Wisdom is knowledge gathered through experience
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We all are our own teachers for the school of life. Taking advice is not as effective as direct perception and participation ? it?s one of the best ways to cultivate more of what we like about ourselves as opposed to listening to advice or gathering lessons from others.
We are the sum of our own experiences. By living the experience itself, your internalize it meaningfully and deeply. When you figure things out by doing, you gather knowledge through experience, you can better explain what you do, and tell your personal story. Socrates, a classical Greek philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy once said, ?To find yourself, think for yourself.?
Insightful books teach us about the experiences of thousands of other people, and we learn from them to make informed choices. I profoundly believe that we can learn from the best books and experts to gain the necessary knowledge and skills in life. Books should be used as a way to stimulate our thoughts to action. They are a means to an end not an end in itself. It?s what we choose to do with the knowledge that matters.
Learning from yourself is one of the best ways to make progress
?A thorn of experience is worth more than a forest of warnings?. James Russell Lowell (a poet, critic, editor, and diplomat) said that. It?s profound and so true. Personal experiences shape who we are and what we become.
You are more immersed in reality when you take action. You have first-hand knowledge rather than second-hand knowledge. You have a much better chance to make progress quicker because you are able to adapt to direct experience than to adapt theory to experience. It?s the only way you can truly understand something in its entirety.
I?ve learned more from writing every week than any book could teach me about writing. When you figure things out, you are involved in the whole process ? it helps you understand your behaviour/action and reaction towards a given situation, challenge or a problem ? and how best to evolve to become the best version of yourself. People who figure things out rarely live in their heads ? they act on their ideas and perceptions. They learn a lot more from experience (both good and bad).
The process of deriving concepts, patterns, principles, and judgments from experiences and then applying new knowledge and conclusions appropriately is one of the best approaches to learning, making progress or taking action. John Dewey, a philosopher, psychologist, and an educational reformer called it the ongoing process of reconstructing experience.
To mature in any endeavour, make note areas worthy of repetition. These may be things that went well that you want to repeat and build on or things that could be better and need consideration, experiment or change.
Be conscious of what you do, ? analyse if you like ? how particular things go, for instance looking at how you handled a particular task, presentation, work, or creative pursuit ? adjusting your future approaches accordingly.
No one can guide us better than our own experiences
The core of self-development, separate from any method, systems or process is you. The attitude you take, how you harness your experiences and adapt provides a basis for change and better opportunities for your future. You can make a real difference.
All the advice, mentorships, and lessons from you get won?t make much difference if you are not ready to run with it and make your own experiences ? deciding which path to take and avoid, and those to change are the real steps that make all the difference.
To have a clear view of our thoughts and chosen paths, no one can be a better guide than our life own experiences. To learn from experience, you must be open to the strong possibility of being wrong ? maintain an open mind.
To be open-minded means to remove your personal biases and prejudices from any situation and completely immerse yourself in another experience to gain more knowledge. Opening your mind to the possibilities of knowledge, skills and adventure could bring greater fulfilment and happiness to your life.
Make personal experiences work for you, effectively accelerate the process by doing more of what works, and you have regular, pertinent learning on tap on an ongoing basis. This strengthens your personal development process. By all means, learn from those you admire, seek mentorship and guidance but make your personal experience the priority. And always remember, you have the right to be wrong when you prioritise personal experience.
