The adage tells us that “knowledge is power,” but that is only partially true. The truth is that knowledge is potential power. Knowledge becomes power when we put it into action. It is like the water behind a damn. That water has a lot of potential energy, but only when the water is allowed to flow through a turbine can it become electricity able to light a city.
Wisdom is like that. It is not just knowing things; it is using the things you know in ways both practical and creative to solve your daily challenges. I was taught philosophy as a bunch of stodgy old white guys who wrote a bunch of difficult to read stuff that had little application to my daily life. But true practical wisdom is a living and creative process we define for ourselves on a daily basis.
The Character Strengths that define wisdom involve acquiring and using information;
- ⁃ Creativity
- ⁃ Curiosity
- ⁃ Judgment
- ⁃ Love of Learning
- ⁃ Perspective
The more curious and creative we can be while maintaining an open mind and a willingness to learn, the more we gain perspective, and well … wisdom.
Get out there and get busy. When you hit a problem, you don’t know how to solve, get curious and creative. Use good judgment to evaluate what you learn and to gauge the results of your actions. Understand that you will need to change, accepting new ideas, and discarding cherished old ones. Be aware that wisdom does not automatically come with age. To become wise, you must make an effort to learn, create, try, and yes even fail, so that you can learn from that failure and try again.
