Apply wisdom to your life by focusing on the bigger picture

Trying to acquire wisdom is like going on a treasure hunt. Although, it calls out to us all the time, but sometimes due to our hastiness and lack of rational thought, we don't stop to heed its voice.

Arguably, the greatest person acknowledged to be the wisest man in history was King Solomon. Mankind has also been blessed with other great minds such as Mahatma Ghandi, Karl Marx, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Mother Theresa, Albert Einstein to mention a few.

So what is wisdom? Is it the same as knowledge? And if this is not the case, is it possible that an illiterate person can be wiser than a knowledgeable person?

The relative difference between the two terms need to be discussed here since they are not the same and should not be seen as such. Whilst one is developed by experience and not taught, the other is merely an accumulation of facts based on a specific area of research.

In its entirety, wisdom is the unique ability to perceive outcomes and subsequently be able to make a calculated judgement on the right course of action to take.

For instance, if you and your partner decided to buy your dream house and through the help of a Real Estate agent, you viewed six beautiful houses. Well, you can only live in one. So your ultimate decision to buy your preferred house will not be based on the price of the house alone.

Applying wisdom enables you to embrace the bigger picture. Before you purchase the house, you will have to take into account good schools (if you have children), close transportation links to where you work, good health centres, and the neighbourhood, mall, etc. Then you may then decide to go into the specifics of the house itself, looking at how big the kitchen is, the bedroom, the lounge, garden, and if the front of the house has a porch.

In essence, your eventual decision to purchase the house will not be as a result of hasty judgement. Even when you read the small print when exchanging contracts before signing, you will need to do this based on sound judgement.

In hindsight, the decision to buy a house must have taken many years of adequate planning, i.e. saving up for the deposit and shopping around for the lowest rate to secure a mortgage in a bid to save costs.

Wisdom does not suffocate the truth and is usually fair and considerate when dispensing justice or settling a dispute. It looks at all the facts based on empirical evidence before speaking or taking action. Therefore the timing of your words or when to act decisively is extremely crucial. Which is why a wise person can immediately be determined by the words they speak.

It is disputable whether wisdom comes with age. However wisdom can be equally found in children. There are children who are referred to as “special”, gifted talented or labelled as geniuses. When these children speak, they exhibit wisdom that surpasses their age.

On the other hand, knowledge is related to the acquisition of information or applying understanding to facts. However, if a person is knowledgeable it does not suggest that they are wise, or an indication of their intellect.

According to Albert Einstein, he stated that “Imagination and not knowledge is the true sign of intelligence”. You may study and dedicate so much time to achieve knowledge, once facts become redundant that knowledge becomes useless.

Wisdom supersedes knowledge long after knowledge disappears. For instance, when you are about to fall into temptation, knowledge may make you become acutely aware of the facts of what you are about to do. But wisdom is that silent voice that reminds you of the consequences. You simply ignore it at your peril.

Granted that no one has a monopoly on knowledge, but when it comes to wisdom does that mean an illiterate person is not wise? Absolutely not. Knowledge comes from wisdom or vice versa. We all have different life’s experiences; we study new things and try to assign meaning to them. And by learning from past mistakes and weighing up your choices before we act, we become wiser.

To create your own brand of wisdom, there are several ways to obtain wisdom, notably, through personal experience, spirituality (close personal relationship with God), mentors, or through a group of people engaged in quality dialogue. For you to see effective results it is advisable, for majority of the time, to always listen as opposed to talking in order to “sip from the well of wisdom”.

And the most fulfilling experience of this encounter is that you will have the opportunity someday, to impart this wisdom to someone.

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