“it is only when one sees one’s own mistakes with a convex lens, and does just the reverse in the case of others, that one is able to arrive at a just relative estimate of the two. I further believe that a scrupulous and conscientious observance of this rule is necessary for one who wants to be a Satyagrahi.”
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Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: From Gandhi's autobiography 'The Story of My Experiments with Truth'; his 'convex lens' reflection on judging one's own faults against others'.
About this quote
Most people do the reverse by reflex: shrink their own faults and magnify everyone else's. Flipping that — examining your errors closely while granting others the benefit of the doubt — corrects the built-in bias and yields a fairer read of any quarrel. It's hard precisely because it cuts against the grain.
When to use it
- After an argument, someone lists what she got wrong first before assigning her partner any blame.
- A team lead reviewing a failed launch starts with his own decisions, not the interns' mistakes.
- A driver cut off in traffic assumes the other had an emergency instead of assuming malice.