Hi Friends,

Wisdom is a gift. 🎁

My personal favorite way to gain wisdom is with reading. For 2021, my goal has been to read/listen to one book a week. That way I am exposed to new information - loads of information and stories - so that I can gain new insights into problems and consider additional possible solutions.

It's been a blast.

Though, I do have to keep one important thing in mind.

Reading is only a part of wisdom.

Life experience, with deep reflection, is necessary to grow in wisdom. Reading is only knowledge until it's applied to life experiences, life decisions, and deep reflection.

So, here is the method...

10 Scenarios

Let's say, you are trying to make a life decision about what you should do for your next steps for work: Create a list of 5-10 scenarios of different options. For instance,

• Imagine that you become an engineer who worked crazy hours each week, seeking a promotion... Go!
• Imagine that you managed your life with a simple job and made sure the bills were covered, but late in the evening you worked on a project you absolutely loved from 8 pm-12 am... Go!
• Imagine that you gave up the lifestyle you have for a simple bedroom you rent and became a writer for the next 365 days... Go!
• Imagine that you got married (or had another child or had more people in your home) and devoted more time to invest in them... Go!
• Imagine that you moved to a new country with your family and started your life over... Go!

All these scenarios - even though most of them may not even be options helps in two ways:

1. It helps remove ourselves from the box we 'think' we have to live in and
2. It also helps uncover if there are any common themes between the different plot lines and/or any overlooked themes that you actually find really important.

In any case, I find that this makes deciding easier rather than tougher - since most of this is a process of uncovering what's already inside of you, rather than weighing a pro/con for a career path, a large purchase, or something similar.

What decision has been sitting in your mind these past few weeks? Have you written about it? Create a few scenarios and see what comes about...

My favorite finds this week

• Video: 3 Presidents Cheering on Our New President | A lot changed in America this past week. It was encouraging to see a few former presidents from both sides cheering our new leader during the inauguration.
• New Book: When Breathe Becomes Air (link) | Oh, this book is a wonderful read. Paul Kalanithi was in his sixth year of residency becoming a neurosurgeon when he was diagnosed with cancer. He talks about his relationship with his wife, his work, and his life-changing through the ups and downs of cancer. A wonderful, fairly short book worth reading. A quote below...
• Quote from the book above... this is Paul talking about his process of dealing with illness as now a patient when he had come to know himself so much more as a doctor: "The way forward would seem obvious, if only I knew how many months or years I had left. Tell me three months, I’d spend time with family. Tell me one year, I’d write a book. Give me ten years, I’d get back to treating diseases. The truth that you live one day at a time didn’t help: What was I supposed to do with that day?"
• Quote: And just because I loved it so much, here is another great quote from Paul, "The physician’s duty is not to stave off death or return patients to their old lives, but to take into our arms a patient and family whose lives have disintegrated and work until they can stand back up and face, and make sense of, their own existence.

All in,

David

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By David Iskander

I'm David, a search specialist, and beginner YouTuber from Orange County, CA. My motto is: Whatever you do, do it beautifully. I enjoy making YouTube videos about website design, tech, productivity, and faith.