We are all different in many ways. We hear this all of the time. One of the more subtle differences between individuals is what they do with their knowledge. I find that people do one of four things with their knowledge:
- They store it and call on it in conversation simply to help someone understand something better.
- They use it in conversation to make themselves feel good by demonstrating that they know more than the next person.
- They look for more, just for the sake of knowing more. Learning new things for the sake of learning is fun to people in this group. They can then use this new knowledge to feed either 1 or 2 listed above or simply be happy that they learned something new.
- They use their knowledge to question and dig for what they don’t know or do not yet understand. This then leads to further search, to acquire or confirm their beliefs, as they try to accomplish something of substance in the world. It is the only path that leads to both change and tangible results.
No matter how they use their knowledge, you can consider these types of people that demonstrate knowledge in some way as being smart and wise. In many cases, they could be viewed as sincere and conscientious when giving help. If too much of number two occurs, they begin to become burdensome, appear insincere and less trusted as their selfishness and ego needs more praise & adoration to continue over time.
People who tend to be in groups 1-3 are simply happy with the knowledge they have.
Number four is quite rare in individuals. Its counterintuitive to the appearance of having knowledge. These people are the doers, those that appear to create results and realize their goals. They are always searching for what they don’t know and do not stop at only what they know. They continually look to expand their understanding, never being content with what they know today. They are not happy with the knowledge they have because they either know or sense that it is incomplete.
Number four requries both curiosity and effort. It’s less efficient, in that sometimes, what new knowledge you receive will end up not helping you in your current situation. But its the power of compare and contrast the reality you face versus the knowledge that you currently have where this approach is most effective.
Few do this because it’s hard. It takes time. Not sure what you will find. Is it really worth my time?
So what you do with your knowledge can make all the difference in the world once you better understand who you are, where you want to go and how you currently use it.