How do you become wiser?
To be a wiser person first, come to terms with being dumb for life. You will never learn something that which you already know, Epictetus said. It’s true. I used to assume so many things, settle with first impressions and never seek to find answers, dig deeper. By no means is this an easy thing to do because we are so used to assuming things so that it makes sense to us immediately. We can’t stop ourselves from assuming but what we can do is question our assumptions. Be Philosophical. Just keep asking, What? When? How? Why? To be a student of philosophy is to be a student of life, for life. No matter what you are doing in life, philosophy is one subject every human being needs to practice.
Reading books is something that makes you wise. Read about problems you are facing in books about other people who might’ve dealt with the same issue. James Baldwin said, you think your pain is so unique, and then you read. Reading the news everyday does not make you wise, it only updates you with all the cruelty and harshness of the world in a matter of seconds. These things will only make you feel worse.
Let yourself be influenced by great teachers. I wrote a whole different article about choosing your mentors. When you keep company with people who will propel in the right direction, is the sort of company we should look for. This means watching the right sort of successful people on YouTube, reading books written by the dead.
I always had dumb questions to ask but was afraid of being perceived as dumb by other people. Be content with appearing foolish to others if you wish to learn, Epictetus would say. Dale Carnegie said, if you wish to make friends ask questions about the other person’s expertise, people are more than likely to enjoy talking about themselves and their progress in life. Not only do you get to be on better terms with these people but also actually learn from their experiences in the form of study. Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, said that we have two ears and one tongue for a reason. So that we may listen more and speak less. Study and experience are what creates wisdom to be shared and learned by other people.
Then, I came across the philosopher Socrates. The Socratic Method is a form of teaching which involves a lot of critical thinking. Socrates would ask questions to answers which are given by the student to his previous question to test the answer said by the student. This could feel unsettling in the beginning because it makes you question what you believe in.
Then the question would arise that, if I am not fully correct, isn’t my answer half cooked and misleading? The key is to have an open mind. Agree if it makes sense to you and be open to questioning it again if a critical question arises. You could even question yourself to challenge yourself and dig deeper about certain things. You might feel insecure about appearing flaky learner. Be content! For you are seeking nothing but the truth of things. He who abides in his errors and ignorance is hurt, Marcus said.
So far, this is how I have learned and is the path I am following to become a wiser person. Until next time.
