Wisdom is a journey, a time where I discover the means to journey past the wall of my hesitation. Uncertainty makes me waver. Wisdom finds a way through the wobbles of uncertainty and indecision by helping us accept rather than discount our experiences, work through our feelings rather than running from them. Without wisdom we don’t know where to start.
Returning to our wise center, our WiseCore, we are guided onto a path we forgot, set aside, didn’t know it existed. Our wisdom guides us into a place beyond what we imagined, a place of confidence, trust, and conviction.
Where is your WiseCore? We know it and we don’t know we know it. Every one of us has times in our lives when we’ve been wise, taken a stand, let something go, stepped beyond limitations into new possibilities. Every talk I give I ask, “Describe a time when you were wise.” No one hesitates. Faces light up as stories are shared.
Next I ask, “Have you ever been rewarded for cultivating wisdom?” Few say yes. Cultivating wisdom is not part of most of our lives. Wisdom is not part of most performance reviews.
It’s time to start by tapping into and amplifying the wisdom we already know. The results are worth it.
We forget to be faint-hearted when we cultivate wisdom. Shyness or timidity used to shackle our ankles, making it tough to take the risk and step into what we most wanted to do or even make clear requests like, “I’d really like that and I’d like it that way.”
When we take time each day to center in our WiseCore we simply act, speak clearly and in connection with those we’re speaking to. The aliveness of our journey reclaiming wisdom gives us courage, boldness, and self-assurance.
Our willingness and ability to act on that which matters the most grows. This is leadership. When we cultivate our WiseCore first, authentic communication becomes a hallmark of the way we lead.
Where does your wisdom bring you?
One day I asked Peggy Reskin, a graduate in the Next Octave Women’s Leadership Program what happens when she is in her wisdom. Peggy said, “Once on this wisdom road, I’m more me and yet it isn’t about me. It is about what needs attention, where some healing might be needed. It’s about sharing the joy and the privilege of being alive.” Peggy wrote Barefoot Front Runners, a groundbreaking book about women and feminine wisdom from her participation in the program.
What happens when you are in your wisdom? I’d love to know.