Life is a jigsaw puzzle with many missing pieces. To complete the picture, you have to put together puzzle pieces. Now consider that puzzle as an obstacle or issue that life throws at us, we must have a variety of qualities to fight that out. One of those qualities is Wisdom which is the most important thing since it allows a person to obtain the finest achievements possible. But, more importantly, what is Wisdom? And how do we obtain it? Let’s try to break down these questions one by one.
What is Wisdom?
According to David Chan, “Wisdom is less about analytical skills, cognitive abilities, and academic intelligence. Instead, Wisdom is about looking at the bigger picture and translating one’s experience and knowledge into good judgment and decision”. Wisdom helps a person to overcome difficulties with significantly fewer chances of loss. Wisdom cannot be materially acquired; instead, it can be learned through patience and grit. Everyone strives to gain wisdom, but very few can implement it. Now let us move forward and try to understand How we can gain Wisdom in our life.
How do we gain Wisdom?
In simple words, Wisdom is knowledge in action. Many people may have knowledge but don’t know how to put that knowledge into action. So, to help you with that below mentioned are the 6 strategies that can help you gain Wisdom and will also help you to grow as a person.
1) Getting life experiences
Wisdom is not something teachers can teach or students can learn in school. Knowledge can be learned by study and observation, but wisdom can only be gained through experiences. The best way to learn Wisdom is to go out into the world and live it. Go somewhere completely different from where you live. For example, join an exchange program or travel if you are a student. You can go hiking for a year or two, or if you are out of school, you can look for a job in another country.
If you are not able to travel owing to financial or physical constraints, you must engage in activities near your home. You can volunteer in organizations outside your usual field of interest or enroll in classes to learn new skills. It will help you broaden your abilities, allowing you to apply the knowledge you have obtained over the years.
2) Challenge yourself
When you are learning something new, you can also engage in activities that can challenge your brain. Brain games such as sudoku, puzzles, and word hunt encourage your brain to think outside the box, which aids in the development of Wisdom. But remember that after you’ve mastered one form of brain exercise, you must go on to the next. You may try your hand at visual games if you are skilled in number games.
This will accelerate the analytical thinking process and broaden your perspective. Aside from gaming, you can push yourself by cooking new recipes or taking a different route to work or home. In a nutshell, everything that causes your brain to think hard and requires you to challenge your brain to think differently than usual will help you to gain wisdom.
3) Don’t follow the crowd.
Many people naively follow in the footsteps of their peers. The key to attaining Wisdom is to forge your path rather than following the crowd. Rather than simply imitating what others do, you should think, observe, and try to evaluate the motivations behind specific actions. Listening to too many people may prevent you from creating your own opinion, which may impede your ability to think calmly and sensibly about critical issues in life. Waiting for other people’s opinions implies passing up an opportunity to improve and boost your originality. This is why thinking independently is extremely important to gain wisdom.
4) Read more
People spend a lot of time watching web series or scrolling down social media, thanks to increased digitization and the popularity of OTT services. This may cause people to become less focused and diminish their level of logical reasoning. Reading an excellent book in different genres, on the other hand, relieves eye strain and boosts your capacity to think. You can read about anything from history to biography, science to fiction, and try new genres to broaden your interests. This activity will help you gain a lot of Wisdom, and you never know when you’ll need it in a problematic scenario. As a bonus, it lowers the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
5) Make Mistakes
Who wants to fail and make mistakes when everyone is there to mock you? This mentality might set you back and prevent you from having numerous life experiences. You may wish to avoid the mess, but the most incredible way to learn is through trial and error. You can watch or read a lot of tutorials to master a skill, but you won’t be able to learn it and utilize your logical thinking the following time unless and until you make a mistake or error. To summarize, learn from your mistakes.
Create new techniques and procedures to avoid making those mistakes in the future, as well as assist others in avoiding making those mistakes. The next step in increasing your Wisdom is admitting your faults. If you don’t admit your mistakes, you might not be able to learn properly. Furthermore, owing up demonstrates high integrity, especially if the mistake was grave. Learning from mistakes demonstrates grace, dignity, and a great deal of insight.
6) Know yourself
The most crucial step in gaining Wisdom is to know yourself, as queries such as “Who are you?” What do you desire? What can help you to grow? And what can hurt you? This phase will assist you in determining your method for gaining Wisdom. You may have to take time away from your hectic schedule, but it will be worthwhile. Find a quiet spot where you may meditate and clear your mind. Keep noise and distractions to a minimum to concentrate on what you want to learn. Take deep breaths and keep the pace constant. Meditation and “silent time” are excellent strategies to get to know oneself and grow wiser than before.
Conclusion:
Wisdom does not appear overnight; it is acquired throughout one’s life. Always remember that you should not become impatient and accept that this procedure will take time. The most important thing that you should keep in mind is that no one can take your Wisdom away from you. You may have the opportunity to pass on that wisdom to others at some point in time, which will assist in making many people’s lives simpler.
