“A new study shows that while wise people tend to be more satisfied with their lives, wisdom also works to strengthen resilience and mastery to reduce stress and enable a person to better handle late-life adversity and aging-related losses.

Wisdom was assessed using a three-dimensional model Ardelt developed, which incorporates cognitive, reflective and compassionate dimensions—an interest in life’s deeper meaning and acceptance of life’s uncertainties; being able to perceive events from multiple perspectives; and having sympathetic love and compassion for others.

Resiliency was defined as older adults’ perceived ability to bounce back after adversity and their sense of mastery or control over their environment, life and future.

Not everyone gets wiser as they get older, Ardelt said. “A person has to be interested in the deeper meaning of life, open to perceiving things from different perspectives and have an intellectual humility about the fact that there is so much more to know. The really important part is learning from experiences and not everybody is learning from their experiences.”

“The findings of this research suggest that coping skills, focusing on silver linings during stressful events while trying to learn from the experience, and feeling in control of one’s life might be possible pathways from wisdom to well-being through a reduction in stress.”

Summary: Wisdom helps strengthen resilience and mastery to reduce stress and increase well-being, improving a person’s ability to better handle later-life adversity and age-related loss.

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