<p><strong>We can only earn wisdom. It cannot be given to us</strong>. When we receive answers from someone else, we might achieve the desired outcome, but the solution comes from dependence, not insight.</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with buying insight. <strong>The problem is when we think the insight of others is our own.</strong></p>

Wisdom is earned

<p><strong>Wisdom is not as simple as just reading</strong>. The rules and simplicities given by others may make us feel we're getting brighter, but it is not real.</p>
<p><strong>Owning wisdom requires a discipline to continue learning and not to shun the details and complexity. It is boring. It takes time. But it is the only way.</strong></p>

Owning wisdom

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							<div><span><a href="https://fs.blog/blog/">Blog</a></span><span>  </span><span><a href="https://fs.blog/category/thinking/">Thinking</a></span><span>  </span><span><span>Thinking For Oneself</span></span></div>						</div>
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<h1>Thinking For Oneself</h1>
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<p>When I was young, I thought other people could give me wisdom. Now that I’m older, I know this isn’t true.</p>
<p>Wisdom is earned, not given. When other people give us the answer, it belongs to them and not us. While we might achieve the outcome we desire, it comes from dependence, not insight. Instead of thinking for ourselves, we’re dependent on the insight of others.</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with buying insight, this is one way we leverage ourselves. The problem is when we assume the insight of others is our own.</p>
<p>Earning insight requires going below the surface. Most of us want to shy away from the details and complexity. It takes a while. It’s boring. It’s mental work. </p>
<p>Yet it is only by jumping into the complexity that we can really discover simplicity for ourselves. </p>
<p>While the abundant directives, rules, and simplicities offered by others make us feel like we’re getting smarter, it’s nothing more than the illusion of knowledge. </p>
<p>If wisdom was as simple to acquire as reading, we’d all be wealthy and happy. Others help you but they can’t do the work for you. Owning wisdom for oneself requires a discipline the promiscuous consumer of it does not share.</p>
<p>Perhaps an example will help. The other day a plumber came to repair a pipe. He fixed the problem in under 5 minutes. The mechanical motions are easy to replicate. In fact, while it would take me longer, the procedure was so simple if you watched him you’d be able to do it. However, if even one thing were to deviate or change, we’d have a crisis on our hands, whereas the plumber would not. It took years of work to earn the wisdom he brought to solve the problem. Just because we could only see the simplicity he brought to the problem didn’t mean there wasn’t a deep understanding of the complexity behind it. There is no way we could acquire that insight in a few minutes by watching. We’d need to do it over and over for years, experiencing all of the things that could go wrong.</p>
<p>Thinking is something you have to do by yourself.</p>

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<span>Tagged: <a href="https://fs.blog/tag/thought-and-opinion/">Thought and Opinion</a>, <a href="https://fs.blog/tag/wisdom/">Wisdom</a> </span>
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		<div><div><a href="https://fs.blog/2020/07/appearances-vs-experiences/">Appearances vs Experiences: What Really Makes Us Happy</a></div><div><a href="https://fs.blog/2020/08/ingredients-for-innovation/">The Ingredients For Innovation</a></div></div>
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<a href="https://fs.blog/2020/02/finite-and-infinite-games-two-ways-to-play-the-game-of-life/">
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<h2>Finite and Infinite Games: Two Ways to Play the Game of Life</h2>
<span>Reading Time <span>|</span> 2 minutes</span>
<p>If life is a game, how do you play it? The answer will have a huge impact on your choices, your satisfaction, and how you achieve success. *** James Carse, the Director of Religious Studies at New York University, wrote a book, Finite and Infinite Games, that explores the difference between approaching life as a […]</p>
<p>Continue Reading <i></i></p>
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<a href="https://fs.blog/2019/12/gift-of-hope/">
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<h2>The Gift of Hope</h2>
<span>Reading Time <span>|</span> 2 minutes</span>
<p>It can be daunting, wondering what to give people, especially at this time of year. What gift properly communicates the feelings you have for someone? One idea is to give yourself. Another is to give the gift of hope. In Becoming Wise, Krista Tippett writes about hope, and how transformative it can be. “In a […]</p>
<p>Continue Reading <i></i></p>
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<a href="https://fs.blog/2019/10/the-best-of-goethes-aphorisms/">
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<h2>The Best of Goethe’s Aphorisms</h2>
<span>Reading Time <span>|</span> 4 minutes</span>
<p>Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s (1749–1832) Maxims and Reflections is a terrific source of philosophical wisdom. The German writer, statesman, lawyer, playwright, and polymath was brilliant at distilling complex questions and concepts into simple, reflective statements. His wisdom was derived from a life spent learning, thinking, and transmitting knowledge across a wide variety of fields. He crafted […]</p>
<p>Continue Reading <i></i></p>
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<p>When I was young, I thought other people could give me wisdom. Now that I’m older, I know this isn’t true. </p>

<p>Wisdom is earned, not given. When other people give us the answer, it belongs to them and not us. While we might achieve the outcome we desire, it comes from dependence, not insight. Instead of thinking for ourselves, we’re dependent on the insight of others. </p>

<p>There is nothing wrong with buying insight, this is one way we leverage ourselves. The problem is when we assume the insight of others is our own. </p>

<p>Earning insight requires going below the surface. Most of us want to shy away from the details and complexity. It takes a while. It’s boring. It’s mental work. </p>

<p>Yet it is only by jumping into the complexity that we can really discover simplicity for ourselves. </p>

<p>While the abundant directives, rules, and simplicities offered by others make us feel like we’re getting smarter, it’s nothing more than the illusion of knowledge. </p>

<p>If wisdom was as simple to acquire as reading, we’d all be wealthy and happy. Others help you but they can’t do the work for you. Owning wisdom for oneself requires a discipline the promiscuous consumer of it does not share. </p>

<p>Perhaps an example will help. The other day a plumber came to repair a pipe. He fixed the problem in under 5 minutes. The mechanical motions are easy to replicate. In fact, while it would take me longer, the procedure was so simple if you watched him you’d be able to do it. However, if even one thing were to deviate or change, we’d have a crisis on our hands, whereas the plumber would not. It took years of work to earn the wisdom he brought to solve the problem. Just because we could only see the simplicity he brought to the problem didn’t mean there wasn’t a deep understanding of the complexity behind it. There is no way we could acquire that insight in a few minutes by watching. We’d need to do it over and over for years, experiencing all of the things that could go wrong. </p>

<p>Thinking is something you have to do by yourself. </p>

Finite and Infinite Games: Two Ways to Play the Game of Life

<p>If life is a game, how do you play it? The answer will have a huge impact on your choices, your satisfaction, and how you achieve success. *** James Carse, the Director of Religious Studies at New York University, wrote a book, Finite and Infinite Games, that explores the difference between approaching life as a […] </p>

<p>It can be daunting, wondering what to give people, especially at this time of year. What gift properly communicates the feelings you have for someone? One idea is to give yourself. Another is to give the gift of hope. In Becoming Wise, Krista Tippett writes about hope, and how transformative it can be. “In a […] </p>

<p>Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s (1749–1832) Maxims and Reflections is a terrific source of philosophical wisdom. The German writer, statesman, lawyer, playwright, and polymath was brilliant at distilling complex questions and concepts into simple, reflective statements. His wisdom was derived from a life spent learning, thinking, and transmitting knowledge across a wide variety of fields. He crafted […] </p>

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Thinking For Oneself

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