Welcome to Activated Wisdom
Ideas are everywhere. The real question is: What do we do with them?
Years ago, when I was in college, I read a book by philosopher Tom Morris called True Success. Relatively early in the book, I encountered a message that I barely noticed at first, but it has stayed with me ever since.
I don’t remember the exact words, but the challenge was essentially this:
Before you pick up your next book, apply one lesson from the one you just finished.
That idea has shaped how I think about learning and growth.
Reading something insightful is not the same as learning from it. Recognizing wisdom is not the same as using it. And collecting more ideas, even excellent ones, does not necessarily change how we live.
That realization makes me mindful of the time and attention you are giving this. I don’t want to simply offer more information to consume. I want to offer something you can pause over, connect to your own experiences, and put to work.
Age alone does not make us wise
We often assume that wisdom comes naturally with age. Age certainly gives us more experiences, but experience alone is not enough.
A recent review of psychological research concluded that neither growing older nor accumulating experiences automatically produces wisdom.[1] Another study of adults between the ages of 26 and 92 found that wisdom was not connected to how frequently people reflected. It was connected to how they reflected, particularly whether they explored difficult experiences deeply, searched for meaning, and allowed those experiences to change their understanding.[2]
In other words:
Experience gives us the raw material for wisdom. Reflection helps us uncover it. Application brings it to life.
That last step matters. Wisdom that remains an interesting thought has limited value. It becomes useful when we determine where, when, and how to apply it.
That is what I call Activated Wisdom.
What you’ll find here
Activated Wisdom offers a brief opportunity to step away from the noise and reflect. You may find:
- Personal stories, including stories from others, about lessons uncovered through experience
- Ideas from books I’m reading and reflecting on
- Questions that help you recognize the wisdom already present in your life
- Practical activities for turning insight into intentional action
My hope is not to give you more things to read. It is to create a moment in which something you already know becomes something you are ready to use.
A moment of reflection
Before moving on with your day, consider these questions:
What experience in my life still has something to teach me?
What lesson have I recognized but not yet acted upon?
Where, when, and how could I put that lesson to work this week?
You already carry more wisdom than you may realize.
Let’s activate it.
Jason
Activated Wisdom is from Leading Strong.
Research referenced
[1] Judith Glück, “Wisdom and Aging”, Current Opinion in Psychology, 2024.
[2] Nic M. Weststrate and Judith Glück, “Hard-Earned Wisdom: Exploratory Processing of Difficult Life Experience Is Positively Associated With Wisdom”, Developmental Psychology, 2017.