The Difference Between Smart and Wise

March 3rd, 2008

Editor’s Note: The following article is a guest post from Akemi Gaines of Yes To Me.

Ever since we were in school – or even before that – we’ve been judged whether we are smart or not. And we have so internalized this judgment system that we apply it to others and to ourselves all the time. Is he smart enough to do that? I have a question about this, but maybe I shouldn’t ask – everyone else looks smart, and I hate to appear dumb. . . and so on. It’s almost automatic. But, I dare ask you, is being smart that important? If so, how smart do we need to be? How much knowledge, what kind of education and degree, what score of IQ or other test scores, do we need to be smart? Will smartness lead to success and happiness?

I am not going to get away saying, “Smart is a relative measure. And it doesn’t matter how smart you are, you are precious just the way you are.” This statement is TRUE, but it is still missing critical points. The missing point is not really understanding what smart is and its limitations.

Smart is about individual person’s knowledge, his or her ability to learn and understand the knowledge, and their ability to utilize the knowledge. So smart people seek knowledge – they go to college, or even graduate school and other forms of higher education. While such effort is respectable and we need to appreciate their contribution to our society’s pool of knowledge, I see the innate limitations of being smart this way. And this is why smart people may be successful but not necessarily happy.

Smart people, being so – am I over-using this word? — smart, often miss the wisdom that is readily available to everyone. Smart people seek knowledge in books and from other smart people, knowledge that is outside of themselves. Because they are so used to seeking it outside of themselves, they often forget there is infinite wisdom within themselves. Yes, there is infinite wisdom within us. In other words, the infinite intelligence (some people call this God) is available to anyone and everyone, and the gateway is within us.

When I was getting divorced, I heard another woman in our support group say, “I was always very smart, and I knew how to choose the right man to get married. I had a list of qualities that I expected in a man, who will make a good husband, and in the future, a good father, and a big success in his profession. I found the man who had everything in my list. If I was willing to listen to my little voice from within, I wouldn’t have married him, and so I wouldn’t be here, but I was smart and I knew he was a good catch. So I married him.” Lesson learned. Her inner voice, which had no theory, no proof, was right.

Smart is good. Smart people contribute to the advance of science and technology. We owe our modern convenient lifestyle to smart people. It is good to work hard at school and to keep learning, and I hope you enjoy learning. But please know the difference between smart and wise. The difference of individual smart and wisdom that comes from our Higher Self.

So how do we access wisdom and become wiser? The two approaches are:

1. Have some quiet time and listen within. Better yet, meditate.
   You already have access to the vast wisdom. You just listen and it comes to you. When it comes, please trust it, even if your smart may argue against it. Take some time, and it will be clear to you which way to choose – the way your smart shows or the way your inner voice indicates. Meditation is a powerful way to improve this inner listening skill.
   
   
2. Talk with the wise person in your life.
   Your grandparent, who had little formal education, may know better than your peer with a doctorate degree. Someone who cares for you yet somewhat detached from you is good. They can represent the big wisdom, and help you to draw from your own inner well of wisdom.

The wisdom of our Higher Self, the infinite intelligence, is so huge that when you know how to draw from it, it hardly matters whether you are smart or not, especially when it comes to life’s fulfillment. Your smart may be useful in certain situations in life, like at work, but don’t rely solely on your smart. There is something far bigger.

Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.
– Tao Te Ching (Translated by Stephen Mitchell)

Thank you, Andrea, for the honor of contributing to Empowered Soul.

My new blog, Yes to Me, is for tomorrow’s successful entrepreneurs. Business is the kind of area where knowledge and skills are valued, sometimes at the expense of inner wisdom. However, I believe business is an expression of ourselves and we are more successful when we are in it mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Please check my blog to read unique articles on entrepreneurship.

Akemi Gaines
Yes to Me