You don’t need to know everything, pause, take a deep breathe, and don’t be too hard on yourself. Sometimes the beauty in knowing something arrives after we experience the beauty of learning. Have things to look forward to in life, and look forward to those more confident moments in time, like preparing for a speech, or a presentation, think about the moments you have time to dedicate yourself to bigger projects in life, look forward to life, don’t be intimidated by it.

Wonder is a difficult term to define, but it plays a big role in the learning process. Including all those philosophical moments when we think about life, and all those moments in meditation clearing our minds, of all that rumination tedious perfectionists just can’t let go of, always hard on themselves. Wonder is kind of like faith, a belief in some better destination or point of arrival, after we take several steps, toward eliminating that negative thinking, and open up space in our minds for new ways of thinking, and assembling our thoughts. A lot of mental health is about how you assemble your thoughts, not just let your mind rule you, being able to catch things and change that thinking.

According to awaldorfjourney.com:

Wonder is an inner desire to learn that awaits reality in order to be awakened. [1]

• The scope of wonder is greater than that of curiosity.
• Wonder is the center of all motivation and action in the child.
• Wonder is what makes life genuinely personal.
• Beauty is what triggers wonder.

So what are the ways we can try to experience more of a sense of wonder in our lives? [2]

• Experiences of nature.
• More observation, less explanation.
• Pay attention to the small details.
• Look for connections between things, especially things students already know and things they’re learning. (Example: the elements)

In an article by mindful.org, they remind us that:

“Experiencing everyday wonder can help us see that we’re part of something bigger. Science shows that this exquisite emotion can quiet our inner critic, reduce stress, loneliness, and physical distress, and bring a sense of expanded time, perspective, and connection.” [3]

In  psychologytoday.com they describe wonder as stemming from early philosophy:

“In the Metaphysics, Aristotle surmises that it must have been wonder that led the first philosophers to philosophy, since puzzled people think of themselves as ignorant and turn to philosophy to escape from their ignorance.” [4]

Wonder is the place where things begin and push us to expand our ways of thinking beyond just the big picture, we can’t always crunch everything down into a summary of Dummies book, but we also shouldn’t be intimidated by the process of allowing our minds to explore other languages of thinking, who knows we might eventually outgrow old ways of thinking. So having the ability to wonder enables you to be “excited by grand vistas, natural phenomena, human intellectual and physical feats, and extraordinary facts and figures, among others.” [5] Wonder is the stuff that “draws us out of ourselves, and reconnects us with something much greater than our routine.”

So protect your sense of wonder. Hrb.org reminds us that “As we enter a transitional stage after a year of trauma and strain, more than ever we need ways to refresh our energies, calm our anxieties, and nurse our well-being.” [6]

Reference:

[1] https://www.awaldorfjourney.com/2021/08/the-importance-of-wonder/

[2] https://www.awaldorfjourney.com/2021/08/the-importance-of-wonder/

[3] https://www.mindful.org/the-science-of-wonder/

[4] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201412/a-study-of-wonder

[5] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201412/a-study-of-wonder

[6] https://hbr.org/2021/08/why-you-need-to-protect-your-sense-of-wonder-especially-now