Gain a better grasp of the things that are going on around you through these understanding quotes!
It’s so easy to stray off the path of goodness when you don’t understand the things and the people around you.
You get so caught up in yourself that you tend to forget that others might be experiencing challenges unique to them, too.
When this happens, sadly, it is in our nature to react badly. We tend to say and do things that would do more harm than good.
This is precisely why understanding is crucial to building a healthy and happy life. Without it, we’d be in constant disagreement and conflicts with others.
Read the quotes we’ve compiled below to gain a more understanding heart and mind. We’re positive you’ll gain insights that’ll change your life!
Start here.
And don’t forget to check out these listening quotes and giving quotes.
Best Understanding Quotes
1. “Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.” – J.K. Rowling
2. “You don’t need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding.” – Guy Finley
3. “Understanding comes through communication, and through understanding, we find the way to peace.” – Ralph C. Smedley
4. “Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly.” – Richard Bach
5. “Understanding is an art, and not everyone is an artist.” – Anonymous
6. “The highest activity a human being can attain is learning to understand because to understand is to be free.” – Baruch Spinoza
7. “Those who judge will never understand, and those who understand will never judge.” – Anonymous
8. “Mutual understanding is the main backbone of every happy relationship.” – Edmond Mbiaka
9. “Sometimes, being understanding is more important than being right. Sometimes, we need not a brilliant mind that speaks but a patient heart that listens. Not a keep eye that always sees faults but open arms that accept. Not a finger that points out mistakes but gentle hands that lead.” – Pavithra Ram
Famous Understanding Quotes
10. “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” – Albert Einstein
11. “To understand and to be understood makes our happiness on earth.” – German Proverb
12. “To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.” – Khalil Gibran
13. “Just because we don’t understand doesn’t mean that the explanation doesn’t exist.” – Madeleine L’Engle
14. “The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use, we feel very good. Understanding is joyous.” – Carl Sagan
15. “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” – Albert Einstein
Also read: Famous Quotes
Powerful Understanding Quotes That Show Its Importance in Life
16. “Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” – Marie Curie
17. “There is power in understanding the journey of others to help create your own.” – Kobe Bryant
18. “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” – Søren Kierkegaard
19. “You do not understand even life. How can you understand death?” – Confucius
20. “The great need today in every phase of our social, economical, and political life is understanding. It has always been so, but today the need is even greater.” – Charles R. Hook
Understanding Quotes to Better Know Yourself
21. “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” – Carl Gustav Jung
22. “Understanding your past can help you create a better future.” – Robert Tew
23. “Maturity is not when we start speaking about big things. It is when we start understanding small things.” – Anonymous
24. “Self-questioning and a desire to gain self-understanding is the feted act of humankind.” – Kilroy J. Oldster
25. “A man of understanding finds less difficulty in submitting to a wrong-headed fellow than in attempting to set him right.” – François de La Rochefoucauld
26. “The improvement of understanding is for two ends: first, our own increase of knowledge; secondly, to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others.” – John Locke
Understanding Quotes to Help You Build Stronger Relationships
27. “Try to understand men. If you understand each other, you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.” – John Steinbeck
28. “If you want understanding, try giving some.” – Malcolm Forbes
29. “One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” – Seneca
30. “To have someone understand your mind is a different kind of intimacy.” – Anonymous
31. “Sometimes, all a person wants is an empathetic ear; all he or she needs is to talk it out. Just offering a listening ear and an understanding heart for his or her suffering can be a big comfort.” – Roy T. Bennett
32. “Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart—one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” – Marvin J. Ashton
33. “If we are to live together in peace, we must come to know each other better.” – Lyndon Johnson
34. “If you wish to please people, you must begin by understanding them.” – Charles Reade
35. “Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek.” – Dalai Lama
Short Understanding Quotes for a New Perspective
36. “Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.” – Aristotle
37. “Awaken the understanding within you.” – Anonymous
38. “Furious activity is no substitute for understanding.” – H.H. Williams
39. “Everyone hears only what he understands.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
40. “We are all unique. Don’t judge; understand instead.” – Roy T. Bennett
41. “Some hearts understand each other even in silence.” – Anonymous
42. “Understanding is a kind of ecstasy.” – Carl Fagan
43. “Understanding is a two-way street.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
44. “Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t so.” – Lemony Snicket
Understanding Quotes for Those Who Feel Confused
45. “We are all so desperate to be understood, we forget to be understanding.” – Beau Taplin
46. “Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” – Khalil Gibran
47. “Trying to understand is like straining through muddy water. Have the patience to wait! Be still and allow the mud to settle.” – Lao Tzu
48. “If you can’t understand it without an explanation, you can’t understand it with an explanation.” – Haruki Murakami
Understanding Quotes for a Fresh Take on the World
49. “Knowing is not understanding. There is a great difference between knowing and understanding: you can know a lot about something and not really understand it.” – Charles Kettering
50. “Treat people with understanding when you can, and fake it when you can’t until you do understand.” – Kim Harrison
51. “Sometimes it’s not enough to know what things mean; sometimes you have to know what things don’t mean.” – Bob Dylan
52. “No one is perfect; that is why understanding is so important.” – Anonymous
53. “Seek understanding before you lead.” – Imam Shafi’i
54. “In a world full of arguments and arrogance, be a soul who understands and adapts.” – Anonymous
55. “The fact that you are willing to say, ‘I do not understand, and it is fine,’ is the greatest understanding you could exhibit.” – Wayne Dyer
Deep Understanding Quotes That You Need to Read Today
56. “When the heart is won, the understanding is easily convinced.” – Charles Simmons
57. “The ways to knowledge are multitudinous—the way to understanding is devious.” – Charles B. Rogers
58. “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment, I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them. I destroy them.” – Orson Scott
59. “The reality of the other person is not in what he reveals to you but in what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you would understand him, listen not to what he says but rather what he does not say.” – Kahlil Gibran
60. “The eye of the understanding is like the eye of the sense; for as you may see great objects through small crannies or holes, so you may see great axioms of nature through small and contemptible instances.” – Francis Bacon
61. “Don’t you understand that we need to be childish in order to understand? Only a child sees things with perfect clarity because it hasn’t developed all those filters which prevent us from seeing things that we don’t expect to see.” – Douglas Adams
More Quotes About Understanding
62. “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” – Upton Sinclair
63. “If you wish to please people, you must begin by understanding them.” – Charles Reade
64. “Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding the third.” – Marge Piercy
65. “I know you despise me; allow me to say, it is because you do not understand me.” – Elizabeth Gaskell
66. “Speak your heart. If they don’t understand, the message was never meant for them anyway.” – Yasmin Mogahed
67. “People will never truly understand something until it happens to them.” – Anonymous
68. “‘Understanding’ may become ‘misunderstanding’ if no commitment or no responsibilities are assumed, no specific objectives set, no definite expectations met, and common values and interests are no longer shared. Mutual understanding may then, against all odds, end up in heartache, confusion, and bewilderment.” – Erik Pevernagie
69. “It is the duty of the human understanding to understand that there are things which it cannot understand, and what those things are. Human understanding has vulgarly occupied itself with nothing but understanding, but if it would only take the trouble to understand itself at the same time, it would simply have to posit the paradox.” – Anonymous
70. “A blind man knows he cannot see and is glad to be led, though it is by a dog; but he that is blind in his understanding, which is the worst blindness of all, believes he sees as the best and scorns a guide.” – Samuel Butler
Do You Consider Yourself to Be an Understanding Person?
As humans, it’s part of our nature to be selfish and to think of ourselves first. Though it’s not bad in itself, being too self-absorbed will destroy your relationship with others.
We must cultivate an understanding heart and mind to be able to look beyond our differences. But, this is easier said than done. So, reminding yourself of some go-to tips whenever you need to cultivate your understanding is essential.
For one, never assume anything of anyone. We all have different reasons behind our actions, and sometimes, we aren’t even aware of what led others to those kinds of situations in the first place. So, hear them out first and try to understand where they’re coming from.
In line with that idea, we must also try to be good listeners. We will never get to understand others’ points of view if we keep trying to insert our personal experiences and thoughts into what they’re trying to say. We all have valid opinions, so listen with an open mind and heart.
With that, we hope this list of understanding quotes was able to open your eyes to the importance of being open toward others’ thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Whenever you need a reminder, revisit this list. Hear people out, listen well, and understand your true selves to live a happy and meaningful life!
