--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most difficult thing in life is to…" description: "\"The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.\" — Thales" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/thales-24146_difficult_the-most-difficult-thing-in-life-is-to-k_2569203.jpg" --- # The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself. ![“The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.” quote by Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/thales-24146_difficult_the-most-difficult-thing-in-life-is-to-k_2569203.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/thales-24146_difficult_the-most-difficult-thing-in-life-is-to-k_2569203.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/thales-24146_difficult_the-most-difficult-thing-in-life-is-to-k_2569203.jpg) > “The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.” [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) ## 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 the greatest challenge, requiring deep introspection beyond external pursuits. **In simple terms:** Knowing yourself is hard but essential. Key Takeaway Reflect regularly on values and motives. Themes self‑awareness philosophy personal growth Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - therapy - journaling - mindful meditation Key Concepts introspection identity formation Questions to Reflect On - What core belief defines you? - How do you test your assumptions? A Different Perspective Self‑knowledge can be elusive and change over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Difficult thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-thing/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Know yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-yourself/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-know/) ## Related quotes > [Let it be your maxim through life, to know all you can know, yourself; and never to trust implicitly to the information of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/let-it-be-your-maxim-through-life-to-know-all-you-can-know-yourself/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [The purpose of life is to know yourself, create yourself, experience yourself as Who You Really Are. There is no other reason to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-know-yourself-create-yourself-experience/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [I think the most difficult thing had been scaling the infrastructure. Trying to support the response we had received from our users and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-fanning/i-think-the-most-difficult-thing-had-been-scaling-the-infrastructure/) [Shawn Fanning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-fanning/) > [Moderation, we find, is an extremely difficult thing to get in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flann-o-brien/moderation-we-find-is-an-extremely-difficult-thing-to-get-in-this/) [Flann O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flann-o-brien/) > [“The most difficult thing is to admit ourselves, and the best proof is our strength and patience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/the-most-difficult-thing-is-to-admit-ourselves-and-the-best-proof-is/) [P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/) > [Maintaining marriage seems to be tougher than fatherhood: apparently its the most difficult thing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-slater/maintaining-marriage-seems-to-be-tougher-than-fatherhood-apparently/) [Kelly Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-slater/) > [“We can’t always have what we want in life. I should know that by now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-chamberlain/we-can-t-always-have-what-we-want-in-life-i-should-know-that-by-now/) [Diane Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-chamberlain/) > [One day someone will walk into your life, and you will know why it never worked out with any one else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-day-someone-will-walk-into-your-life-and-you-will-know-why-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You never really know yourself until you see yourself under pressure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/you-never-really-know-yourself-until-you-see-yourself-under-pressure/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Know yourself to improve yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-comte/know-yourself-to-improve-yourself/) [Auguste Comte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-comte/) > [“It's a part of life. You never know what you are going to get; you just have to be strong enough to deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-hill/it-s-a-part-of-life-you-never-know-what-you-are-going-to-get-you-just/) [Melissa Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-hill/) > [Thank God for everything that happens in your life. I know that theres a reason behind everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thank-god-for-everything-that-happens-in-your-life-i-know-that-theres/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know how I want to try and live my life. I know I don't want to leave any darkness behind me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-hewson/i-know-how-i-want-to-try-and-live-my-life-i-know-i-don-t-want-to/) [Ali Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-hewson/) > [When you are up in life, Your friends get to know who you are. ButWhen you are down in life, You get to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani/when-you-are-up-in-life-your-friends-get-to-know-who-you-are-butwhen/) [Ani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani/) > [I try to live my life on what I know, but I am scared to death of what I have yet to find out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vale-saez/i-try-to-live-my-life-on-what-i-know-but-i-am-scared-to-death-of-what/) [Vale Saez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vale-saez/) ## More by Thales > [Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/avoid-doing-what-you-would-blame-others-for-doing/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [Many words are not proof of the wise man, because the sage only talk when it's needed, and the words are measured and corresponding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/many-words-are-not-proof-of-the-wise-man-because-the-sage-only-talk/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [Time is the wisest of all things that are; for it brings everything to light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/time-is-the-wisest-of-all-things-that-are-for-it-brings-everything-to/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [There are three attributes for which I am grateful to Fortune: that I was born, first, human and not animal; second, man and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/there-are-three-attributes-for-which-i-am-grateful-to-fortune-that-i/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [Hope is the only good that is common to all men; those who have nothing else possess hope still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/hope-is-the-only-good-that-is-common-to-all-men-those-who-have/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [We live not, in reality, on the summit of a solid earth but at the bottom of an ocean of air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/we-live-not-in-reality-on-the-summit-of-a-solid-earth-but-at-the/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [As brightness is to rustiness, so labor excelleth idleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/as-brightness-is-to-rustiness-so-labor-excelleth-idleness/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [I did not become a father because I am fond of children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/i-did-not-become-a-father-because-i-am-fond-of-children/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [All things are from water and all things are resolved into water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/all-things-are-from-water-and-all-things-are-resolved-into-water/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [Placing your stick at the end of the shadow of the pyramid, you made by the sun's rays two triangles, and so proved that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/placing-your-stick-at-the-end-of-the-shadow-of-the-pyramid-you-made/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [What man is happy? He who has a healthy body, a resourceful mind, and a docile nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/what-man-is-happy-he-who-has-a-healthy-body-a-resourceful-mind-and-a/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [I will be sufficiently rewarded if when telling it to others you will not claim the discovery as your own, but will say it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/i-will-be-sufficiently-rewarded-if-when-telling-it-to-others-you-will/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [A multitude of words is no proof of a prudent mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/a-multitude-of-words-is-no-proof-of-a-prudent-mind/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [Place is the greatest thing, as it contains all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/place-is-the-greatest-thing-as-it-contains-all-things/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [ \[One\] who is healthy in body, resourceful in soul and of a readily teachable nature. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/one-who-is-healthy-in-body-resourceful-in-soul-and-of-a-readily/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) [Explore all 25 Thales quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) ## More Difficult quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [Consumers can choose organic cotton grown without pesticides, but it uses more water and requires more land than conventional crops. Organic cotton can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/consumers-can-choose-organic-cotton-grown-without-pesticides-but-it/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [It is extremely difficult to do anything constructive, let alone deep, on daily commercial television, especially on a talk show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/it-is-extremely-difficult-to-do-anything-constructive-let-alone-deep/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [It's only a little difficult to say no. You've got to believe that the work you're doing is ultimately more useful to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/it-s-only-a-little-difficult-to-say-no-you-ve-got-to-believe-that-the/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [Politics only makes the difficult challenge of marriage even harder, with the demands of the job and the public spotlight it casts on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/politics-only-makes-the-difficult-challenge-of-marriage-even-harder/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [Someone else who liked what I did might turn around and say, "She's reworking and rethinking everything. She could just be making blankets now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/someone-else-who-liked-what-i-did-might-turn-around-and-say-she-s/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) [Browse all 13,132 Difficult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thales" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/the-most-difficult-thing-in-life-is-to-know-yourself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Difficult" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/the-most-difficult-thing-in-life-is-to-know-yourself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/thales-24146_difficult_the-most-difficult-thing-in-life-is-to-k_2569203.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/thales-24146_difficult_the-most-difficult-thing-in-life-is-to-k_2569203.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91e/thales-24146_difficult_the-most-difficult-thing-in-life-is-to-k_2569203.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.” — Thales", "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": "Thales", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The most difficult thing in life...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/the-most-difficult-thing-in-life-is-to-know-yourself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/the-most-difficult-thing-in-life-is-to-know-yourself/#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 } } ] } ```