The key points
The wisest of the wise is he who knows himself and, to a lesser extent, the world around him.
Seeks out knowledge actively, learns from experience, and approaches life with compassion and empathy.
Meets difficulties with considered decisions calmly and thus is the one who will let wisdom and kindness inspire others.
How do we define Wisdom By Cambridge Dictionary
Wisdom is defined as the ability to use your knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments .
The modern age gave us the freedom to fashion our lives, to pursue our dreams, and choose our paths. Liberty brings into view this new kind of responsibility in decision-making. In contrast with the generation of our grandparents, where the choices were few and life paths rather preset, we have the freedom to craft our lives from scratch. That greater responsibility makes choices very important, since these might turn out to be highly influential factors in our well-being and the way we find fulfillment in our lives.
Below there are 5 abilities of Wise people
1.Self-control flows from them instinctively. Though emotions are not the enemy of wisdom, the wise can restrain their emotions to free their minds to think lucidly about the options available to them and of the things they may do that can result in a successful outcome. A wise person must be in a position to feel the weight of a circumstance surrounding a certain decision they are called upon to make where strong emotions are involved to consider how a certain option may affect other parties, themselves, or another person.
2.They are Virtuous. Indeed, from Aristotle to other philosophers down to the present day psychologists doing research on wisdom, there is consensus that wise people are moral persons who act and decide with regard to and give advice to others in consideration of the good of all persons concerned. Even though a highly brilliant or intelligent person may know how to get what they want, if they do so at the expense of other people, they do not follow the course of being wise. Wise people know people generally flourish in relationships where everyone is happy.
3. They recognize and identify patterns. On one aspect, psychologists studying wisdom seem to agree: wisdom with age is not necessarily guaranteed; rather, wisdom requires enough life experience to recognize when and how to apply prior knowledge and experiences to new situations. It requires a degree of intelligence for: a) identifying in what respects elements of the novel situation may resemble the past; b) reflecting on the current situation to decide what, if anything, of one’s prior knowledge and experience may be relevant; c) discerning how one may apply prior learnings to the unknown. Smart people can see trends but also respect the newness of the new situation.
4. They navigate environment well. Intelligent individuals’ capability to choose, as Cornell University’s psychology professor Robert Sternberg suggests, between three options when they become discontented with their current situation. One may A) try to change the circumstances B) try to influence or C) look for a different environment. Most would first try a combination of the first two options before the third option could even be selected. The state of wisdom helps an individual know if someone can change or adapt without that person suffering greatly due to personal cost. One more thing that must be taken into consideration is the capacity an individual has to make the change occur such as through influence or power.
5.They thrive on impossible situations. Most of us have lived long enough to learn that sometimes we can’t even come close to hitting the mark. Sometimes, we just simply lose because there are so many things in the world we cannot control. Yet the astute recognize that how we handle severe disappointment greatly influences the people we end up becoming. They also know that there may be things we can do-or not do-that will prevent the long-term, negative consequences of a poor outcome. It is when circumstances are less than perfect that wise people make the best.
Most of us live with the deep-seated belief that life is unfair, that lots of things are not as they ought to be, disappointment is far too pervasive for far too many, and we must often make do with what we have available to us. Some members within our communities were renowned up until recently for their competencies in guiding us through decisions of importance. We may be the first generation who have more choices but with the least apparent guidance. The ability to recognize intelligent people and know how to make sensible choices can be helpful in making the most of what life has given us.
