What I’ve Learned In One Minute…

Hi friend,

I’ve been thinking a lot about wisdom lately — when we seek it, when it finds us, and why it almost always hurts.

Timothy Keller writes that wisdom is pain processed through reflection. That line stayed with me. Because the older I get, the more I see that wisdom isn’t just knowledge — it’s knowledge that’s been through something. It’s the mix of pain, reflection, and experience that eventually becomes perspective.

When I look back on the last few years — the friendships that ended, the seasons that drained me, the mistakes I keep replaying — I see a pattern. Every “tough pill to swallow” carried a small piece of wisdom inside it. But the strange thing is, I couldn’t see it at the time. And honestly, I still struggle with some of those past experiences today — even though I know they were necessary for my character.

I think about how many of us are told “it’ll make sense later,” but later can feel like forever. Wisdom always seems to show up with a delay. Maybe that’s part of its design — it needs space, time, and a little heartbreak to mature.

People have given me great advice before, but unless I was seeking it, it didn’t sink in. It just became background noise. And I’ve done the same to others — shared lessons I learned the hard way, only to watch the words slide right past them. Maybe they had to touch the fire first. Maybe I did too.

It makes me wonder — how much pain should we actually protect people from? Should we tell them what’s coming, or let them find their own timing? Because sometimes the truth doesn’t help until the pain has already done its work.

Even in my faith, I notice it. I’ll read a verse filled with meaning, but it doesn’t move me until life puts me in a situation where I need it. Until then, it’s just words. Maybe that’s how we all are — we don’t really hear truth until it meets our experience. And maybe that’s the quiet lesson in all this: wisdom isn’t something we collect like notes or quotes. It’s something that slowly takes shape as life breaks and rebuilds us.

Still, part of me wonders if that’s the mercy of it all — that wisdom doesn’t rush. It waits, patiently, until we’re ready to understand.

TL;DR

Wisdom rarely arrives when we want it to. It often comes wrapped in pain, regret, or delay — showing up only after we’ve lived through what it was trying to warn us about. Advice means little until experience gives it context, and sometimes the kindest thing life does is let us learn the hard way

Wins & Lessons

Win: I decided to take a break from running for a bit. As much as I was mentally ready, my body clearly wasn’t — I slept over 10 hours that night. Focusing on recovery is the real key to growth.

Lesson: I’ve realised I tend to think about the same 3–5 people throughout my day — when I make my coffee, water the plants at work, or walk home. In those small moments, I either call them or take a second to pray for them.

Flavoured water bangs. Sparkling water might just be the key to most of my problems.

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QUESTION FOR YOUR THOUGHTS (QFYT)

Do you think wisdom is something we can seek, or does it have to find us first?

That’s this week’s What I’ve Learned Wednesdays. I’d love to hear what you’re taking away from it — sometimes your reflections teach me as much as the writing does.

I’ll also be sharing my answers and thoughts on the questions you send in. You can drop a comment on each issue or message me directly — I’ll feature my response right here.

In a bit,

Motheo

PS. I’ve been working on something special — a retrospective-based study timetable designed to help you focus on what you actually need to revise, not just what’s on your list. I’ll be giving exclusive early access to newsletter readers before it goes public. Keep an eye out in the coming issues.