Hey y’all! This blog post is going to be the first of a four part series about the virtues of Stoicism. If you haven’t already, you should check out my blog post giving an overview of Stoicism. Come read this when you’re finished. If you’re already one step ahead of me, which you probably are, then pull up a chair and let’s talk wisdom.
First, we need to go over a few ideas
According to Ryan Holiday’s Daily Stoic, there are three main parts of the self: will, action, and perception. Each of the virtues ties into one of these categories. We’ll get to the others in a later post, but we’re going to focus on will for the time being.
So in this case, will has to do with composure and freedom from deception. Essentially, will is being able to determine what is objectively true and making our judgments based on that information.
Now, if you were to ask Steph Curry how he can shoot so well blind, he would probably tell you three things. First, he learned how to shoot a jumper. Then, he actually tried to shoot his shot. And finally, he began training, and actively refining his technique until it became what we’ve seen today.
But that applies to everyone who has a skill set. It first has to be learned, then tested, then refined, in an almost endless cycle. And Stoicism is the same way.
So let’s apply this thought process to the concept of will: we study or learn about logic, we practice judgment and truth, and we train our wisdom. And after some time, we get better at the cycle, and we improve at implementing the practice of judgment and truth in our lives.
So, how does wisdom fit in?
Here’s the dictionary definition of wisdom, but if you’re like me, you probably like having your own version of a definition. Until writing this post, I’d always considered wisdom to be the application of knowledge. But I realized that my definition was not entirely accurate. Wisdom is actually the correct application of knowledge, meaning that we know the correct decision to make at any given time.
How do we train wisdom?
Life is full of irony. And in this case, the irony is that the way to train wisdom is to make mistakes. Wisdom is best gained through experience. I’m gonna say it louder for the people in the back. WISDOM IS BEST GAINED THROUGH EXPERIENCE. And the only way to gain experience is go out, do things, and learn. Most people will say that they learned infinitely more from their failures than their successes. I know that I fail at aspects of my life every day. But I also make sure to look at what I did wrong, so I don’t make those mistakes again. Sometimes I’m a slow learner though, and it takes me a few times to get the lesson.
In the wise words of Jim Kwik, “Knowledge alone is not power, it’s potential power. All the books, podcasts, seminars, and online programs won’t work until you do.” I love this quote so much, because it emphasizes one of the most important parts of wisdom: it isn’t enough to know, you must also act.
But the most important part to me of training wisdom is reflection. All of your knowledge, experience, and action means nothing if it’s not refined. Which means that we as individuals need to take some time to look back and figure out what went right, what went wrong, and what we can improve. This might be the hardest part of the whole process, for a few reasons.
First, we’re ridiculously busy
And not even in a good way sometimes. We as a society, especially in America, are constantly on the move. On top of that, we are constantly being exposed to information, from your social media, the news, and pretty much every electronic device ever created. So being able to train your wisdom effectively requires that you distance yourself from all of the noise, at least for a little while. Because you can’t truly reflect without giving time to yourself for yourself.
Second, being alone with ourselves can be difficult
True quiet can be frightening, and most of us aren’t used to it. Blaise Pascal once said “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone”. Being alone with yourself can be terrifying. It requires you having to face yourself: all of your strengths, weaknesses, fears, thoughts, and feelings. It requires that you actually process who you are as a person. But that’s really the end goal with wisdom and Stoicism: you can’t make the correct decision for you if you don’t know who you are.
Third, you have to be honest with yourself
And not like sugar coated honesty. I’m talking about raw, visceral, authentic honesty. David Goggins‘ concept of the (before you click on the link, just know it contains harsh language) Accountability Mirror is one of my favorite examples of this brand of honesty. At the end of the day, you can’t lie to yourself, because you will always know. And you shouldn’t try to. Because you can’t evolve, change, or improve if you can’t admit to yourself something is wrong. This particular piece took me a long time to grasp, but I’ve found it to be one of the most beneficial lessons life has to offer.
So where does that leave us?
We went over a massive amount of information, but the TL;DR (too long, didn’t read) is this: learn, try, refine, repeat. First, go out and learn as much as you can about everything you can. Then, try new things and put twists on activities you already do. Next, take a look at what works, what doesn’t, and where improvements can happen. Finally, do it all over again. Go and make wisdom a priority, and integrate it into your every day life.
Thank you for taking the time to talk wisdom with me today. Again, definitely check out Ryan Holiday for more information on Stoicism. He’s probably the best resource for information on modern Stoicism. And be sure to look into Jim Kwik and David Goggins, they have amazing stories and great insight into memory and mental toughness, respectively. If you want to continue the conversation, drop a line in the comment section or via the Contact Me page. And don’t forget to take some time to talk humans with someone in your life this week. Catch ya later!