Finding a Pathway to Wisdom

It is said that everyone has motivation. Motivation refers to the intent to move toward something or away from something. To motivate means to cause to move. In my work with horses, I have become very much aware of the response that horses have to pressure. This characteristic allows people to train horses to do incredible things from catching calves to barrel racing, or dressage, and more intricate specialties. Motivating the horse depends on the pressure that is applies when and where. A person is motivated toward a positive or, to avoid a negative. The pressure is the same. 

Getting control of our motivation requires wisdom. So where does wisdom come from?  For most of us, wisdom comes with our experience in making choices. Choices are reflections of our decisions. And, often these decisions come from our intent. Intent is another way of saying will. Most of us are aware that we have free will. That means we must make decisions and those decisions are made based upon the values that we hold dear. Some of these values are so strong that they direct our will, which in turn shapes the decisions we make. So what are values? 

Values are standards that we use to make our decisions. “I will do what I want to do and no one can stop me!” This represents the rebellion of a teenager who is tired of having everyone tell him what to do. His will is to be independent. His values are freedom and autonomy. These choices seem to be positive, but can be self-destructive, if the person does not possess the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual qualities needed to exercise the values that he professes. If the choices are driven by feelings—a will to feel independent—then the person may lack the skills and capabilities to enable him to be successful by himself. A person’s will can also be reflected in the willingness to undertake a challenge, or to accept another way of thinking.

Motivation can also be shaped by lessons learned in childhood, or by what was learned from people whom we admire or people we fear. Motivation can be shaped by injustice, physical, emotional, mental or spiritual trauma. A person who has continuously thwarted in what they try to do by people who think they have control over them, might plan a strategy to break away with the statement: “I’ll show you!” This person may have been deliberately planning, collecting resources, developing skills, and making the connections so that she could be successful in an endeavor. This person’s decision might reflect the standard (value) of self-respect.

Getting to where we want to go requires having the wisdom to understand how to use our values, knowledge, experience, and judgement to make decisions. We need to learn how to direct our motivation towards doing what is wise (as opposed to foolish). Every action we take is based upon a choice. And every choice has a particular consequence—positive or negative and sometimes both!  Some choices are made with careful deliberation; like which career are we going to choose. Other choices might be made based on feelings: how a particular outfit makes us feel, how we feel in the presence of a particular person. 

Emotional maturity enables a person to identify the difference between choices made by feelings and those made by reason. Reason helps us to prepare. Feelings are a reaction to what we are experiencing. Making choices is influenced by both feelings and reason. And, we must first be aware of the standards (values) that we are using to make those decisions. 

This is where wisdom enters. Anyone can make a decision. Some people get angry (feelings) and run out the door without a coat and with out any food (choices). Others get angry (feelings) and make a plan to have a destination and some resources (choices). Wisdom comes as we learn about human behavior in general, about what capabilities are needed to follow a particular path, especially if that path could be dangerous. Books can provide us with insights about wisdom: Two Years Before the Mast by William Henry Dana; or Genesis and Exodus (the way of the human being); Proverbs (simple saying with timeless application); Shakespeare’s plays provide examples of choices in need of wisdom. Solzhenitsyn’s In the First Circle (clinging to choices). Ask people you respect and admire what books have provided wisdom for them.