An important part of growing and learning is making mistakes. Every now and then we’re faced with decisions we’re not proud of. That’s how it is and how it always will. Because the only way for us to grow up is to be a fool, realize we are one, and do our best to be better.
As there are no guarantees of a smooth-sailing life, we’ll probably keep on making mistakes. But at the end of the day, it’s not about being wrong, it’s about being able to admit the errors of our ways and making efforts to change and improve.
As ironic as it is, foolishness is a part of life. Wisdom and prudence don’t happen overnight. There’s no such thing as an outright insight into things. The way we see things and how we form our judgment are a combination of bad choices, poor mindset, and recklessness.
So here are fool quotes reminding us that over time, our experiences – those created by foolishness included – will help us set a clearer path as we make the best out out life.
I don’t argue with fools; I educate. – Shannon L. Alder
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. – Alexander Pope
Wise men don’t need advice. Fools won’t take it. – Benjamin Franklin
See Also: 30 Benjamin Franklin Quotes on Learning & Living With A Purpose
There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. – Søren Kierkegaard
The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes. – Winston S. Churchill
The greatest fools are ofttimes more clever than the men who laugh at them. – George R.R. Martin
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The greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer. – Charles Caleb Colton
A fool with a heart and no sense is just as unhappy as a fool with sense and no heart. – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
A learned fool is more a fool than an ignorant fool. – Molière
Wise men profit more by fools than fools by wise men. – Marcus Porcius Cato
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. – Plato
A knavish speech sleeps in a fool’s ear. – William Shakespeare
Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools that don’t have brains enough to be honest. – Benjamin Franklin
Any fool can hope when success lies plainly in view. It wants genuine strength to hope when matters are hopeless. – Michael Flynn, Eifelheim
Greatest fools are the most often satisfied. – Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux
There are two kinds of fools: those who can’t change their opinions and those who won’t. – Josh Billings
It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. – Mark Twain
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Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet. – African Proverb
Fools talk, cowards silence, wise men listen. – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
A fool despises good counsel, but a wise man takes it to heart. – Confucius
The best way to convince a fool that he is wrong is to let him have his way. – Josh Billings
A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees. – William Blake
Everyone gets scared at times. It’s only the fools who won’t admit it. – Jennifer A. Nielsen
Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other, and scarce in that. – Benjamin Franklin
It’s never permitted to be surprised at the aberrations of born fools. – Henry James
Let the fools hold on to their treasured stupidity. Let yourself be safe in wisdom with much rapidity. – Munia Khan
Fools make feasts and wise men eat them. – Benjamin Franklin
Only fools listen to their hearts. Only fools get attached. We wanderers get in and get out just in time. – Shruti Upadhaya
A fool is a man who believes glory can be found at the tip of a sword instead of on the tip of his tongue. That is life’s cruel trick. – Natalia Jaster
Only the foolish would think that wisdom is something to keep locked in a drawer. Only the fearful would feel empowerment is something best kept to oneself, or the few, and not shared with all. – Rasheed Ogunlaru
Foolish men always believe that a little knowledge will give them control over the world, but it is no more than a display of their vanity. – J. P. Vinluca
A fool always finds something to complain about, and a wise person always finds something to appreciate. – Debasish Mridha
Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it. – Henry David Thoreau
A wise person is silent and rarely wants to show his wisdom. A fool is always vocal and uses every opportunity to show his foolishness. – Debasish Mridha
Without economic concerns the fool dies from boredom. – Nicolás Gómez Dávila
To be full of yourself is to make a fool of yourself. – Ashly Lorenzana
Wise people understand the need to consult experts; only fools are confident they know everything. – Ken Poirot
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so sure of themselves and wiser people so full of doubts. – Bertrand Russell
He who hesitates is a damned fool. – Mae West
Only fools and liars claim to know everything because the fool thinks all that he knows is everything and the liar knows there is no sufficient data to know everything. – Nyona Matende
A fool is made more of a fool, when their mouth is more open than their mind. – Anthony Liccione
Foolish minds will entertain you, but confuse minds will irritate you. – Amit Kalantri
You will rarely make wise decisions if you surround yourself with fools. – Rasheed Ogunlaru
A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. – Roald Dahl
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Some people are fools of doubts or simply doubtfools. – Stanley Yap
The problem with the wise is they are so filled with doubts and questions, while fools are so certain about things. – Shannon L. Alder
Fools put trust in promises; The wise in action. – A. Spencer
Silence is best reserved for the fearful and foolish. – Shannon L. Alder
Fools may have the greatest repository of knowledge but will never attain Wisdom. – Caleb Ricketts
A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer. – Bruce Lee
Share these 50 fool quotes to remind your loved ones to go easy on themselves when making mistakes.