Over the course of our lives we have many opportunities to employ all sorts of things – wisdom, skill, virtue. The challenge becomes knowing which one to deploy when, and how they work together to help us create the person we want to become. We are responsible for our lives, our choices and living with the outcomes we create. Yes, not everything goes as planned and No, we cannot control it all…but what about the things we can control?
What about Wisdom? It is what we gain over time, with experience and study. Wisdom is what we employ when figuring out what to do next. It is how we decide to use our valuable resources – time, energy and money. This is where our life experiences, learning from the successes and failures of others, AND our risk taking threshold kicks in. Wisdom is that little voice that helps you recognize the choices you have to make and reminds you about the lessons learned from previous good, bad and ugly decisions. It is the quality of having experiences where good judgement has provided strong lessons learned to apply to our future. If we fail to learn then we are boomed to repeat our mistakes and squander our valuable resources. Wisdom is about WHY we do something.
What about Skill? It is about how we do it – when, with what tools and the process of taking a task and making it our own. Skill means being able to call upon the accumulation of knowledge in processes, tasks and events such that when we are asked to do those things again or something like that, we know how. Skill is like our tool belt. It is what we have learned, how we learned to do it well to reach success. It means understanding the pitfalls, safety concerns, and navigating the unique elements of the situation in order to get the job done. Skill is about knowing HOW.
And what about Virtue? It is not so much about what you know, it is about what you do. Not tasks or projects, virtue is about behaving in such a way as to exhibit high moral standards. It is the upright, good and ethical choices we make each day without question. Giving back change where the cashier gave us too much. It is making the right decision even if that means less profit. Virtue is how we treat people no matter who they are or where they come from. And virtue provides the framework for WHAT we do on a consistent basis.
Together wisdom, skill and virtue provide the WHY, HOW and WHAT behind all that we do. They complement each other over time by helping us consistently make decisions and choices in life which support who we want to become. Some days it is easier to employ them than others. Life is full of big decisions, and yet it is usually the small, minute details that will haunt us in the end. “I should have done…I could have chosen better…I wish I had known how to do that one faster.” Fail to employ wisdom, skill and virtue and life can feel like an exercise in shoulda, woulda, coulda…
So today, as you live out your life choices – think. Why am I doing this, do I need wisdom here? Would a bit more skill get me where I want to go? Maybe this choice would yield a better outcome if I employ virtue? It is the combination of these that makes us who we are. And without one – without taking time to think about the WHY, HOW or WHAT – life can get tough, quick! Let me encourage you to employ this trifecta on a regular basis. We are in life where we have chosen to be. Want a better life, make better choices.
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