About wisdom

Friday, September 18, 2026

The key to a life full of joy and meaning is a certain attitude towards life, which I suggest to call “wisdom”.

What is wisdom?

Many people have written lots of intelligent things about wisdom. Here is my summary.

Wisdom does not mean good grades at school, nor having great ideas that will earn you admiration from others, nor does it mean staying away from the crowd or living somewhere above the clouds in a world that common mortals never see.

Wisdom is rather a collection of attitudes called virtues. Virtues are things like gratefulness, patience, solidarity, compassion, curiosity, awareness and such.

An attitude is a habit of our brain. It is a kind of algorithm, an automatic thought pattern.

Our brain constantly changes, grows, and reorganizes its structure and its connections in response to what we hear and experience. Learning is nothing but the evolution of these connections in our brain.

Virtues and vices

You need to practice the virtues you want to have because your brain is like a garden where all kinds of habits grow.

There are habits of your brain that you usually prefer to not have. Attitudes like hatred, egoism, jealousy, indifference, and such. These are called vices. They are an obstacle to “a life full of joy and meaning”.

Don’t misunderstand me here: I’m not trying to make an absolute universal classification of virtues and vices. There are situations where too much compassion is not good, or where a balanced egoism is good. Wisdom lies beyond human reason, it is more complex that what can formulated in words.

Repetition matters

Learning something unfamiliar may feel difficult at first, because the neural pathway is still weak. But every time you study, practise, remember, or repeat the activity, that pathway becomes stronger and more efficient. Gradually, what once required great concentration begins to feel easier and more natural.

This is why repetition matters. Whether you are learning a language, preparing for an exam, developing a healthy habit, or changing an emotional response, every sincere repetition helps reshape the brain.

Your brain is not fixed. Your habits are not your permanent identity. With awareness, patience, and consistent practice, you can create new patterns of thinking, feeling, and living.