60 intelligent phrases, to think and reflect

Intelligence is one of the most appreciated virtues in people and that has the most controversy, because although some believe that only those who are experts with numbers are intelligent, it turns out that there are endless more manifestations of intelligence and each one of us has our own kind. A sample of this are the smart phrases we have selected for you.

When we talk about intelligent phrases we refer to those phrases that in a few words manage to convey a large amount of knowledge on various topics and that, ultimately, illuminate our mind and our conscience.

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60 clever phrases to think about

We have selected the most diverse smart phrases that reflect on wisdom, knowledge, awareness and the way we act. Some of them by famous thinkers, artists, physicists and writers, among others, to be able to highlight in them the diversity of intelligence.

1. The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.

Because change is the constant in our life and the one that leads us to evolution. One of the smartest phrases that ensures that

our willingness to change is what makes us smart.

2. The wise man must be able not only to love his enemies, but also to hate his friends.

This is one of those smart phrases that you have to turn around and around in your head until you manage to give it your own meaning.

3. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.

Albert Einstein always spoke that people have no limit for stupidity, that was his biggest concern. This intelligent phrase, rather than to offend us, is to reflect on it and on our actions.

4. Being tactful is knowing how to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.

For Winston Churchill, achieving this feat is a true show of intelligence, why not give it a try on your enemies.

5. We are all very ignorant. What happens is that not all of us ignore the same things.

An important lesson is given to us by this intelligent phrase about ignorance that we label everyone for, but that in reality no one is saved from it.

6. Trees are poems that the Earth writes in the sky, then we cut them and turn them into paper, to be able to record our emptiness.

This beautiful metaphor is a smart way to talk about the impact of our relationship with the environment and with ourselves. You will surely read it several times.

7. Leadership is the art of getting someone to do something you want because he wants to do it.

Dwight Eisenhower also makes this clever phrase about leadership aptitude.

8. It is not the strongest of the species that survives and it is not the most intelligent. The one that best adapts to change survives.

Charles Darwin, from the origin and evolution of species also refers to our ability to change as an even greater sample than intelligence.

9. The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch without doing anything to prevent it.

Strong statement by Albert Einstein showing that intelligence is not just about what you have in your head but also, the way you act.

10. The problem with closed minds is that their mouths are always open.

We have all seen it, usually those who spread their words the most are those who spend the least time thinking.

11. If you cannot explain it in a simple way, you have not understood it well.

This intelligent phrase by Albert Einstein can serve as a tool to evaluate the concepts learned and our own points of view.

12. He always forgives your enemies; nothing bothers them so much.

And why not speak intelligently by the hand of irony as Oscar Wilde does in this sentence.

13. The universe is not bound to make sense to you.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson does this clever phrase about the greatness and superiority of the universe in front of us and our attempts to understand it.

14. Do you have enemies? Well, that means that you have defended something with conviction, at some point in your life.

Winston Churchill teaches us to lose our fear of what they will say and to have enemies as long as it is to defend our ideas in this strong intelligent phrase.

15. The wise speak because they have something to say, the foolish speak because they have to say something.

Prudence is one of the virtues that we use as a sign of our intelligence.

16. There is no point in hiring smart people and then telling them what to do. We hire smart people to tell us what to do.

Steve Jobs tells us about his experience at work with other people. We all have the ability to think for ourselves and limiting someone's intelligence for other reasons is truly a waste.

17. Doubt is one of the names of intelligence.

Jorge Luis Borges gives us this phrase, because the truth is that doubt is what triggers curiosity and thought, and therefore, stimulates intelligence.

18. Don't fail the test. I just found 100 ways to get it wrong.

A lesson in the attitude we put into what we do is this from Benjamin Franklin.

19. If people are good just because they fear punishment and expect a reward, then we are truly a pitiful bunch.

Another of Albert Einstein's intelligent phrases that summarize in a few words the motivations that should not guide our correct behavior.

20. An intelligent man is one who builds a fortress with the stones thrown at him by his enemies.

A remarkable display of intelligence is how we transform the vicissitudes of life into opportunities.

21. I would challenge you to a battle of wits but I see that you are unarmed.

And if what you want is a somewhat sarcastic clever phrase To shut up a few, take inspiration from this one by William Shakespeare.

22. Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are good, you will have to fit them into people's minds.

Howard Aiken also makes us reflect with this phrase about ideas.

23. The problem with the world is that smart people are full of doubts while stupid people are full of confidence.

Charles Bukowski assures in this sentence about intelligence that many times overconfidence comes from stupidity and lack of reflection in people.

24. Life is ten percent of what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.

Lou Holtz's words teach us that for that 90 percent it is that we must exercise the mind and live with intelligence.

25. A person often finds his fate on the path he took to avoid it.

And why not include this beautiful reflection on destiny that will leave you thinking for hours.

26. If you could kick the person responsible for most of your problems in the butt, you wouldn't be able to sit down for a month.

Theodore Roosevelt gives us this clever phrase so that we can begin to take responsibility for our actions.

27. If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

Dalai Lama teaches us to put everything that happens in our lives into perspective, that makes a big difference in our perception.

28. It is better to remain silent and be considered a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt.

Another one of Abraham Lincoln's many clever phrases about prudence when speaking when we are not sure what we are talking about.

29. Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.

Salvador Dalí, on the other hand, does not speak of put ambition to intelligence and create things with it.

30. In life beauty is in the eyes of the one who looks with love.

Nothing more true than this intelligent phrase, we can see beauty because we have it inside, otherwise we would not be able to see it.

31. The difference between an intelligent man and a foolish one is that the former recovers easily from his failures, and the latter never manages to recover from his successes.

Sacha Guitry believes that we can measure people's intelligence in the way they handle their successes and failures.

32. The more I learn from people, the more I like my dog.

Mark Twain also uses humor and irony in this clever phrase about humanity.

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33. An intelligent person solves a problem. a wise person avoids it.

One more phrase from the physicist Albert Einstein about intelligence, this time, in reference to problems.

34. Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.

One of the English rulers who most helped the progress of his country was Winston Churchill, who gives us this lesson on success.

35. The greatest wisdom there is is knowing yourself.

One of the most important smart phrases on this list, the greatest knowledge comes from our self-knowledge.

36. All of life is an experiment. The more experiments you do, the better.

Emerson invites us to always try, try, experiment, this is the way we should live and also the way in which we exercise our intelligence in this, one of its many phrases smart.

37. Investing in knowledge always produces the best interests.

Benjamin Franklin always promoted education and knowledge as the most powerful force.

38. The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.

Have you ever asked yourself this question? Henry David Thoreau quote.

39. Genius could be the ability to say something profound in a simple way.

The way we communicate and how we use language is a way to use our intelligence. Charles Bukowski quote

40. Sometimes we feel that what we do is just a drop in the sea, but the sea would be less if it lacked a drop.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta makes this clever phrase about the impact our actions, no matter how small, have on the world.

41. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.

Aristotle makes this interesting phrase that invites us to reflect on staying constant in our way of acting, because we are not excellent just for a fact.

42. Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.

Other clever pun It's this from the Dr. Seuss book on the freedom to let ourselves be.

43. What we know is a drop of water; what we ignore is the ocean.

Another of the physicists that could not be absent is Isaac Newton, the discoverer of the earth's gravity. With this phrase, he puts our knowledge of the universe in perspective.

44. You were wild once. Don't let them tame you.

Freedom of thought is the most valuable thing we have and therefore, what we should not let others control. Quote by Isadora Duncan

45. A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one.

The great American businesswoman Mary Kay Ash expresses what enthusiasm and ideas produce for her.

46. There are only two infinite things; the universe and human stupidity. And of the first I am not sure.

Another of Albert Einstein's clever phrases that speaks again about human stupidity. These types of phrases invite us to be more reflective and thoughtful so that our way of being and acting is much more coherent and in accordance with the world.

47. There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.

Is smart phrase full of sarcasm It is from Aristotle, and it invites us to break with the fear of criticism, otherwise, we will not achieve anything.

48. People will love you. People will hate you. And none of that will have anything to do with you.

Learning to differentiate that the feelings of others and what they think about us have nothing to do with us per se, is a great step in emotional intelligence. Quote by Abraham Hicks

49. The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don't tell you what to see.

Because we are the ones who must discover the path and travel it, receive the necessary lessons in the process and overcome the obstacles as well as receive the successes. Phrase by Alexandra K. Trenfor

50. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Eleanor Roosevelt was a true believer that we could do nothing, achieve nothing, or move forward into the future if we do not have the power of dreams as our driving force.

51. Knowledge is power.

She learns, studies, knows, observes, absorbs everything you can, because all the knowledge you keep is your most powerful tool. Francis Bacon quote

52. You can tell if a man is smart by his answers. You can tell if a man is wise by asking him.

As important as the answers, are also the questions we ask ourselves, for they speak about the expansion of our mind. Quote by Naguib Mahfouz

53. Any fool can know. The point is to understand.

Yes, we can all read and repeat what things are, but intelligence must use it to understand those things we are talking about. Albert Einstein quote

54. Arguing with a fool only shows that there are two.

A clever phrase from Doris M. Smith to remember in those moments when the discussions come to nothing.

55. We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.

Anais Nin considers that objectivity does not exist, since everything passes through the filter of how we are each one and according to this, we see them.

56. Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds argue with people.

Eleanor Roosevelt said this very powerful clever phrase about people's talking points and the size of their minds.

57. What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we have to stretch our minds.

We create absolutely everything with our mind, so we must be aware of how and how much we use it and expand it. Wayne Dyer quote

58. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present will surely miss the future.

The smartest way to live is to accept that we are constantly changing and flow with it. So believes John F. Kennedy on this clever phrase.

59. Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

George Bernard Shaw gives us this clever phrase that totally changes our discourse about finding ourselves and poses it rather as a process of creation.

60. You can know the greatness of a man by what makes him angry.

It is at that moment when the masks fall off and we truly show who we are, according to this other phrase by Abraham Lincoln.

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