Seeking wisdom — lessons on becoming an outstanding thinker

Ignorance has a bad reputation.

Society values wisdom, knowledge and intelligence, but if you are ignorant and know the level of your ignorance, it can become an important stepping stone for acquiring relevant knowledge.

Everyone starts from ignorance, but many people forget they were once ignorant. You can still be ignorant at any stage of your knowledge acquiring process. Intelligent people are not afraid to challenge their existing knowledge.

Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “There are no eternal facts as there are no absolute truths.” Your fundamental realities of life can be challenged, questioned, improved, upgraded or transformed — if you are open to improving

The knowledge of one’s ignorance is the beginning of wisdom.

The only time ignorance becomes dangerous is when you convince yourself that you know everything or when you become so confident of your knowledge that it becomes a hindrance to your progress.

Daniel J. Boorstin was right. “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”

Ignorance motivates us to pursue our intellectual curiosities. Even you become an expert, it pays to keep refining what you know. It’s the only way to reinvent yourself in a rapidly changing world.

Scientists are in the business of refinement. It’s an ancient practice that goes back to the time of Galileo — who “has been called the “father of observational astronomy”, the “father of modern physics”, the “father of the scientific method”, and the “father of modern science”.

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” Galileo once said. Albert Einstein also observed that “All of science is nothing more than the refinement of everyday thinking.”

There is still so much to learn even in the age of knowledge abundance.

The biggest problem is, we are too busy to make time to overcome our ignorance. Distractions have taken over our precious time. Unwillingness to learn or improve what we already know is one of the biggest obstacles to personal growth.

If you are serious about success but don’t value knowledge acquisition, you are wasting your time.

Even Warren Buffet, one of the most successful investors of the 21st century, still spends 80% of his time learning and thinking. Take knowledge seriously. Your success depends on it.

What it means to be wise

“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.” Benjamin Franklin once observed.

Wise people aim to elevate their understanding of what is already known. They do more to understand themselves, the limits of their knowledge and what it takes to become a smarter human.

And they don’t know to learn new things; they also apply the right knowledge to their practical problems and aim to become less wrong in their decision-making process. In their pursuit of wisdom, they make time to think about their thinking and deconstruct ambiguities to lead a simple life.

We are all capable of building on what we already know. Making time to read filters good knowledge from the noise is the only important habit required of you.

“We read a lot. I don’t know anyone who’s wise who doesn’t read a lot. But that’s not enough: You have to have a temperament to grab ideas and do sensible things. Most people don’t grab the right ideas or don’t know what to do with them,” says Charlie Munger, Buffets business partner.

Ignorance is the reason I value books. I’m reading multiple books at the moment. I read on my phone, tablet and read physical books to take a break from the screens when I can. I don’t binge-read books, though. Wisdom for life or career is too precious to be hurried.

I’ve read these books multiple times — Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio, The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness by Eric Jorgenson and Great Thinkers: Simple Tools from 60 Great Thinkers to Improve Your Life Today, by The School of Life.

I’m currently reading The Hidden Habits of Genius: Beyond Talent, IQ, and Grit―Unlocking the Secrets of Greatness and How I Invest My Money: Finance Experts Reveal How They Save, Spend, And Invest. Both books will help me understand how great minds create and invest respectively.

I deliberately make time to learn something new every day. I mostly read in the evenings instead of watching TV. I also use 90% of my gap time to learn something new. I aim to become a little wiser every day.

Knowledge compounds, so by the end of the year, I would have accumulated enough to change the trajectory of my life. New knowledge improves how you think and make decisions. It guides both our thinking and action.

Seeking wisdom is an essential habit of many lifelong learners. It’s the only way to avoid terrible decisions that could change the course of your life.
The more I read, the more my ignorance becomes evident to me. “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” Socrates said.

The world is too complex to rely on the same mental models for life-changing decisions. Aim to become a more thoughtful and knowledgeable human every day. Do more for your brain, and you will change your life in the process. You deserve to know what is capable of making you a better human.

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This article originally appeared in Medium.