Self-development
What people do differently who become wiser with each passing year
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We change with the experiences we have – but we do not automatically become wiser. Here we look at what makes people whose wisdom grows with their wealth of experience.
In contrast to intelligence, for example, we tend to associate wisdom with advanced age and a certain amount of life experience. According to the common idea, those who are wise act carefully, do not allow themselves to be disturbed and balance, and seem to have understood some essential things that are neither written in books nor discussed in podcasts. These attributes may be better suited to an older person who has experienced a lot and is no longer hungry than to a young person who is trying things out, jumping from one path to the other and would ideally like to dance at three headphone parties at the same time. But it does not follow from this that older people are automatically wiser and always wiser than younger people. And it’s not true. It is obviously very easy to grow old but not wise. Otherwise there would be no old people, for example, who complain about most of the changes in the world and are convinced that everything used to be better.
What wisdom can mean
In a psychological concept of wisdom presented by the American Robert Sternberg in 1998, wisdom is seen as the ability to reconcile three types of needs that are often in conflict with one another: one’s own needs, the needs of others and the needs of the world itself. Wisdom therefore includes, among other things, environmental awareness. And empathy. And self-confidence. It would perhaps be a little unrealistic to assume that these three elements could be mature in a three-year-old, but a young adult could be wise by this definition.
Whatever we imagine and understand in detail about wisdom, it is more of a quality that we acquire over the course of our lives, rather than an innate one like our eye color or voice. There may be certain natural dispositions that favor the development of wisdom, but other than that it is up to us whether we grow older and wiser or just older. In an article for Psychology Today, psychologist Susan Krauss Whitbourne shared philosophically inspired conditions under which wisdom can arise and grow.
Characteristics of people who become wiser with each passing year
They know what they know – and what they don’t
Wise people are by no means omniscient and are aware of this. They have an interest in knowing what they can know, but recognize and accept their limitations. That’s why they’re willing to be taught and continue their education.
They are interested in the well-being of those around them
Wise people not only look at what separates, separates and distinguishes them from other people, but also see what connects them with them. They cultivate cohesion and community by striving to have compassion and understanding for those around them.
They have an awareness of what is right and what is wrong and stick to it
Wise people understand that they are part of a larger context and that their personal interests and advantages sometimes have to take second place in that context. Because it would do more harm than good, they would insist on enforcing it. They are willing to recognize something as right and wrong that is not unique to them and to act accordingly without feeling left out.
You can make rational decisions
According to Susan Krauss Whitbourne, wisdom includes an awareness of one’s own intuition and the ability to classify intuitive impulses and counter them with rational considerations. Those who are wise and become wiser learn to recognize their own patterns and put themselves in a position to carefully decide between an intuitive and an analytical approach – or to choose a combination of them.
They value harmony and natural order
Wise people see and respect the harmony and order in which we as humans fit ourselves and are receptive to the beauty therein. They recognize the legitimacy of enjoyment and aesthetics instead of always subordinated to functionality and efficiency.
They face the situations, not their fantasies
People who cultivate their wisdom strive to respond to what is, rather than to their ideas, desires, and interpretations. They question their conclusions and evaluations by focusing their attention on facts and distinguishing their subjective judgments from them.
You allow yourself to be convinced by logical conclusions
Wise people know the difference between opinion and what we know and can know. If measurable facts or the laws of logic go against their opinion and belief, they are willing to let go of it without feeling insecure or inferior.