ACQUIRING WISDOM
WHY BOTHER, FROM WHENCE DOES IT COME?, WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE?
working on tba
Wisdom = the quality of being wise; power of judging rightly and following the soundest course of action, based on knowledge, experience, understanding, etc.; good judgment, sagacity. A wise plan or course of action.
WHY BOTHER?
It’s in the definition: choosing what is soundest for effectively living an excellent, happy life!
WHERE DO WE GET IT?
Our sources of learning "wisdom" are as follows. Together they add up to your wisdom.
The "+"'s indicate the level of contribution and impact this will have on your wisdom. Life experience will have some impact, but it will be minimal unless it is "harvested" by reflecting on what worked or didn't and then seeing what one can learn from it.
Life experience ++
Random, often inaccurate, but a net positive effect. Often we don’t “learn” or
harvest experience that well, repeating costly mistakes. We must use this
Life challenges +++
Randomly happen, but they force learning in order to cope, a net positive effect
General education ++
Exposes one to the world, people, ideas; better able to work and be productive; a net
positive effect
Life education, direct and directed ++++++
If systematic, with experts, can have a huge effect
Using expert guidance ++++
We “pick up” some of the wisdom of the expert, but a great effect is that we make
wiser decisions with the added “sound thinking” of the expert!
The most effective by far are the two last sources, if you engage in them fully and rightly. You can accelerate your progress dramatically as you are directly accessing the sources of wisdom AND you are accessing higher quality information.
HOW WE LEARN IT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
As in the learning section:
Lower quality x x
Expert info ++ ++++++
Random Systematic
If you systematically (with a program and aforethought) access information you will be going in a straight line and concentrating and focussing rather than picking things up randomly (such as in magazine articles, per what strikes your interest; best to read books and continue on same subject to get a cumulative effect).
If you get your info from magazine articles or newspapers, typically it will be of low value. If you use experts, then you'll have the most value and accuracy and usefulness. Dilettantes may be able to talk as if they are knowledgeable but they cannot be true experts and thus cannot be nearly as effective in life.
A systematic program where there is a program of what to read and do combined with an expert coach is the highest level of acquisition of wisdom - and massively faster!
THE ENEMIES OF LEARNING WISDOM:
Check off which of these you have some of and discuss it with a counselor/coach/consultant:
___ Cynicism
__ Resignation
__ Limiting beliefs about a person/self
__ “It’s not me” – to learn, to think, etc.
___ I did it without this stuff, therefore…
___ “No time” – very solvable, as there is time
___ “No inclination” – simply a barrier to overcome
___ Not knowing if it is effective - solvable
[On "making conclusions from inadequate observations": The most common would be “I saw a person who was into this stuff and he was pretty ineffective and unhappy, therefore this stuff doesn’t work.” The logic is not sound nor well-informed, of course. The person probably went into it to solve a problem and could be ineffectively learning, or it might also be that the person is now much better off than he was before. Often, these “followers” of such things need some wise guidance and a more directed program to fully utilize the learning, integrating it all into greater effectiveness.}
THE RESULTS ONE IS LIKELY TO GET FROM THESE
If 1 to 10 is a measure of good results in life (measured in terms of happiness and also tangible results in life), the general levels they are likely to achieve are as follows:
1-5 Most people with just life experience don’t live a very good life.
6-7 There are some exceptions but usually the people at this level have had some luck, some good fortune, and/or just figured it out out of necessity. They are living good lives, but they could be better with more knowledge and wisdom.
8-10 The highest have systematic learning from experts to at least some degree, have sought to achieve wisdom and effectiveness in life. These will vary by personality factors and by how well directed it was and how much expertise was accessed. [Often only the most wealthy can afford to do it “perfectly”. So those with less resources will have to do more of the work and take longer, but they definitely can arrive at a very high level in life.]
HOW NOT TO DO IT
Check off what is true for you or for the person you are thinking of: (check off any that apply to you)
__ __ Watch tv a lot,
__ __ Have friends that are not uplifting or positive influence,
__ __ Waste talents in a “safe” job,
__ __ Be reactive (angry, etc.) to people and lives with no insights or discipline,
__ __ Live a life of addictive behavior,
__ __ Let life make your decisions for you (“it’ll just happen”),
__ __ Live a life of entitlement, with no major challenges and responsibilities to grow from
__ __ Live a life of blame, shame, guilt and remorse
Obviously, the above is a checklist of what you do not want to do in your life if you are to live a life of wisdom.
WHAT LEVEL DO YOU CHOOSE TO STOP AT OR HAVE YOUR CHILDREN STOP AT?
This was originally to encourage parents to do all that is necessary to have their children attain a higher level of life wisdom so that they can live their best lives You can also choose for yourself. I surely do hope that you choose the higherst for your children - and that you go for the maximum.
The following is cumulative, so just indicate one level that you choose to go to, but then stop at.
___ __ Stop at life experience.
___ __ Just cope with one's own life challenges without rescue.
___ __ Encourage a greater general education, enrich life
___ __ Direct and directed life education – See resources
___ __ Use experts for guidance, as allies – See resources
Even if the highest wasn’t achieved, wouldn’t it be worth it to try to go as high as you could?
Many of the links, books and resources are gathered under www.thelifemanagementalliance.com, which also has many summary learning pieces and guidance pieces, such as learning programs.
