“Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart always sounds like foolishness to someone else ... Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it.”
― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
The reason this quote resonated with me was because of a podcast I listened to this week. The episode was You 2.0 Decide Already by NPR's Hidden Brain. Basically, we learn that humans are the only animal that can use their imaginations to predict the future, and guess what we are terrible at it! Often what we predict will happen and what actually happens is completely different. As I was listening to this episode I kept on thinking both how right this premise is and also how I would not be able to understand the ideas presented in this podcast at the same level a few years ago. I feel that I have enough experience at this point to realize that things do not end up as bad as I predict and are not worth the worry I put into them. Applying this wisdom in real life is another challenge.
It feels liberating to know that there are scientific studies out that that prove humans suck at predicting their own futures. I have a tendency to try and overthink a problem in hopes that all that energy will allow me to "out think it." Instead of actually solving the problem, I end up creating additional fictional problems and what if scenarios that add to the problem. The only thing thathelps when a worrisome situation comes to fruition is just being present in the moment and dealing with things as they come.
Word Count (not including the quote): 277
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