Maturity doesn’t come with age It comes with experiences. — Anamika
Let’s define what experience is?
According to the Cambridge dictionary: “(the process of getting) knowledge or skill from doing, seeing, or feeling things.”
Mariam dictionary: “the process of doing and seeing things and of having things happen to you”.
Ursula Staudinger, professor director at the Columbia Aging Center Hoffingtonpost “We tend to think all senior citizens must be wise — it’s one of the few positive old-age stereotypes. But it’s not true. In fact, the notion that all we have to do is wait in order to become wise couldn’t be further from reality. We actually have to work hard to become wise. We must remain open to new experiences and actively seek new challenges — and that only becomes harder as the years go by.”
We need to understand that age does not mean you have more experience. Definitely, you are adding more time to your age, but what about the adventures to bring more wisdom.
My experience
There is a possibility that a 28 years old may have more experience than 68 years old. Experiences help you identify the problem give you more wisdom and improve your critical thinking to solve problems.
I am also a firm believer that not every experience is equal. For example, if I remove just 3 experiences from my life, I will even not be able to write on this platform. Those experiences shaped me into what I am today.
I grew up in a tiny village where no one ever went to school after 8th grade. I was the lucky one. Now with the advent of technology, the situation is completely different.
I almost ask why our society always attaches experience with the age factor? A person may have grey hair, but it does not mean they have been on more adventures than someone younger than them.
I saw multiple times people jump right to the conclusion that if someone is old, that one is the right person to get some wisdom, especially in south Asian culture. I can talk about this because I spent 26 years growing up in a small village where an older man solved all the problems.
Sometimes, I literally thought that my grandmother had more wisdom than that guy. The way she handled complex family situations. There was a possibility that a new person could bring a different perspective to solve the problem, but no one absolutely no one ever gives attention to a young person. So how to wiser?
Challenge your inquisitiveness
Start asking others’ opinions based on what you think. Then share your thoughts based on your experiences. That’s wisdom. Like the professor, Satudinger says, “use it or lose it” when someone asks how to acquire experiences.
You can always start to ask friends and family if you are reluctant to ask from strangers. Because sometimes it’s tough to give your opinion, especially when someone is against it.
My $0.02:
I always think that in this digital world, if you have any questions and would like to reach out to someone for their opinion. Simply reach out to what you’re thinking; they are always there to help you.
For example, if I am looking for someone’s opinion and think that person has way more knowledge, wisdom, and experience than me, I simply reach out over Linkedin. People are always happy to help you.
Thank you for reading and keep gaining more experiences in life.
