Smart vs. Wise

This is another in my ever-increasing list of "therapeutic distinctions", pairs of words that at first glace may seem similar but which upon closer investigation reveal important differences that can be useful in the process of achieving personal change, growth, development and healing. This one is a very brief comparison of intelligence and wisdom.

To be "smart" is a great gift. Knowledge can go a long way in improving a person and the world at large. But "wisdom" is much more than the mere ability to retain and synthesize great quantities of information. It involves having self-awareness that only comes from mindful engagement with the struggles of life. Knowledge is derived by collecting information while wisdom is a result of collecting experience. Both require much study, but with a different focus.

It's been said that knowledge is aware of what it knows while wisdom is aware of what it doesn't know. Intelligence resides mainly in the head while wisdom is more at home in the heart. To be smart is to know a lot about what something does. To be wise is to know a lot about what a thing means.

Many people with a lot of intelligence aren't very wise, and some of the wisest people you'll ever meet aren't especially intelligent. The ability to seek and perceive true wisdom in others around you if an effective pathway to finding that within yourself.