How Did Humans Get Smart? Life Is What Happens to You While You’re Busy Making Other Plans

How Did Humans Get Smart? Life Is What Happens to You While You’re Busy Making Other Plans

In observing other people’s actions and registered thoughts, we learn from the environment we’re inserted in. What you hear, what you read, the things you go through...they all shape your future decisions, as well as what you choose to do with the information you receive. Humans are smart, but they can get smarter if they wish.

The bottom line is: each person responds differently to situations depending on how their brain is wired. That’s why we all have different opinions and beliefs. Humans need different upbringings and experiences to keep the knowledge wheels turning. Besides, humans need to keep looking up to other humans. Again, human intelligence has never improved on its own, and it never will.

Through the ages, humans got smarter not only by observing other humans but by refuting them, agreeing with them, and reaching their own conclusions based on a number of factors. Those include their upbringing and the situations they’ve encountered throughout their lives.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Many of us would like to have a peaceful ride, enjoy the present moment, yet we can’t help but make future plans so we feel secure or spend time digging on past hurts. Lennon doesn’t say we shouldn’t make plans, but that the true experience of being alive is beyond those plans and “happens” to us.

To stay on the path, we must trust, live in the present, and let go of fear. At first view, this seems to negate any personal will, since the right answer to life would be to embrace it instead of trying to direct it. But it might just be that free will should be redirected from the content of our lives to its approach.

Instead of using our free will to decide what should come next, we’d use it to choose between ego or letting go, between a life ruled by our mind or a life in tune with higher intelligence. The willingness to not resist whatever life is putting on the road determines how long the ride will last.

The ego-mind will always fight its way to the director seat, reverting to its lower patterns as soon as it is threatened by change. To get rid of the ego is impossible, but to put it as a servant of this higher intelligence is the answer. Trust is the first step: faith is beyond the ego-mind. By trusting something unknown, limitless, and wise, you jump over the illusory self-limitations of the mind, hence opening the door to higher guidance and purpose.

Living in the present is a necessary condition for this higher intelligence to manifest. To live in the present means to not resist life’s experiences, even the painful ones. As we develop this simple awareness of the present moment and the willingness to experience life without the veil of the mind, our fears evaporate.

So, how can we apply these insights to our lives and continue to enhance our intelligence? Here are three actionable pieces of advice:

1. Embrace diverse experiences: Seek out different upbringings and experiences to expand your knowledge and understanding of the world. Engage with people who have different opinions and beliefs, and be open to challenging your own beliefs and reaching your own conclusions.

2. Cultivate trust and let go: Practice trusting in something beyond your ego-mind. Let go of the need to control every aspect of your life and instead embrace the unknown. Trust that there is a higher intelligence guiding you and be willing to surrender to its guidance.

3. Live in the present: Develop a habit of living in the present moment. Practice mindfulness and be fully present in each experience, even the painful ones. By letting go of the constant chatter of the mind and embracing the present, you open yourself up to higher intelligence and purpose.

In conclusion, humans have become smarter through observing others, challenging beliefs, and embracing diverse experiences. Additionally, understanding that life happens beyond our plans and learning to trust in a higher intelligence can further enhance our intelligence. By cultivating trust, letting go of control, and living in the present moment, we can continue to expand our intelligence and experience a more fulfilling life.