcoming-within-oneself-is-more-useful/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [In my own view, some advice about what should be known, about what technical education should be acquired, about the intense motivation needed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/in-my-own-view-some-advice-about-what-should-be-known-about-what/) [Santiago Ramon y Cajal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/) > [“If science can’t accept that religion might be more than fairytales and magic tricks, well, that’s its own shortcoming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-platt/if-science-can-t-accept-that-religion-might-be-more-than-fairytales/) [Sean Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-platt/) > [“Herein lies the beauty of the flaw: that a shortcoming is a spiritual sign that says "Look! 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And once it's gone, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-is-priceless-you-have-it-but-you-don-t-own-it-you-spend-it-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You don't need to take a persons advice to make him feel good, just ask him for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/you-don-t-need-to-take-a-persons-advice-to-make-him-feel-good-just/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [Some of the things that we hold onto the most, are the things that we need to let go of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas/some-of-the-things-that-we-hold-onto-the-most-are-the-things-that-we/) [Ryaj Ablando Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas/) > [“If your clothes are enough to drive would-be friends away, they're not the kind of friends you want." Typical mother advice. 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He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-coman/my-relationship-with-ibrahimovic-was-completely-neutral-he-is-not-the/) [Kingsley Coman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-coman/) [Browse all 8,535 Advice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is far more useful to be aware of a single shortcoming in ourselves than it is to be aware of a thousand in someone else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dalai Lama" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/it-is-far-more-useful-to-be-aware-of-a-single-shortcoming-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Advice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/it-is-far-more-useful-to-be-aware-of-a-single-shortcoming-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/dalai-lama-89_advice_it-is-far-more-useful-to-be-aware-of-a-s_1957633.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/dalai-lama-89_advice_it-is-far-more-useful-to-be-aware-of-a-s_1957633.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/dalai-lama-89_advice_it-is-far-more-useful-to-be-aware-of-a-s_1957633.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is far more useful to be aware of a single shortcoming in ourselves than it is to be aware of a thousand…” — Dalai Lama", "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": "Dalai Lama", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is far more useful to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/it-is-far-more-useful-to-be-aware-of-a-single-shortcoming-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/it-is-far-more-useful-to-be-aware-of-a-single-shortcoming-in/#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 } } ] } ```