Discernment

As the end of 2010 rolls around taking the time to reflect on the year, your beliefs and values, can perhaps, help the move forward in 2011. It is important that the behaviors we manifest represent the beliefs and values that we have. C4K values discernment. Discernment is the ability to distinguish between things—what is right and what is wrong, what is effective and what is inefficient, what is important and what is simply urgent. Discernment is about developing judgment, and when it comes to working with young people, there are few things more important that good judgment.

Each day there are many influences that press in on us and demand our attention. Many of these things appear to be a “fire in our face,” and yet when we take a step back so we can discern what is really going on, we find, in many cases, that there is no fire, just noise and a lot of smoke trying to get our attention.

Judgment, or discernment, strengthens with age and experience. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers, writes about the importance of having 10,000 hours of practice before we are able to accomplish success. He gives examples of the Beatles who played many hours in all night clubs before becoming an over-night success, or Bill Gates who began “playing” with the computer when we was in Junior High, and others who appear to have magically succeeded, when in reality they developed discernment through hours upon endless hours of practice.

The Wisdom Commons says that “discernment is the ability to grasp, comprehend, and evaluate clearly. It means we can see the true nature of things; it allows us to distinguish between what is real and what is imitation.”

Chanakya shares with us, "We should not fret for what is past, nor should we be anxious about the future; men of discernment deal only with the present moment." Chanakya

Lord Byron states, “Her great merit is finding out mine - there is nothing so amiable as discernment.” Lord Byron