Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living, the other helps you make a life.
— Sandra Carey
When I was young, I remember having long and lively discussions with friends and family as we speculated and debated over facts that we could not easily verify. Question about movies or actors, questions about timelines and events, and questions about a host of other topics that would come up in casual conversation could drive discussions for what seemed like hours.
Today, it seems that many of these conversations have started to disappear because previously unfindable information is now available at our whim. Whenever such questions come up on, Google is there, ready to provide an answer. Knowledge and information has become trivial to obtain. But has this wealth of knowledge becoming more readily available allowed us to improve the quality of our lives?
To be clear, I love Google and use it every day. It is a powerful and useful tool. But access to knowledge and information alone is not enough to make our lives better. We must know what to apply that knowledge if we are to build lives of meaning and find true happiness.
We need to seek and apply wisdom.
Wisdom helps us sort through the torrent of information available and find what is truly valuable and worthwhile. And wisdom helps us discern how to apply the worthwhile information we find in a way that helps us learn and grow.
But how do we seek wisdom? You can’t Google wisdom. We gain wisdom as we learn and apply principles. When we learn and apply true principles we learn how and why things really work. We come to better understand universal laws. And we gain wisdom that allows us to better process and apply the information we gain.
Focus on principles and gain wisdom. It will bring true joy and meaning into your life.
What principles are you studying and learning? How has an increased knowledge of those principles helped you in your life? How can you apply this wisdom in other areas of your life?