Wisdom and Knowledge

Posted by Jerry Lopper Sep 27, 2007

Prolific Psychology Feature Writer Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen recently blogged about the distinction between knowledge and wisdom. That reminded me of a saying that goes something like, "wisdom is knowledge expressed."

Laurie muses on situations where she doesn't apply her knowledge. We all do that don't we? But why? Why don't we "do what's good for us?" Why over-eat when we know that we'll be uncomfortable later on? Why stay up late watching a movie when we know how it ends and we suspect that we'll deeply regret it when the alarm goes off at 6 am tomorrow?

Why indeed. Psychologists tell us, and common sense reinforces it, that we repeat behaviors because the benefit now is greater than the pain will be later. They also tell us to substitute a healthier benefit for the unhealthy benefit. Instead of eating a bowl of ice cream for a snack, substitute a piece of fruit.

Yeah, right. I love fruit, but sometimes nothing satisfies like a bowl of ice cream.

Still, for those unhealthy behaviors that can be harmful to health and longevity, we're best served by expressing knowledge, i.e. being wise. James Prochaska's Changing for Good is a great resource for research-proven ways to break those bad habits.

Now that we have the knowledge, it's time to show some wisdom.