Experience and wisdom – a subtle difference

It’s sometimes difficult to distinguish between experience and wisdom. People can have the same experiences but not learn from them – whilst others develop wisdom and insight as a result of their experiences. Everyone has experience, but wisdom comes from such aspects as self-reflection, admitting and owning mistakes, and learning from them. You should then be able to apply the lessons learned in a positive way.

Using your knowledge wisely

I often think to myself that I’ve got more wisdom to give now, for many different reasons. Being older, certainly, is a factor. Wisdom is often associated with age, but it’s not a prerequisite. I’ve lived through a lot and have seen many changes. The older you get, the more likely you are to be able to be a good judge of people or to read situations – you’d like to think. Having worked in many different situations with many different people, you find yourself understanding and taking on information and experiences from all quarters. Once acquired, knowledge can also be applied incorrectly. There is a maxim: “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, but wisdom is knowing that you don’t put tomato in a fruit salad”.

New insights

Wisdom isn’t necessarily just about qualifications – although letters and accreditations after your name are a good sign of experience gained throughout a career. There are many ways that you can gain knowledge through training and education, and continuous learning which is relevant will always add value. Many of my clients come from diverse backgrounds and learning about them and their sectors continually gives me a fresh insight every day. Each sector is subtly different, and each offers new insights.

 Specialist knowledge

Outside of knowledge and wisdom, specialisms are what make us all different – the broader range of experience we have, the stronger our offering and skillset becomes. Also, some of my less positive life experiences have made me stronger too. These can come from both your work and personal sides of your life. For example, job loss was certainly a positive for me, in being able to give a depth of empathy to clients who were dealing with outplacement, because now I understand it more. Having the experience of outplacement taught me the wisdom to deal with others experiencing it too.