--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The toughest test of good judgment is to…" description: "\"The toughest test of good judgment is to know when to withhold your better judgment.\" — Robert Breault" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/robert-breault-304_decision-making_the-toughest-test-of-good-judgment-is-to_134784.png" --- # The toughest test of good judgment is to know when to… ![“The toughest test of good judgment is to know when to withhold your better judgment.” quote by Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/robert-breault-304_decision-making_the-toughest-test-of-good-judgment-is-to_134784.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/robert-breault-304_decision-making_the-toughest-test-of-good-judgment-is-to_134784.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/robert-breault-304_decision-making_the-toughest-test-of-good-judgment-is-to_134784.png) > “The toughest test of good judgment is to know when to withhold your better judgment.” [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good judgment includes knowing when to restrain one's own opinions to avoid premature conclusions. **In simple terms:** Hold back sometimes. Key Takeaway Practice restraint in decisions. Themes judgment self-control wisdom decision making Mood thoughtful balanced Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - negotiations - team meetings - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy psychology leadership Questions to Reflect On - When should you speak up? - How does restraint improve outcomes? A Different Perspective May lead to indecision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decision making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) [Good judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-judgment/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Tests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tests/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [“I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment.        I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wisdom-live-together-with-good-judgment-i-know-where-to-discover/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have great judgment. I have good judgment. I know what's going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-have-great-judgment-i-have-good-judgment-i-know-what-s-going-on/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Against Bermane Stiverne, they said he was going to be the toughest test, but I passed that with flying colours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deontay-wilder/against-bermane-stiverne-they-said-he-was-going-to-be-the-toughest/) [Deontay Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deontay-wilder/) > [You know why I fear people's judgment? Because I know they're judging. I know they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/you-know-why-i-fear-people-s-judgment-because-i-know-they-re-judging/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [“I can understand your judgment. I know that I am a prostitute. I’m not proud of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandra-torre/i-can-understand-your-judgment-i-know-that-i-am-a-prostitute-i-m-not/) [Alessandra Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandra-torre/) > [You don't have to see through the eyes of others, hold onto yours, stand on your own judgment, you know that what is, is–say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/you-don-t-have-to-see-through-the-eyes-of-others-hold-onto-yours/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [I dont need your judgment because I know who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewshycrazyness/i-dont-need-your-judgment-because-i-know-who-i-am/) [EwshyCrazyness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewshycrazyness/) > [As a gardener, I wonder if flowers really can't speak or just exercise unfailing good judgment in the matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/as-a-gardener-i-wonder-if-flowers-really-can-t-speak-or-just-exercise/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [“You say you've seen too many things, that turn out to be too good to be true. Against your better judgment, opened up your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mcknight/you-say-you-ve-seen-too-many-things-that-turn-out-to-be-too-good-to/) [Brian McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mcknight/) > [Sometimes the pleasure principle gets the best of my better judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/sometimes-the-pleasure-principle-gets-the-best-of-my-better-judgment/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [I have a remarkable ability to delete all better judgment from my brain when I get my head set on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-a-remarkable-ability-to-delete-all-better-judgment-from-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have much better judgment than Hillary Clinton does. There's no question about that. I also have a much better temperament than she has,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-have-much-better-judgment-than-hillary-clinton-does-there-s-no/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [That would be a good thing for them to cut on my tombstone: Wherever she went, including here, it was against her better judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/that-would-be-a-good-thing-for-them-to-cut-on-my-tombstone-wherever/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Our nature is to desperately want to believe and to take what we believe is the quickest path there even against our better judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/our-nature-is-to-desperately-want-to-believe-and-to-take-what-we/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [If God gives you wisdom in sunshine to know the difference between Mr. Right or Mr. Wrong, don't blame Him when the storms roll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-nathaniel-butler/if-god-gives-you-wisdom-in-sunshine-to-know-the-difference-between-mr/) [Eugene Nathaniel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-nathaniel-butler/) ## More by Robert Breault > [You will not find a soulmate in the quiet of your room. You must go to a noisy place and look in the quiet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/you-will-not-find-a-soulmate-in-the-quiet-of-your-room-you-must-go-to/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Never mind the odds against you. If you doubled your effort, what would the odds against you do — send for reinforcements?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/never-mind-the-odds-against-you-if-you-doubled-your-effort-what-would/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Of course I doubt. I do not practice a certainty. I practice a faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/of-course-i-doubt-i-do-not-practice-a-certainty-i-practice-a-faith/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Retirement is having nothing to do and someone always keeping you from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/retirement-is-having-nothing-to-do-and-someone-always-keeping-you/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [There is in art the notion of less is more, which is to say, you don't torture a painting that has already confessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/there-is-in-art-the-notion-of-less-is-more-which-is-to-say-you-don-t/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [One's dream is defeated not by unsolvable problems, but by all the more-or-less satisfactory solutions that kill it forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/one-s-dream-is-defeated-not-by-unsolvable-problems-but-by-all-the/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [I cultivate my garden, and my garden cultivates me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/i-cultivate-my-garden-and-my-garden-cultivates-me/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [In the end you regret less the things you believed that weren't true than the things that never came true because you didn't believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/in-the-end-you-regret-less-the-things-you-believed-that-weren-t-true/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The trick to getting ahead is to give it the same effort you give to getting even.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-trick-to-getting-ahead-is-to-give-it-the-same-effort-you-give-to/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Man will have replicated his own intelligence not when he teaches a computer to reason but when he teaches a computer to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/man-will-have-replicated-his-own-intelligence-not-when-he-teaches-a/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [To hurt someone you know will forgive you is the unkindiest thing of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/to-hurt-someone-you-know-will-forgive-you-is-the-unkindiest-thing-of/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [For every person who atones, a hundred others find regret sufficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/for-every-person-who-atones-a-hundred-others-find-regret-sufficient/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [As a means to success, determination has this advantage over talent - that it does not have to be recognized by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/as-a-means-to-success-determination-has-this-advantage-over-talent/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [As a gardener, I wonder if flowers really can't speak or just exercise unfailing good judgment in the matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/as-a-gardener-i-wonder-if-flowers-really-can-t-speak-or-just-exercise/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Genius is a plodding intellect, incapable of dreaming up the obstacles that stop the rest of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/genius-is-a-plodding-intellect-incapable-of-dreaming-up-the-obstacles/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) [Explore all 710 Robert Breault quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) ## More Decision making quotes > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [“Exactly. So, what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way, no matter how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/exactly-so-what-can-t-you-take-decide-which-of-the-two-options-is/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [“How can you make an informed decision about whether to save the world if you never leave your tiny part of it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-david-hutchinson/how-can-you-make-an-informed-decision-about-whether-to-save-the-world/) [Shaun David Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-david-hutchinson/) > [Indecision becomes decision with time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indecision-becomes-decision-with-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you think of people as making decisions actively, every time we think about the cup of coffee, we say, "How much will I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-think-of-people-as-making-decisions-actively-every-time-we/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/decision-is-a-risk-rooted-in-the-courage-of-being-free/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [I never think of things rationally or intellectually. I swear, every single decision I make is just instinct and my instincts tend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/i-never-think-of-things-rationally-or-intellectually-i-swear-every/) [Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/) > [“Slow down your thinking so you can note the criteria you are using to make your decision. 2. Write the criteria down as a principle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/slow-down-your-thinking-so-you-can-note-the-criteria-you-are-using-to/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [My best business decision was to be independent as a musician and artist. My worst was compromising on certain aspects of a deal for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/my-best-business-decision-was-to-be-independent-as-a-musician-and/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [“Making a decision takes a moment, living a decision takes a life-time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherif-a-el-mawardy/making-a-decision-takes-a-moment-living-a-decision-takes-a-life-time/) [Sherif A. El-Mawardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherif-a-el-mawardy/) > [Cheshvan starts tonight," Rixon said, "What are you doing arsing around in a graveyard?" "Thinking." "Thinking?" 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We waste so much time making decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-think-most-of-us-are-raised-with-preconceived-notions-of-the/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) [Browse all 4,912 Decision making quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The toughest test of good judgment is to know when to withhold your better judgment.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Breault" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-toughest-test-of-good-judgment-is-to-know-when-to-withhold-your/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decision making" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-toughest-test-of-good-judgment-is-to-know-when-to-withhold-your/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/robert-breault-304_decision-making_the-toughest-test-of-good-judgment-is-to_134784.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/robert-breault-304_decision-making_the-toughest-test-of-good-judgment-is-to_134784.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/robert-breault-304_decision-making_the-toughest-test-of-good-judgment-is-to_134784.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The toughest test of good judgment is to know when to withhold your better judgment.” — Robert Breault", "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": "Robert Breault", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The toughest test of good judgment...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-toughest-test-of-good-judgment-is-to-know-when-to-withhold-your/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-toughest-test-of-good-judgment-is-to-know-when-to-withhold-your/#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 } } ] } ```