The Best: Part 1Sýnishorn

Prayer: Lord, help me to see that I do not know all I need to know. And provide me with the humility to seek your wisdom that should direct my life.

Just Enough to be Dangerous

A phrase I heard several years ago struck me: “He knows just enough to be dangerous.” The comment was made about a high school kid trying to help fix a wall by replacing the sheetrock. Suffice to say, the kid’s work was shoddy at best, but he was determined.

In 1999 two social psychologists, David Dunning and Justin Kruger, published a study titled, “Unskilled and Unaware of It: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments.” In the study, they found that people with little competence regularly overestimate their abilities. In other words, people without much knowledge think they actually know a lot. Conversely, they found that people with more knowledge in a particular field actually underestimate their competency. Fascinating!

I see this in myself all the time. I can overestimate my ability in just about anything before I try it. I knew I would be a great skier before I ever stepped on a slope. At 28 I finally had the chance to prove myself. After two days on the bunny slopes learning how to stop via running into small children, I finally admitted I needed help. Ski instruction is a gift of God! 

How often do you overestimate your skill in navigating life? Wikipedia has made us “wiki smart”, but perhaps not actually wise. Access to an abundance of information often makes us just smart enough to be dangerous. Wisdom requires time and dedication to acquire. To become wise, we must commit ourselves to the lifelong task of gaining and growing in wisdom. Only then we can gain skill and actual competence in living. 

Questions to Ask Yourself:

1. Am I trusting in my own level of understanding when making decisions in life, or do I seek advice from people with wisdom and experience beyond me?
2. When was the last time I changed my mind or re-worked a personal plan based on the input of good advice?

What’s Next? 

1. Write out 2 or 3 areas of life where you would like to grow. These areas might include spiritual, financial, relational, or others.
2. Who are spiritual mentors you can find to help give you wisdom in these areas? Make a list of their names and pray about contacting them to set up a lunch or coffee to ask for advice.