To know where the shoe pinches.

Meaning: Understanding your own specific pain points enables better self-care and more honest communication about personal struggles.

Origin: From 'A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases' (1870). Public domain.

More proverbs about Wisdom

• God tempers the wind to the shorn sheep. — Hardship diminishes in proportion to one's vulnerability, or mercy matches misfortune.
• Short and sweet like a donkey's gallop. — Brief moments of intensity fade quickly, so appreciate their value without expecting perm…
• Every one can tame a shrew but he that hath her. — Only those outside a difficult relationship can judge or manage it; those within suffer i…
• Few people are out of the reach of slander. — Most individuals lack sufficient obscurity or virtue to escape false accusations and mali…
• Slander leaves a score behind it. — Spoken harm creates lasting damage that the victim carries long after the words fade.
• One hour's sleep before midnight is worth two hours after. — Early sleep aligns with natural circadian rhythms, making pre-midnight rest more restorat…

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