Wise People: These Are The 6 Characteristics That Define Them
The typical image that comes to mind when we think of a wise person is an older man, with a long beard, who spends the day philosophizing in the solitude of his study. Thus, the idea that this archetypal image transmits is that the understanding of the reality that surrounds us always has to go hand in hand with very difficult sacrifices that practically prevent us from enjoying life on any other level than the intellectual one. But this is false, it hardly corresponds to reality.
In fact, to reach a high degree of knowledge it is not necessary to be elderly, and especially it is not necessary to live in isolation or be a man. In everyday life wise people have all kinds of appearances ; What they do have in common consists of psychological traits and life habits. Next we will see what those characteristics are that serve to recognize them.
Far from being quirky individuals easily recognizable by their manias, wise people tend to be as discreet as the majority of the population is, and there is nothing in their most external and superficial image that leads us to think that they are individuals with any particularity..
So let’s see what they are those signs that appear when we are in front of wise people
1. They are curious about a wide variety of topics
Knowledge always begins with a question, and wise people ask themselves a large number of them every day. That is why they are often interested in a wide variety of topics, since it is precisely in those areas of reality in which there is little experience that very broad doubts appear that tempt curious minds. This brings us to the next point.
2. They keep a record of their doubts
When wise people realize that there is a question that is crying out to be answered, or when they come across a book, video, or article that seems to be a good source of learning, they find a way to remember. or that doubt or that piece of information in which answers to the doubts are given
This record does not have to be strictly a list, but can also be a “Favorites” folder in the browser full of links to interesting content for self-learning.
3. They are not ashamed to show their ignorance
For wise people, ignorance is what is taken for granted, what comes by default with the simple fact of being a human being. The normal thing, what happens most frequently, is that we do not know how to answer the questions, unless these are directed towards a topic that is considered “general culture”. Therefore, they are not ashamed to openly admit their ignorance.
This is where the difference between wise people and those who only want to pretend to be wise is especially noticeable: the former consider that trying to disguise their ignorance means losing an opportunity to learn due to simple social pressure, while the latter prefer to maintain their public image to ask about what the other person talks about.
4. They have life experience and move through many areas
Wise people, contrary to what is often assumed, leave their homes a lot, since otherwise they would not have a knowledge of life based on experience. That means that they travel, which allows them to learn about other cultures and points of view, and that they have a social life, which allows them allows you to have access to more wise people to learn from
On the other hand, even though they do not have to be part of the elderly, they left adolescence behind a long time ago. Before this vital stage we are not neurologically prepared to think in abstract terms (something essential to achieve sophisticated knowledge about things) and on the other hand we have not had the opportunity to have experience.
5. They tolerate uncertainty
There are those who cannot bear the idea of having their beliefs challenged, as this produces a state of discomfort known as cognitive dissonance. However, wise people accept this feeling of uncertainty well, because For them any belief is subject to revision and knowledge is conceived as something dynamic.
Furthermore, because they constantly question whether what they thought they knew is still valid, their understanding of the world is sophisticated and full of nuances; It is not based so much on simplifications as on the fruits of reflection.
6. Reading is a constant habit
Books and certain sources of information available on the Internet are a valuable resource for learning, and wise people do not waste these elements. This does not mean that they read anything, but that they are skilled at searching for the information they seek and learn on their own. turning to useful and educational sources Whether they are fiction or non-fiction texts, there are thousands of sources of wisdom that address different areas of knowledge and that are considered a treasure by many people.
