One should know himself well. Knowing his own limits is the first step to avoid being destroyed.
Examples (Wiktionary)
Mandarin
人贵有自知之明
人貴有自知之明
rén guì yǒu zì zhī zhī míng
A smart man knows how little he knows.
Mandarin
接到法院的通知后,陈某自知名下无登记房产,表现出一副欠债不多不以为然的态度,以没钱还款为由推诿。
接到法院的通知後,陳某自知名下無登記房產,表現出一副欠債不多不以為然的態度,以沒錢還款為由推諉。
jiē dào fǎ yuàn de tōng zhī hòu , chén mǒu zì zhī míng xià wú dēng jì fáng chǎn , biǎo xiàn chū yī fù qiàn zhài bù duō bù yǐ wéi rán de tài dù , yǐ méi qián huán kuǎn wéi yóu tuī wěi .
Knowing he had no properties registered under his name, Chen gave an I-didn't-owe-much-so-I-didn't-care attitude after he received the notification from the court, and shirked the issue by stating he did not have enough money to pay back.