How do you become wise….is it through knowledge or from experience?

I actually think that it is both knowledge and experience together that can help a person gain wisdom. I’ve done a lot of thinking on this subject over the years and I have found that most of my wisdom (and, trust me, I have a long way to go yet) has come from the knowledge that I gained from the experiences that I’ve had. There were some experiences that I put myself in and then some experiences that were the result of what I observed from what happened to others in the choices that they made.

The question can also be asked…. when do you know that you have become wise? If you are like me, then I think you know that answer, and the answer is, is that it is not so easy to answer! As people, we should always be evolving and growing, to become better versions of ourselves on a daily basis. Unfortunately, in today’s society, there are many people who don’t take the time to evaluate their own behavior. But remember, actions always have consequences. The consequences themselves can be positive as well as negative. It is unfortunate that we don’t always see, or recognize, those negative consequences until they are staring us in the face. So what can you do about those negative consequences? Should you ignore them or is it better to face them head-on?

My take is that consequences need to be faced head-on if the goal is to gain wisdom. It is always hard to look into the mirror and see things within yourself that you wish you had done differently. But that is the woulda, shoulda, coulda portion of our life. ( Related post: My dad always said that “You can’t woulda, shoulda, coulda…..” )Regret can be good but only if it gives you the foundation that you need to learn from the actions of what you’ve done. In other words, did you learn something from the consequence? If you haven’t, then I would say that you have a long way to go in becoming wise. The good thing is, is that as long as you try your best and humble yourself enough to really look within, then that, in turn, helps you to change. So, now, VOILA!! You have become a wiser person!

So, what did I learn? I’ve learned that I also have a long way to go when it comes to being wise. I have to stop myself from saying the woulda, shoulda, coulda words as well and I need to learn to enjoy the place that I am now-especially when my life is in flux or is scary. I also realize that as long as I am experiencing life then I also have a chance to grow wise, or wiser. I’m really starting to see it as a win-win.

Now, what can you gain from this? I would say that the answer to that, is wisdom and, of course, a better version of yourself! What have you got to lose?