What is wisdom?

Have you ever stopped to consider where your wisdom comes from?

As a leadership coach working across all levels - from the C-suite to emerging leaders - I talk about wisdom a lot.

It’s one of those topics that feels obvious in practice (we usually know when wisdom is speaking), but when you try to trace its origin, things get fascinating. And wonderfully complex.

For me, exploring wisdom is a passion. I love it because, unlike math, there’s no single right or wrong answer.

Wisdom is personal, embodied, intuitive and beautifully nuanced. So I thought I’d share a few thoughts with you about what I call wisdom centers. These are the places within and around us that hold different types of knowing.

Here are some key ones:

1. Wisdom from the The Gut:

This is the deep, instinctive knowing that sits in your belly. It’s not just a metaphor - your gut contains approximately 100 to 500 millionneurons, earning it the name “the second brain.” This kind of wisdom often shows up as a sense of certainty or unease - before your mind has even caught up. It’s primal, protective, and powerfully honest.

2. Wisdom from the Heart:

This wisdom doesn’t just whisper; it moves you. It’s the surge of emotion that can bring tears, joy, or an unshakable call to action. Heart wisdom reveals what really matters, what feels right, and when something needs to change. It’s often the moral compass in our leadership and in our lives.

3. Wisdom from Vision and Intuition (The Third Eye):

Some wisdom arrives in dreams, symbols, or flashes of insight. It lives between the eyebrows, in what many traditions call the “third eye.” If you practice mindfulness or yoga, you’ve likely touched this space. This is the realm of intuition - where you sense what isn’t yet visible, and hold a vision for what could be.

4. Wisdom from the Creative Mind:

This one’s often misidentified as intellect. But the wisdom I’m talking about isn’t simply book-smart. It’s the kind that emerges when the right side of the brain is alive - when creativity, imagination, and emotion come into play.

Picture a world without storytelling, innovation, or empathy. Now thank your brain for its role in weaving these essential human gifts into your leadership and decision-making.

5. Wisdom from the Field (The Space Around Us):

This is one of my favourite wisdom centers to explore. There’s intelligence in the space around us - in the energy of a room, in nature, in the field of connection we all share. When we tune into this, our instincts wake up and we feel alive.

We might sense danger or dullness - or we might catch a feeling of joy, inspiration, or potential. Perhaps it’s a bird song, a sudden silence, or distant laughter that lights a spark. This kind of wisdom reminds us we’re part of something greater. It invites imagination and possibility to the table.

I could keep going, but I’ll pause here. I’d love to know:

Where does your wisdom live? What centers do you draw from most?

Send us your thoughts, questions, or reflections. We love hearing from curious minds and fellow explorers of the inner world. If you’d like to explore this more send me a message, as I can tell you about our new wisdom school.