Knowledge is knowing what to do.
Wisdom is knowing what to do and applying what you know how to do to your life and doing it repeatedly. Every single time it needs to be done.
The pipes are leaking in your house, and you know where the leak is. And you know how to fix them. But you don’t. That’s not wise.
The same goes for any situation in life.
You know you should apologize for inappropriate behavior. You have the ability and opportunity to do it, but you don’t. That’s not wise.
You know what should be done, but there’s no action to set in motion the know-how.
In 1828, Noah Webster wrote this about wisdom: “Wisdom is the right use or exercise of knowledge.” In other words, Wisdom is the action that accompanies knowledge.
I’ve been unwise many times in my life. I knew what I should do, yet I didn’t do it.
The other side of the coin, however, is not knowing what to do but doing something anyways. Sometimes the best thing to do is stand still and wait.
And if you should be still and wait, and you know that’s what you need to do, it would be unwise to do anything else.
So no matter what side of that you are on, let me leave you with this,
(BTW, I know you didn’t ask for this, and I don’t consider myself qualified to speak into your life.) But since you are reading this, I’ll borrow a phrase from Dan Wieden and leave it here for you or myself in the future:
“Just do it.”
to anyone needing to take the next step or merely stand still,
– Caleb
caneymountainblog.com 