Applying Information
We are undoubtedly the best-informed people who have ever inhabited planet Earth. Most of us carry a handheld device at all times that gives us access to untold storehouses of information. Being informed is always better than being uninformed, but education does not equal wisdom.
Education is the process of acquiring information. Wisdom is the process of applying that information in the real world in meaningful ways. If the smoke detector alarm goes off in your home or office, you have received some vital information. However, if you choose to ignore it, you are educated or informed, but not wise. People who do not apply knowledge are no better off than people who don’t have the knowledge.
There are three levels of information that we all receive. They are general information, personal information, and immediate information. General information might tell us that nicotine may be harmful to our health. This information has been readily available and widely disseminated for a generation.
Personal information would include the thought that nicotine is bad for me, and maybe I should quit smoking. Everyone who has opened a pack of cigarettes and seen the warning label on the side has received this personal information.
Immediate information comes into play when we put it into action. For example, realizing that nicotine is bad for me, I’m putting out my cigarette and taking steps to quit smoking.
We live in a world that when it’s all said and done, there’s a lot said and very little done. Generally speaking, we don’t fail because we don’t know what to do. We fail because we don’t do what we know. Most of us have the knowledge and resources to vastly improve our health, personal finances, relationships, education level, and overall happiness; but sometimes we get so busy making a living that we forget to make a life.
Google has become one of the largest companies in the world by helping us all to manage information, but if we fail to take the vast information at our fingertips and apply it in our lives, this information is little more than useless trivia. Most of us have enjoyed playing the game Trivial Pursuit as it’s a fun way to test your knowledge against friends and family. In our real lives we need to be engaged not in trivial pursuits but in wisdom pursuits—which is not a game but a real-world quest to gather the knowledge we need and apply it in our lives to become our best selves.
As you go through your day today, seek pertinent information and then apply it.
Today’s the day!