--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Trust your internal observations too much…" description: "\"“Trust your internal observations too much and too long, and you might be in for a very rude awakening. Second, we believe that our introspections are ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/rolf-dobelli-11723_skepticism_trust-your-internal-observations-too-muc_158093.png" --- # Trust your internal observations too much and too long… ![“Trust your internal observations too much and too long, and you might be in for a very rude awakening. Second, we believe that our introspections are more reliable than those of others, which creates an illusion of superiority. Remedy: Be all the more critical with yourself. Regard your internal…” quote by Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/rolf-dobelli-11723_skepticism_trust-your-internal-observations-too-muc_158093.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/rolf-dobelli-11723_skepticism_trust-your-internal-observations-too-muc_158093.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/rolf-dobelli-11723_skepticism_trust-your-internal-observations-too-muc_158093.png) > ““Trust your internal observations too much and too long, and you might be in for a very rude awakening. Second, we believe that our introspections are more reliable than those of others, which creates an illusion of superiority. Remedy: Be all the more critical with yourself. Regard your internal observations with the same skepticism as claims from some random person. Become your own toughest critic.”” [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Overreliance on self‑perception creates blind spots; treating inner thoughts with the same doubt as external claims fosters humility and better judgment. **In simple terms:** Question your own thoughts as you would others' ideas. Key Takeaway Apply skeptical self‑analysis regularly. Themes self‑awareness critical thinking humility mental discipline growth Mood thoughtful cautious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal development - decision making - leadership - coaching Key Concepts cognitive bias self‑deception metacognition Questions to Reflect On - When do you trust your intuition? - How can you balance self‑trust with healthy doubt? A Different Perspective Excessive skepticism can lead to paralysis and loss of confidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe Introspections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-introspections-1740858/) [Introspections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/introspections-1663587/) [Introspections Reliable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/introspections-reliable-1740859/) [Observations Skepticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observations-skepticism-1740860/) [Self-Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-awareness-2/) [Skepticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skepticism/) [Too long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-long/) ## Related quotes > [Tomorrow, as yesterday, as today our introspections in the fabric of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/tomorrow-as-yesterday-as-today-our-introspections-in-the-fabric-of/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [“An extraordinary claim requires extraordinary proof. ('On the Extraordinary: An Attempt at Clarification", Zetetic Scholar, Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 11, 1978)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcello-truzzi/an-extraordinary-claim-requires-extraordinary-proof-on-the/) [Marcello Truzzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcello-truzzi/) > [A skeptic as to all ideas, including especially my own, I have never suffered a pang when the ideas of some other imbecile prevailed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-skeptic-as-to-all-ideas-including-especially-my-own-i-have-never/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Being postmodern, however, is about being complicit rather than virtuous, it is about approaching categories like Good and Evil with a certain ironic skepticism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-hollinger/being-postmodern-however-is-about-being-complicit-rather-than/) [Veronica Hollinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-hollinger/) > [“The cold logic of mid-twentieth-century atheism has now given way to an era of renewed 'spirituality,' but it is an awakening more thrapeutic than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-mark-bertrand/the-cold-logic-of-mid-twentieth-century-atheism-has-now-given-way-to/) [J. Mark Bertrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-mark-bertrand/) > [Mainstream economic theories popular in the last several decades have tended to downplay the government's role in markets and to increase skepticism about even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-mazzucato/mainstream-economic-theories-popular-in-the-last-several-decades-have/) [Mariana Mazzucato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-mazzucato/) > [I have a deep-seated skepticism about the morality of violence. Violence is almost always morally corrosive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/i-have-a-deep-seated-skepticism-about-the-morality-of-violence/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [“Nevertheless, a distinction must be made between skepticism as a philosophical thesis and skepticism as an attitude in life. As a philosophical thesis, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juli-n-mar-as/nevertheless-a-distinction-must-be-made-between-skepticism-as-a/) [Julián Marías](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juli-n-mar-as/) > [There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-absolutely-certain-of-almost/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [“David Hume, in a moment of acute skepticism, felt panicky in the solitude of his study and had to go out and join his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/david-hume-in-a-moment-of-acute-skepticism-felt-panicky-in-the/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“Scepticism is as much the result of knowledge, as knowledge is of scepticism. To be content with what we at present know, is, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/scepticism-is-as-much-the-result-of-knowledge-as-knowledge-is-of/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [...the number of saintly men has not yet risen to the level where the census makes them a separate statistical category.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stigler/the-number-of-saintly-men-has-not-yet-risen-to-the-level-where-the/) [George Stigler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stigler/) ## More by Rolf Dobelli > [News is to the mind what sugar is to the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/news-is-to-the-mind-what-sugar-is-to-the-body/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“A second, parallel explanation of why our mistakes are so persistent took shape in the late 1990s: Our brains are designed to reproduce rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/a-second-parallel-explanation-of-why-our-mistakes-are-so-persistent/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“A mathematician is afraid of flying due to the small risk of a terrorist attack. So, on every flight he takes a bomb with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/a-mathematician-is-afraid-of-flying-due-to-the-small-risk-of-a/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“the typical response to scarcity is a lapse in clear thinking. Assess products and services solely on the basis of their price and benefits.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/the-typical-response-to-scarcity-is-a-lapse-in-clear-thinking-assess/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“The confirmation bias is alive and well in the business world. One example: An executive team decides on a new strategy. The team enthusiastically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/the-confirmation-bias-is-alive-and-well-in-the-business-world-one/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“An unrealized loss isn't as painful as realized one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/an-unrealized-loss-isn-t-as-painful-as-realized-one/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [If you spend fifteen minutes in a shopping mall, you will pass more people than our ancestors saw during their entire lifetimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/if-you-spend-fifteen-minutes-in-a-shopping-mall-you-will-pass-more/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“In conclusion: Don’t cling to things. Consider your property something that the “universe” (whatever you believe this to be) has bestowed to you temporarily.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/in-conclusion-don-t-cling-to-things-consider-your-property-something/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“The sunk cost fallacy is most dangerous when we have invested a lot of time, money, energy, or love in something. This investment becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/the-sunk-cost-fallacy-is-most-dangerous-when-we-have-invested-a-lot/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“Our school system is largely geared toward the set-up: the emphasis on factual knowledge and certifications makes it seem like life is primarily about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/our-school-system-is-largely-geared-toward-the-set-up-the-emphasis-on/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“Wir sollten darauf achten, einer Erfahrung nur so viel Weisheit zu entnehmen, wie in ihr steckt - mehr nicht.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/wir-sollten-darauf-achten-einer-erfahrung-nur-so-viel-weisheit-zu/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [It's okay to be envious - but only of the person you aspire to become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/it-s-okay-to-be-envious-but-only-of-the-person-you-aspire-to-become/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“After receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918, Max Planck went on tour across Germany. Wherever he was invited, he delivered the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/after-receiving-the-nobel-prize-in-physics-in-1918-max-planck-went-on/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“The inept are gifted at overlooking the extent of their incompetence. They suffer from illusory superiority, which leads them to make even more thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/the-inept-are-gifted-at-overlooking-the-extent-of-their-incompetence/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“biases,” and I also increased my e-mail conversations”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/biases-and-i-also-increased-my-e-mail-conversations/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) [Explore all 50 Rolf Dobelli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) ## More Skepticism quotes > [...the number of saintly men has not yet risen to the level where the census makes them a separate statistical category.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stigler/the-number-of-saintly-men-has-not-yet-risen-to-the-level-where-the/) [George Stigler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stigler/) > [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“Scepticism is as much the result of knowledge, as knowledge is of scepticism. To be content with what we at present know, is, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/scepticism-is-as-much-the-result-of-knowledge-as-knowledge-is-of/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“David Hume, in a moment of acute skepticism, felt panicky in the solitude of his study and had to go out and join his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/david-hume-in-a-moment-of-acute-skepticism-felt-panicky-in-the/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-absolutely-certain-of-almost/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [“Nevertheless, a distinction must be made between skepticism as a philosophical thesis and skepticism as an attitude in life. As a philosophical thesis, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juli-n-mar-as/nevertheless-a-distinction-must-be-made-between-skepticism-as-a/) [Julián Marías](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juli-n-mar-as/) > [I have a deep-seated skepticism about the morality of violence. Violence is almost always morally corrosive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/i-have-a-deep-seated-skepticism-about-the-morality-of-violence/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [Mainstream economic theories popular in the last several decades have tended to downplay the government's role in markets and to increase skepticism about even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-mazzucato/mainstream-economic-theories-popular-in-the-last-several-decades-have/) [Mariana Mazzucato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-mazzucato/) > [“The cold logic of mid-twentieth-century atheism has now given way to an era of renewed 'spirituality,' but it is an awakening more thrapeutic than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-mark-bertrand/the-cold-logic-of-mid-twentieth-century-atheism-has-now-given-way-to/) [J. Mark Bertrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-mark-bertrand/) > [“Being postmodern, however, is about being complicit rather than virtuous, it is about approaching categories like Good and Evil with a certain ironic skepticism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-hollinger/being-postmodern-however-is-about-being-complicit-rather-than/) [Veronica Hollinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-hollinger/) > [A skeptic as to all ideas, including especially my own, I have never suffered a pang when the ideas of some other imbecile prevailed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-skeptic-as-to-all-ideas-including-especially-my-own-i-have-never/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“An extraordinary claim requires extraordinary proof. ('On the Extraordinary: An Attempt at Clarification", Zetetic Scholar, Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 11, 1978)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcello-truzzi/an-extraordinary-claim-requires-extraordinary-proof-on-the/) [Marcello Truzzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcello-truzzi/) > [“Skeptics are always marked by their total lack of skepticism towards whatever position they are defending.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-madison/skeptics-are-always-marked-by-their-total-lack-of-skepticism-towards/) [Steve Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-madison/) [Browse all 805 Skepticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skepticism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Trust your internal observations too much and too long, and you might be in for a very rude awakening. Second, we believe that our introspections are more reliable than those of others, which creates an illusion of superiority. Remedy: Be all the more critical with yourself. Regard your internal observations with the same skepticism as claims from some random person. Become your own toughest critic.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rolf Dobelli" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/trust-your-internal-observations-too-much-and-too-long-and-you-might/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Skepticism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/trust-your-internal-observations-too-much-and-too-long-and-you-might/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/rolf-dobelli-11723_skepticism_trust-your-internal-observations-too-muc_158093.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/rolf-dobelli-11723_skepticism_trust-your-internal-observations-too-muc_158093.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/rolf-dobelli-11723_skepticism_trust-your-internal-observations-too-muc_158093.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Trust your internal observations too much and too long, and you might be in for a very rude awakening…” — Rolf Dobelli", "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": "Rolf Dobelli", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Trust your internal observations too much...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/trust-your-internal-observations-too-much-and-too-long-and-you-might/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/trust-your-internal-observations-too-much-and-too-long-and-you-might/#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 } } ] } ```