Wisdom – Your Superpower

Most people think wisdom belongs to someone else.

Philosophers. Leaders. Elders. Historical figures. The exceptionally gifted.

But what if wisdom isn’t a title bestowed on a fortunate few? What if it’s a practice available to all of us?

In this episode of The NoCryZone, Jim Best challenges the common belief that wisdom is rare, unattainable, or reserved for the highly accomplished. Instead, he explores how wisdom often appears in ordinary moments and everyday decisions: choosing patience over irritation, listening before judging, thinking before reacting, and asking better questions.

Jim introduces a powerful idea: to the wise, all moments matter. While many people wait for life’s big opportunities, the wise understand that character, momentum, relationships, and self-image are shaped through countless small choices made every day.

In this practical and encouraging conversation, you’ll discover: 

• Why wisdom is more behavior than title 

• How wise choices compound over time 

• The simple question that can improve almost any situation 

• Why wisdom may be one of the most accessible superpowers you already possess

If you’ve ever assumed that wisdom was something other people had, this episode may change your perspective—and perhaps your life.

Aspire. Come Upwards with Us™

This week's featured song is "Earlier That Week" by Brazen Candor.

Follow Jim Best at UpwardsBest to listen, learn, explore, and stay connected to daily insights for positive change that’s both doable and durable.

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The NoCryZone is an UpwardsBest endeavor, produced by BestStoryAlive, LLC.

All rights proactively reserved.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:24

And some event and deluxe who will delight sometime earlier than we welcome back to the No Cry Zone.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Positive change that is doable and durable. I'm Jim Best, your friendly host. I need first to start with two quick reminders. First, Brazen Kandor's album will be available on the Upwords Best website, as well as all the other major music sources on June 5th. Many of you have pre-ordered it. That is very much appreciated. I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. For the rest of you, get on it. We've been getting a lot of positive feedback on a recently published ebook observations. Hard-earned wisdom from a cranky old so-and-so. Today I want to talk about something that is definitely not an everyday topic. Wisdom. Not because I think most people consider themselves wise. In fact, that's part of the problem. Most of us think wisdom belongs to somebody else. We think of famous philosophers Socrates, Aristotle, respected elders, successful leaders, or perhaps a historical figure like Solomon. We think wisdom is something rare, something bestowed, something recognized, something proclaimed, something that arrives after decades of experience. And because of that, many people will never consider the possibility that they themselves might be capable of acting wisely. Let's start with a simple observation. Raise your hand if someone recently looked at you and said you are wise. Yeah, me neither. It's just not a compliment that gets tossed out often. And think about it. I'm sure your parents or teachers never called you wise. That's just not something that happens. And at work, from a boss, from a coworker, yeah, that's not gonna happen either. And from a friend? Not likely. In fact, much friendship seems to be based on the willingness to look away or ignore those times when we are definitely not acting wisely. And from a love interest? Not hardly. I gotta be honest with you here. Transactionally, that is way too much leverage to give up, isn't it? Yet that doesn't mean you've never acted with wisdom. In fact, I suspect you've acted wisely many times. You simply didn't label it or look at it that way. When you paused before saying something hurtful, that's living with wisdom. When you listened before judging, that too was wisdom. When you admitted you were wrong, that's wisdom. When you chose patience over impulsiveness, that was wisdom. When you spent money carefully, when you encouraged someone, when you decided to think before reacting. When you walked away from a bad decision, those are all examples of wisdom in action, wisdom in everyday life. Living with wisdom. Perhaps wisdom is less about possessing a title and more about making choices. Most people imagine wisdom as a permanent characteristic. I prefer to think of it as a practice. A wise person is not someone who is always wise, they make mistakes too. A wise person is someone who consistently strives to act wisely or to live with wisdom. That distinction matters. Because if wisdom is a title, few people qualify. But if wisdom is a behavior, every one of us has access to it. And that brings us to a powerful idea. To the wise, all moments matter. And this is a different way of looking at a topic such as time management. It's really more practically and even more fun to look at it as making all moments matter, and that's living with wisdom. Most people agree that some moments matter, a wedding matters, a graduation matters. We celebrate those things, don't we? A difficult conversation matters, a healthy diagnosis matters. But the wise understand something deeper. All moments matter. Not because every moment is dramatic, not because every moment becomes a memory, but because every moment influences who are we becoming. The wise understand that life is built moment by moment. Just think, it's the moment you choose gratitude, the moment you choose restraint, the moment you choose courage, the moment you choose effort, the moment you choose kindness, the moment you choose not to give up. Those moments rarely make headlines, do they? Nobody applauds them, nobody creates an award for them, yet they shape your future, they shape your life. This is one reason momentum matters so much, and why we focus on perpetual momentum. That formula, mindset, decision, action, habit. Momentum is not built during extraordinary moments. Momentum is built during ordinary times. The workout you almost skipped, but chose to do. The phone call you almost didn't make. The page you almost didn't read. The apology you almost didn't make. The encouragement you almost didn't give. The wise recognize that these small moments accumulate. They compound. They matter because over time they become character. And that's where living with wisdom just might become your superpower. How? We'll cover that just after the break. For now, enjoy this new song by Brazen Candor. It's called Earlier That Week. Earlier that week.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

Somehow early the battle. Much early the battle.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

Hi, welcome back. We're talking about wisdom and how, though it seems elusive, almost unattainable for the vast majority of us, the truth is we all live with wisdom, and there's an enormous and valuable opportunity to dramatically improve our lives simply by looking for more opportunities to live with wisdom. One reason wisdom often goes unnoticed is because it doesn't announce itself, does it? Foolishness is loud. Wisdom is frequently quiet, understated. Foolishness seeks attention. Wisdom seeks effectiveness. Foolishness reacts. Wisdom reflects. Wisdom responds. Foolishness pursues immediate gratification. Wisdom considers consequences. Many people are waiting to become wise. The wiser approach is to begin acting wisely today. Because wisdom develops through use. Just as muscles develop through exercise, just as confidence develops through effective action, just as momentum develops through habits. Wisdom develops through repeated wise choices. And here's something encouraging. You don't need to solve the world's problems. We're not waiting on you to do that. You do not need extraordinary intelligence. You do not need decades of experience either. You simply need to ask this question. What would be the wise thing to do here? That question can change everything. What would be the wise thing to say? What would be the wise thing to spend? What would be the wise thing to believe? What would be the wise thing to prioritize? What would be the wise thing to ignore? What would be the wise thing to do next? Wisdom often enters our lives through questions long before it enters through answers. The more often you ask those questions, the more often wisdom appears. And eventually something remarkable happens. People begin to trust your judgment. They seek your perspective, they welcome your presence, they notice your consistency, they appreciate your poise. Not because you claim to be wise, not because you were crowned wise, but because wisdom became visible through your actions. That's how wisdom works. It is revealed through behavior, not declared through titles. So if you've been waiting for someone to call you wise before acting wisely, stop waiting. Act wisely now. Choose patience. Choose thoughtfulness. Choose discernment. Choose kindness. Choose consideration. Choose courage. Choose perspective. Because wisdom is not reserved for a select few, is it? It's available to all who practice it. And perhaps the greatest wisdom of all is recognizing that this moment matters. Not just the big moments, not just the celebrated moments, this moment. The one you and I are living right now. To the wise, all moments matter. And this one does too. Aspire. Come upwards with us. Track me daily at Upwards Best and join me again next week in the No Cry Zone. Have a great week.