The Growth Dimensions: Mental Growth
Read: 1 Kings 3 vs.1 - 15
“If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength, But wisdom brings success” Ecclesiastes 10:10
Very often, the reason we achieve less than we deserve is that we apply energy where wisdom is required. The result is that we end up drained, with little to show for the effort. King Solomon recognized this, so when he had the chance to ask for anything from God, he wisely chose wisdom. The irony in this story is that he was wise to choose wisdom.
What then is wisdom? Many often describe wisdom as the application of knowledge, this is true but often abstract. So I sat with a few brilliant people to describe what wisdom meant in a way that was applicable to all of us. We decided that wisdom is a 2-step process that includes:
Making the best decision based on the information available to you
Increasing the “information available” element of the first step, so that you can make better decisions.
These steps are trivial but they are powerful insights into making us better people. The first one asks us to ask ourselves all the time “Am i making the best decision right now based on the information I have?”.
The second step asks us to find ways to know more, to be more aware of our world through books (reading), communication (relationships) and observation (experience) so that we can improve the the quality of our choices.
All in all, the said famous definition of wisdom is correct, Acquiring knowledge and applying it to decision making, may seem obvious, but are we doing this consciously?