My mentor Dr. Jeste recently published his book “Wiser,” which describes wisdom and its role in our happiness. He posits that Wisdom is a potentially modifiable trait with seven primary components: acceptance of diverse perspectives, decisiveness, emotional regulation, prosocial behaviors, self-reflection, social advising, and (to a lesser degree) spirituality. For him, Wisdom is more than the sum of IQ, EQ, and Social Intelligence. His team has developed a 7-question wisdom scale. To determine how wise you are based on the SD-WISE-7, read seven statements- and decide how much you agree with them on a scale of one to five. One reflects “strongly disagree” and five “strongly agree”—and negatively worded statements are reverse-scored.
1. “I tend to postpone making major decisions as long as I can.” (Decisiveness)
2. “I avoid self-reflection.” (Self-reflection)
3. “I avoid situations where I know my help will be needed.” (Prosocial behaviors)
4. “I often don’t know what to tell people when they come to me for advice.” (Social advising)
5. “I remain calm under pressure.” (Emotional regulation)
6. “I enjoy being exposed to diverse viewpoints.” (Acceptance of divergent perspectives)
7. “My spiritual belief gives me inner strength.” (Spirituality)
Dr. Jeste stated, “There are evidence-based interventions to increase specific components of wisdom, which would help reduce loneliness and promote overall well-being.”
- Honest Self-Reflection is a must.
- Enhance Compassion, self-compassion, and Gratitude. Role-play the other side in your mind.
- Avoid impulsivity but own up to your short- and long-term decisions. Your past will teach you a lesson.
- Reach out and diversify your experiences.