Here's some upbeat news: Studies indicate that wisdom and happiness increase with age. That's refreshing, isn't it?!! This time of life is frequently referred to as "emotional and cognitive stability". It's something of a paradox, since an older person finds the brain wanting to "go go go" while the body wants to go "slow slow slow". Entering one's 70s and 80s also brings an abundance of social and emotional knowledge, qualities generally defined as wisdom.
According to Fredda Blanchard-Fields of the Georgia Institute of Technology, seniors acquire a feel, an enhanced sense of knowing right from wrong, and therefore a way to make sound life decisions. So what’s the recipe for wisdom? Researchers note that life experience is necessary: raising a family, navigating a career and experiencing love, loss, success and failure. Happy or sad as life can be, it educates people.
In summary, wisdom comes from life experiences, which may explain why some of the people we look to for guidance are rarely youngsters! Knowing that one has successfully navigated a plethora of life experiences is very satisfying. And not something you'll learn from a book.
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