Insight doesn't mean knowing everything

A perceptive person is immediately recognizable . They exude vivacity, energy, and curiosity. They act as if their thoughts were constantly racing , constantly searching for something to grasp before others. Perspicacity is certainly a quality, very useful for navigating a complex world and also for being ahead of the curve where seeing things before others can bring enormous advantages.

PERSPECTIVE

But like all human qualities, insight also carries the risk of waste . We tell you this through the words of one of the greatest writers of the nineteenth century, Mary Ann Evans , who signed her books with the male pseudonym George Eliot . With an autobiographical edge and a touch of pure literature, Evans describes the risk of wasting insight as follows: "There is nothing more deceptive than insight if it happens to take the wrong track. That insight which believes that men always act and speak with a definite purpose is certainly destined to waste its energy in chasing an imaginary prey."

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HOW TO BE INSIGHTFUL

Let's return for a moment to the characteristics of the perceptive person. They certainly have a higher-than-average level of intelligence , which allows them to base their reasoning on intuition, on a quick judgment that others cannot afford. Perspicacity, while indicative of speed and quickness, does not, however, exclude the time needed to broaden the horizon of our vision , to delve deeper into people and things.

And this is also contained in the etymology of the word, which derives from the Latin perspicax-acis (sharp gaze) and perspicere (to look within, to observe carefully). So if you consider yourself a perceptive person, this doesn't mean you should feel compelled to make hasty judgments , to fall in love with a belief that excludes any possibility of reconsideration, even in the face of evidence (this is the "wrong track" Eliot speaks of).

BENEFITS INSIGHT

The long-term perspective of perspicacity encompasses a keenness of evaluation that delves, delves, and considers every angle of a person or circumstance, ultimately allowing us to draw conclusions. That is, it allows us to act, resolving facts, situations, and problems. From this perspective, a perspicacious person is one who , unlike the procrastinator , does not waste his intelligence and uses it constructively: few words and many actions.

Intelligence, intuition, acuity, speed, energy. All the ingredients of insight: so where does the root of its waste come from? And how can we avoid it? Following Evans's reasoning, insight takes a wrong turn when, fueled by presumption and narcissism , we feel capable of expressing a conviction about others. Or, more precisely, about why others act in a certain way. Thus, insight is no longer a thorough, cautious gaze, free from any prejudice along its path. It becomes an a priori judgment, a mechanism we can all master.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING INSIGHTFUL

To avoid the distortion of insight and its irremediable waste, we have some preventive weapons, which we can deploy very simply. The first: always cultivate doubts , and don't entrench yourself in certainties. If you start with this premise, and you are insightful, it becomes very unlikely that you will take "the wrong path." Doubt , by its nature, is a path that leads to the truth, if we know how to travel it with patience. The second tool: humility . We absolutely need it, especially if we have been fortunate enough to receive a good dose of intelligence. Often, and this is another waste, it is precisely intelligent people, by nature insightful, who slip through the quicksand of presumption and end up on the ground of arrogance. They even go so far as to wonder whether it wouldn't be more convenient, in order to live better and in greater harmony with others, to be born stupid. Third: avoid judgments . But why in the world do we have such a need to judge others? Doesn't life seem easier, and therefore more pleasant, if we grasp others' qualities and try to eclipse their flaws? Judging people, unless we are called by a professional duty to exercise it, is still a mistake and an act of vanity. The reason is simple, and we should repeat it frequently in front of the mirror: I am no one to judge . This doesn't mean we shouldn't have opinions, even about people's characteristics. Preferring some over others. Choosing our traveling companions. The important thing is not to put ourselves on a pedestal of judgment, wasting our insight chasing—in Evans's words again—"an imaginary prey," fabricated by our imagination, our prejudice, and perhaps by that resentment we harbor in our hearts rather than our heads. Finally, let's never forget that insight is an energy , and as such, it must be used constructively. To move forward, not to remain stuck at the stake of our intelligence and the insights it allows us to have.

PERSPECTIVE FAMOUS QUOTES

• < The heart of the wise gives insight to his mouth, and adds persuasion to his words.> Book of Proverbs, Old Testament

The ability to resolve situations through intuition and speed, typical of perspicacity , still requires a next step: convincing others. And this is where the ability to build relationships comes into play, with humility and patience.

• Francois de La Rochefoucauld

The limit is arrogance. If you understand too soon, you must move on, but also stop before it's too late. Once you've crossed the limit of arrogance , your insight is useless.

• Julian Marias

Insight is strengthened and expanded when we look at life with the optimism of the will.

• <The perceptive person is always surprised at being obtuse> José Ortega y Gasset

Once again, the line becomes blurred: you can be very perceptive, therefore intelligent, but you become obtuse, therefore stupid, if you fail to calibrate this quality. At that point, you are overwhelmed by it.

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