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To be wise, we must accumulate knowledge and experiences. Knowledge is gained through education and instruction, while experience is gained from facing situations, which can result in successes or failures. And a sure outcome, whether it’s success or failure, is that we will learn, which will make us wiser. But if we learn from failures, as well as from successes, how does man prove, over and over again, that he is the only “animal” who makes the same mistake twice? Well, “erring is human”… they say. Are we then justifying that we can repeat a mistake two and three times? Or do we do it because we’re stubborn in trying to prove – to ourselves or to someone else – that whatever we assume is correct?

I think most of us will agree to say that learning from one’s own experience is more powerful than learning from the experience of others. However, all of this involves investing a good amount of time, a precious resource we don’t have… let alone to waste it. Therefore, we should never underestimate the knowledge accumulated by others, especially those who have lived longer than us and who can know more than us. “Wiser is the devil, not for being devil, but for being old,” is an ancient popular saying, which might well be true, considering that the devil has been around for a long, long time.

To think that we know everything, or that we know more than everybody else, is simply not to be humble enough to accept that this is not really true and that we can learn from others who have already learned, lived and experienced more than we have. And until this happens, we won’t ask for or listen to advice, and we would have wasted precious time… even gone through one or two tribulations.

“If you listen to advise and are willing to learn, one day you will be wise too.“

Proverbs 19:20

There is another popular saying: “The one who doesn’t hear advice will not reach old age.” Well, maybe we’ll get old, but in what condition, counting the many mistakes and failures that we will make along the way? Not asking for or listening to advice is just a proud and unjustified attitude. And it’s something that, in most cases, costs nothing and it is readily available. Of course, we must carefully choose whom to ask for advice. We can start asking our parents, teachers, and mentors but there are several others out there willing to give you one, if you ask them.

“Walk with the wise, and you become wise, but the companions of fools fares badly.“

Proverbs 13:20

“Get advice”

Fourth Principle of Sicamor

Book “The Principles of Sicamor”

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