Paul Brian
How wise are you?
The question can be a bit confronting, and you may imagine Confucius or Socrates.
But wisdom isn’t always about old sages in white robes. It’s often about the small daily actions we take (or don’t take) that make all the difference.
If you’re doing these daily habits you’re wiser than you think (keep it up!)
1) Morning mindfulness meditation
You wake up and you sit quietly and meditate for a moment. It isn’t necessarily that long, but you find a way to enter that zone of mindful peace.
You let the thoughts and emotions wash over you without judgment or attachment.
You focus on your breath going in and out and center yourself for the day ahead. Perhaps you listen to a guided meditation that also helps.
It might feel like no big deal, but it’s a wise way to start your day.
2) Making daily goals and intentions that get you closer to your goals
There’s certainly something to be said for spontaneity and winging it.
But you plan your day.
You have a date book with plans for the day ahead and priorities and you cross then off as you go, either digitally or literally.
You have things you want to get done, and you’re not leaving it to chance. Even simple reminders can make a world of difference in keeping our goals in mind, a form of practical wisdom that’s often overlooked.
3) Actively listening to other people
It seems easy to hear what somebody else is saying:
If you speak the same language and pay attention then you hear the words coming out of their mouth and know what they mean and what that person wants.
This seems straightforward, but the fact of the matter is that active listening goes a step beyond this.
You not only hear the words coming out of somebody’s mouth and their basic requests, you also hear their deeper needs and can read more into what they’re saying.
This habit of active listening is deeply wise and leads to deeper relationships and connections in life.
4) Reading interesting books and articles regularly
You love to pick up a new and interesting book whenever you can, and you regularly read articles that stimulate your mind.
You enjoy tackling new topics and engaging with points of view you don’t necessarily agree with, too.
This is wiser than you realize, and goes beyond mere curiosity.
You don’t want to live in an echo chamber: you want to engage with a wide variety of ways of looking at the world and you love to delve into a new universe by immersing yourself in a book.
5) Checking in with yourself before reacting to people
You don’t fly off the handle easily. In fact, you rarely react right away to your emotions.
Instead, you check in with yourself before reacting.
You find that split second where you can really consider what you’re doing before you just go ahead and do it.
You have your instincts under control, and you don’t react right away to people or to your desires. You check in first and think it over, finding that small space of reflection before acting.
6) Remaining patient even in the face of uncertainty and ennui
When things become unsure as they often will during the day, you stay patient.
The work day sometimes drags on, but you know that if you buckle down for this hour or two block you’ll then be in the home stretch and check your messages.
It’s the same in your personal life, where you’re able to accept that the dull routine sometimes predominates and that life can’t always be exciting.
You keep going and find excitement within yourself and your determination, as well as steps and gradual plans you make to change your life.
7) Staying as captain of your own ship even when the storm winds blow
Emotional stability and resilience is an irreplaceable quality, and you’ve put in the work to develop it.
You know that life’s storms are guaranteed to blow from time to time, and you don’t let that overpower you.
You’re captain of your own ship and master of your own choices. You won’t let external hardship be your excuse for giving up, and that makes each day a more joyful and empowered experience.
8) Self-care and sometimes putting your own needs first
The day gets busy and hectic, and you do your best to be there for everyone.
But you never forget yourself.
You take the time to eat a decent breakfast, lunch and dinner. You ask for more time if you’re late working on a project. You let a work colleague know when you have too much on your plate to help them out right now.
You don’t feel bad about putting yourself first when necessary. In fact, reasonable self-care and prioritization comes naturally to you because you know that nobody can truly help others if they themselves are a mess.
9) Staying flexible on a daily basis when life hits you with curveballs
Flexibility is practical wisdom in action.
Earlier I mentioned that you have a plan for your day and daily goals. This is true. But it’s also true that you adjust with circumstances.
If you have a fender bender outside the office, obviously the day’s needs are going to radically shift in a different direction (involving a lot of insurance paperwork and so on).
You stay flexible each day, because you know that life always throws curveballs at us and we have to stay on our toes.
10) Pausing to learn from daily mess ups instead of blindly continuing
If and when you do make mistakes throughout the day, you do your best to learn from them.
If they can’t be avoided, you find ways to find humor in your cock-ups.
So you just emailed the wrong person and it’s kind of embarrassing? Why not turn it into a joke and ask how their family is on social media.
You burned the food while cooking dinner and you’re exhausted? What about making simpler dinners from now on that won’t be so labor-intensive, or sharing dinner duties with your spouse?
11) Being genuinely grateful for the people and blessings in your life
You are hit by true gratitude at various times of the day.
You reflect on how lucky you are and find that it’s really true. There’s so much going wrong in your life on a daily basis or not going as well as you’d like it to.
Yet you have to admit, truly, that your life is an immense blessing.
And you’re starting to truly see that more and more in each ordinary day.
12) Limiting how often you use your phone and digital distractions
Smartphones have become a necessity of modern life.
For personal and professional purposes, they’re simply indispensable. Many of us also work fully or partly on computers and electronic devices.
But you never make this the central part of your day and make sure to take breaks from your devices.
You also remember that real life still matters more than the electronics we surround ourselves with: they’re here to serve us, not the other way around!
13) Keeping healthy boundaries in your daily interactions and relationships
You know how to keep healthy boundaries in your daily interactions and relationships.
This plays out in many forms:
When you’re in a bad mood, you do your best not to take it out on others…
When a colleague or friend is being manipulative you exit the interaction…
No matter what the situation, you find a way to have a firm boundary and stick to it.
14) Practicing grace even under stress and high expectations
Even when life hits you with a curveball, you react with grace.
You don’t take it personally when the heat is on, because you know that high-stress situations happen to everybody at times.
You do your best to calm yourself and do what’s in your control, putting one foot in front of the other.
It may seem very basic, but this is wisdom in action.
15) Embracing the unknown day by day and keeping a sense of surprise alive
It’s easy to fall into the “same old, same old” routine…
But you find ways to keep it fresh and exciting.
At the very least you keep the option open for a surprise and have that part of yourself that knows there can always be something great around the next corner.
