Many years ago, in my early 30’s, I would listen to motivational speaker Brian Tracy’s teachings on the old cassette tapes (seems like a lifetime ago ). Two of his teachings in particular stayed with me ‘EAT the FROG’ and his take on the different types of intelligence's.
It was Alfred Binet, a French psychologist who created the original IQ TEST. Logical Intelligence is still in many settings, seemingly, the only intelligence that really matters. This particular intelligence test (IQ TEST) only measures one part of a persons intelligence and the other intelligence's are mostly ignored, or labelled as talent, gifts, hobbies, personal pursuits or creative.
The question is…can our intelligence really be measured? Has your intelligence been measured by an IQ test? What was the result? How did the result align with your perception of your Self? How did passing or failing any ‘test’ affect you? Was it a positive or negative experience for you?
The IQ TEST was originally created in the 1800’s (and important to mention has been revised many times) and only supports a logical way of being intelligent?
Can Logical Intelligence be developed throughout a person’s lifetime?
Can there be personal factors such as upbringing, that might hinder or escalate how a person will initially approach an IQ test?
Do you think our start in life (family of origin), plays a part in how well we do, if certain emotional needs were, or were not met? Could it be the relationship we had with our teachers and our perception of their disbelief in our abilities, or not? Or, how we think about our-selves and the way in which we learn? Is it a possibility? All these factors are not always considered. Can we have thoughts or limiting beliefs about ourselves that are just NOT TRUE? If our way of thinking about our - Self is limited to a label or someone’s perception of us, do you think it is possible this may affect every aspect of who we are, and the way we feel about our Self?
Is this why we doubt, measure and compare ourselves in relation to how someone else approaches life, who may not have had the same opportunities to discover their profound abilities?
It’s already been discovered that the way in which a person learns is not just a simple hearing and then remembering. Some people need to be shown or explained the reason ‘why’ something is true, or not. They may need to have their own experiences to learn. Some people need to take notes for information to be remembered. Others don’t care at all, one way or the other.
For myself, I need to experience and understand if something is true or not for myself. I need to understand why something is important to know. I don’t tend to follow trends or other people's way of thinking if those 'ways' do not resonate as TRUTH to me, or just because someone else thinks it is fact. I question everything! Theories are just other people’s thoughts and ideas. We need to decide for ourselves if these theories are TRUTH or not.
In Howard Gardner’s Book – Frames of Mind he has listed 9 other ways HUMAN INTELLIGENCE exists in our lives.
Cognitively abilities, talents and mental skills. You will find this very interesting and encouraging if you think of yourself as unintelligent for whatever reason.
HUMAN INTELLIGENCE How is it you are intelligent? Can you relate to any of these?
INTRA-PERSONAL – Understanding what you feel and what you want. An intra-personal person knows themselves and so they understand others.
SPATIAL – Visualize the world in 3D. Spatial/visual intelligence is an area in the theory of multiple intelligence's that deals with spatial judgment and the ability to visualize with the mind's eye. Artists are spatial. This intelligence is visionary and imaginative.
NATURALIST – Understanding living things and an appreciation for nature, animals and the environment.
MUSICAL – ability to discern sounds, pitch, tone rhythm and timbre. Musicians, singers, songwriters and composers.
LOGICAL - the ability of an individual to think logically, analyze, and reach the conclusion to a problem – measure things, make hypotheses, and prove them. Mathematical.
EXISTENTIAL – Deep thinkers, why we exist, live and die. Existential intelligence involves an individual's ability to use collective values and intuition to understand others and the world around them. People who excel in this intelligence typically are able to see the big picture. Transcendent.
INTER-PERSONAL – sensing people’s feelings and motives. The informal definition of interpersonal intelligence is to be empathetic and having the ability to communicate with and understand others. Interpersonal intelligence is similar to emotional intelligence.
BODY-KINAESTHETIC – coordinating your mind, with your body. Kin-aesthetic Intelligence is the ability to use one’s body with great precision, helping to facilitate the implementation of our goals and personal objectives. Those with Kin-aesthetic intelligence are able to use the body to move from intention to action, for example elite athletes.
LINGUISTIC – the ability to find the right words to express what you mean, and involves the ability to understand and use spoken and written language. Learning languages. Public speakers, writers.
Can you recognize yourself in these explanations? Can you recognize where it is YOU ARE INTELLIGENT?
I wrote about these intelligence's in my book LIFE BEING IN IT and I shared a story about I man I met who said to me in a patronizing way, “Do you realize how high my IQ is?” I immediately replied “Well...that doesn’t give you the ability to get along with people, does it?” Was I supposed to be impressed with an IQ number? I think HE thought so, however, I am more impressed with how people treat other people.
These intelligence's or abilities can be developed and I highly recommend involving yourself in areas that you may consider to be less developed. If you wish to explore your SELF you can enroll in an ART class or incorporate a yoga or meditation time for your SELF each week.
All of us play a part in making this world interesting and enjoyable. Where would we be without our creative artists and musicians?When we discover our capabilities, LIFE is full and joyful. We should never limit ourselves. If we don’t do it as well as someone else, does it even matter? The important point is knowing our own SELF, who we are, what we are good at and how we can help others reach their potential.
To BE INTELLIGENT is to develop not only our strengths (what we know we are good at) but also the areas we might consider ourselves to be ‘weak’ or not yet explored.
To not limit our Self because we may ‘think’ or ‘perceive’ someone else is more intelligent than us.
To BE Intelligent is to embrace wholly who we are and become lifelong, open-minded ‘students of life’ who choose to learn and grow in all areas of our intelligences.
We ALL have our own unique ways of being intelligent to explore and let’s face it, ‘we don’t know what we don’t know.’
Yet!
Teresa De Mouilpied-Moore - Author/Life Coach/Podcaster
My BOOK LIFE BE-ING IN IT is available on Amazon
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