It is not enough to be smart. Intelligence is a tool at the service of the will. It is of little use to be intelligent if there is no will or character to govern and control that power. Power without control is as useless as control without power. Intelligence can lead to a lazy attitude. Why make an effort, the intelligent and spineless person may think, if with a minimum effort I can get there easily?

Intelligence is a gift, which should be put at the service of society. Knowing how to take advantage of the resources it provides, in the form of education, security and welfare, and taking pride in being able to return in due course the service rendered. It can be through all kinds of actions: innovating, creating, educating, seeking and generating the highest possible degree of happiness and well-being for the environment. An environment not only understood in human or social terms, but also in environmental terms.

You also have to be smart to know how to choose an environment that favors the ability to grow and develop as a person. You have to know when to get out of your comfort zone in order to grow, to move forward. Sometimes it’s dizzying, it’s not always easy. But no one can move forward without at least one foot off the ground. This last example may seem exaggerated, but it is not at all exaggerated for a person who has been bedridden for some time after a long illness. If we lose our ability to evolve and adapt to a changing environment, we will end up stuck in a static position. A crisis situation in life can also be a great opportunity to get out of that zone, to go outside. Change of vine. A vine that lost speed and left us always static, swinging on the same point. Grab another one to be able to move forward, with more strength.

Like the Roman chariot that illustrates this entry, the balance between these two vectors of movement will make the whole agile and powerful, so that we can successfully face any situation we may encounter in life.

Value your intelligence in its right measure, consider it a tool at the service of your will and to be tamed. How to train a foal. If you are lucky enough to have a powerful tool, learn how to use it and use it. Do not leave it in a drawer. But do not forget that it is with willpower and perseverance that the greatest achievements are made.

Learn to know yourself, observe your strengths and weaknesses, and choose well your vocation and your circle of friends. Reach out to those who can contribute something to you, those who can help you be the best version of yourself. But never put anyone down, or fail to be humble. Only in this way can you always maintain a receptive mind and a favorable environment that stimulates you day after day.

• The Art of Worldly Wisdom, Balthasar Gracián