In many
areas you are knowledgeable. But do you know that you
are wise, too? Perhaps far wiser than you realize.
Wisdom is
more than knowledge. Wisdom is the product of lessons
learned in the school of life. Wisdom can be hard won;
for it is often birthed in the ashes of
failure.
Theodore Levitt, of the
“Experience comes from what we have done. Wisdom comes
from what we have done badly.” If that is true, I am
wiser than I ever imagined!
One man
tells of sitting next to a “wise” woman on a flight to
preparing his notes for one of the parent-education
seminars he conducted as an educational psychologist.
Bessie, an older woman sitting next to him, explained
that she was returning to
visiting her six children, 18 grandchildren and ten
great-grandchildren in
Then she
inquired what he did for a living. The man explained
that he was a doctor psychologist specializing in
children. He dreaded telling her this, as he fully
expected her to question him for free professional
advice during the three-hour flight. Instead, she sat
back, picked up a magazine and said, “So doctor, if
there’s anything you want to know, just ask me.”
Bessie’s
years of parenting and grand-parenting gave her what no
professional degrees could — wisdom. Though her comment
may have been made in jest, she probably could have
added much to the seminar.
Don’t
dismiss those mistakes and tough times you have
suffered. Don’t discount your many life experiences. You
paid a high price for them. And if you learned well,
they brought you something priceless — wisdom!
For
everything you have done — EVERYTHING — has given you
experience.
And if it
did not all go as well as you’d hoped, then you also
gained some wisdom. This wisdom, the progeny of your
setbacks and difficulties, may be your most valuable
asset!
Who will
benefit from your wisdom today?
