I recently had incredible revelations about learning and developing wisdom, all because I recently learned how to ride a bike.
I lived in the Netherlands for a while and it is a basic life skill there, so it was one of my priorities when I arrived in the country.
I had friends who could help me learn, but I had reflected on a belief that I deeply integrated into myself after reading and applying the teachings of the book "The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem":
Others can help me, but I have the primary responsibility for my existence.
This taught me that I couldn't depend on my friends, I had to teach myself. But how was I going to achieve it?
When one wants to learn something new, one has two options:
- Research about it from an external source.
- Contemplate and derive answers for yourself
The first thing I tried was to research how to ride a bike, but the resources available online weren't very helpful, especially since a skill like riding a bike is very action-focused. Because of this, I thought the best option would be to go to the park and practice until I didn't fall.
After buying a used bike and I was in the park, the first thing I did was figure out for myself how to start pedaling and how to balance. In no time I learned that I had to give myself a boost, put both feet on the pedals and firmly grip the handlebars.
This is probably common knowledge for many people (especially the Dutch), but for me it wasn't, and only being able to develop this "basic" skill for myself gave meaning to this phrase:
All the answers are within you.
During my journey in the paths of self-improvement and spirituality, I have seen many people who repeat this phrase without really understanding what it means, so it invites you to reflect "what does it really mean?"
Let's say you want to learn how to make more friends and improve your social life (like I'm trying right now), there are quite a few books and courses on this topic. But to start taking action you don't need to wait until you read and know all the external information available.
You can easily grab a piece of paper and a pen and start contemplating for yourself and deriving the next actions you are going to take. Without spending money and using much less time than it would take to read a book or take a course.
Even better (using this example) put yourself in a social situation and force yourself to take action. It's up to you to choose, but don't fall into the trap that many self-improvement fans fall into: always learning interesting things but never applying them in your life.
If you don't take action, all the powerful knowledge you gained is just interesting ideas and mental masturbation.
Wisdom = change in behavior
Finally, I say goodbye for today with this quote that illustrates my point in an incredible way.