--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Part of the answer is that self-knowledge…" description: "\"“Part of the answer is that self-knowledge has never been one of our strong points. To the contrary, even the most elemental knowledge of oneself is so..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/john-a-sanford-58911_meaningless-life_part-of-the-answer-is-that-self-knowledg_30680.jpg" --- # Part of the answer is that self-knowledge has never been… ![“Part of the answer is that self-knowledge has never been one of our strong points. To the contrary, even the most elemental knowledge of oneself is something that most people resist with the greatest determination. Usually it is only when we are in a state of great pain or confusion, and only…” quote by John A. Sanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/john-a-sanford-58911_meaningless-life_part-of-the-answer-is-that-self-knowledg_30680.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/john-a-sanford-58911_meaningless-life_part-of-the-answer-is-that-self-knowledg_30680.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/john-a-sanford-58911_meaningless-life_part-of-the-answer-is-that-self-knowledg_30680.jpg) > ““Part of the answer is that self-knowledge has never been one of our strong points. To the contrary, even the most elemental knowledge of oneself is something that most people resist with the greatest determination. Usually it is only when we are in a state of great pain or confusion, and only self-knowledge offers a way out, that we are willing to risk our cherished ideas of what we are like in a confrontation with the truth, and even then many people prefer to live a meaningless life rather than go through the often disagreeable process of coming to know themselves.”” [John A. Sanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-sanford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑knowledge is hard because people avoid confronting uncomfortable truths about themselves, only seeking it when in crisis, and even then may choose ignorance over self‑understanding. **In simple terms:** People resist knowing themselves unless in pain. Key Takeaway Self‑knowledge requires confronting discomfort. Themes self‑awareness psychological resistance crisis motivation avoidance identity truth Mood introspective cautionary somber Type philosophical psychological advice When to use this quote - personal crisis - therapy sessions - midlife reassessment - career stagnation - relationship conflict Key Concepts self‑knowledge cognitive dissonance pain meaninglessness Practical Applications - psychotherapy - self‑help workshops Questions to Reflect On - What habits can foster daily self‑reflection? - How does avoiding self‑knowledge affect long‑term fulfillment? A Different Perspective Some argue that self‑knowledge can be pursued through gradual reflection, not only in moments of extreme distress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Meaningless life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningless-life/) [Self knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [“Knowledge has strong arms. Joy has a warm heart. Wisdom has a clever mind. Love has a gentle soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/knowledge-has-strong-arms-joy-has-a-warm-heart-wisdom-has-a-clever/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“I am more able to recognize when my mind has gotten itself into trouble and increasingly eager to mobilize the energy to rescue it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-boorstein/i-am-more-able-to-recognize-when-my-mind-has-gotten-itself-into/) [Sylvia Boorstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-boorstein/) > [The study of crime begins with the knowledge of oneself. All that you despise, all that you loathe, all that you reject, all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-study-of-crime-begins-with-the-knowledge-of-oneself-all-that-you/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“When we understand who we are, and how our realities work, we can choose more consciously to shape our lives in an optimal way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-zernoff/when-we-understand-who-we-are-and-how-our-realities-work-we-can/) [Raphael Zernoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-zernoff/) > [“One is seldom unchanged by the death of those one loves. It gives me a deeper knowledge of them, and so of oneself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/one-is-seldom-unchanged-by-the-death-of-those-one-loves-it-gives-me-a/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [Sometimes one touches on a very painful spot where one is almost too shy to look into it, but somehow one still has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/sometimes-one-touches-on-a-very-painful-spot-where-one-is-almost-too/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [To resist the influence of others, knowledge of oneself is most important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-resist-the-influence-of-others-knowledge-of-oneself-is-most/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The study of crime begins with the knowledge of oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-study-of-crime-begins-with-the-knowledge-of-oneself/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The best part of writing is not the communication of knowledge to other people, but the acquisition and synthesizing of knowledge for oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-best-part-of-writing-is-not-the-communication-of-knowledge-to/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [To speak of certain government and establishment institutions as 'the system' is to speak correctly . . . They are sustained by structural relationships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/to-speak-of-certain-government-and-establishment-institutions-as-the/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [A human life is defined by its relationship with others: by its duty to its species. In the face of this duty, life, liberty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-woodring-stover/a-human-life-is-defined-by-its-relationship-with-others-by-its-duty/) [Matthew Woodring Stover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-woodring-stover/) > [So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-many-people-walk-around-with-a-meaningless-life-they-seem-half/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's an incredibly exciting thing, this one meaningless life of yours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-minchin/it-s-an-incredibly-exciting-thing-this-one-meaningless-life-of-yours/) [Tim Minchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-minchin/) > [“To understand the people who often talk about the meaninglessness of life, walk amongst the ruins!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/to-understand-the-people-who-often-talk-about-the-meaninglessness-of/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [When safety is our priority, we live our lives being very, very careful, and we wind up having no lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/when-safety-is-our-priority-we-live-our-lives-being-very-very-careful/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) ## More by John A. Sanford > [There is a source within us that always works to bring things into the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-sanford/there-is-a-source-within-us-that-always-works-to-bring-things-into/) [John A. Sanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-sanford/) > [“But at the same time there is always a transcendent aspect to the kingdom, expressed in the above sayings in which Jesus hints at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-sanford/but-at-the-same-time-there-is-always-a-transcendent-aspect-to-the/) [John A. Sanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-sanford/) > [“how much Jesus had broken away from the historically conditioned attitudes of his time, for the prevailing idea at that time was that good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-sanford/how-much-jesus-had-broken-away-from-the-historically-conditioned/) [John A. Sanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-sanford/) > [If we judge others, it is because we are judging something in ourselves of which we are unaware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-sanford/if-we-judge-others-it-is-because-we-are-judging-something-in/) [John A. Sanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-sanford/) [Explore all 5 John A. Sanford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-sanford/) ## More Meaningless life quotes > [A human life is defined by its relationship with others: by its duty to its species. In the face of this duty, life, liberty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-woodring-stover/a-human-life-is-defined-by-its-relationship-with-others-by-its-duty/) [Matthew Woodring Stover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-woodring-stover/) > [To speak of certain government and establishment institutions as 'the system' is to speak correctly . . . 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Thats all we do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/life-is-empty-life-is-meaningless-when-we-take-a-life-we-arn-t-taking/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [“You fight with dreams as with formless and meaningless life, seeking a pattern, a route that must surely be there, as when you begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/you-fight-with-dreams-as-with-formless-and-meaningless-life-seeking-a/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [Most people work at keeping their job, rather than doing a good job. If you're the former, you're leading a meaningless life. If you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lois/most-people-work-at-keeping-their-job-rather-than-doing-a-good-job-if/) [George Lois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lois/) > [It's heroic service like yours that reminds me how meaningless my life is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-heroic-service-like-yours-that-reminds-me-how-meaningless-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morrie-schwartz/so-many-people-walk-around-with-a-meaningless-life-they-seem-half-2/) [Morrie Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morrie-schwartz/) > [“Wonderful You Love you for being so meaningful, i my meaningless life, Love you for being so true, even when my life was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ratish-edwards/wonderful-you-love-you-for-being-so-meaningful-i-my-meaningless-life/) [Ratish Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ratish-edwards/) > [Was our life nothing more than a sequence of anonymous screams in a desert of indifferent stars?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernesto-sabato/was-our-life-nothing-more-than-a-sequence-of-anonymous-screams-in-a/) [Ernesto Sabato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernesto-sabato/) > [Life is meaningless, when we take a life we take nothing of value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/life-is-meaningless-when-we-take-a-life-we-take-nothing-of-value/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corazon-aquino/i-would-rather-die-a-meaningful-death-than-to-live-a-meaningless-life/) [Corazon Aquino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corazon-aquino/) [Browse all 43 Meaningless life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningless-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Part of the answer is that self-knowledge has never been one of our strong points. 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