Ever feel that you’re just not smart enough? Something comes up in your business, or your child brings home some math homework that looks like intergalactic code, or the project you’ve been assigned literally transcends the bounds of your reason or comprehension. You think everybody can see through your calm and knowing façade to the abyss of bewilderment you are trying desperately to hide.
Part of the problem comes from the fact that we generally have a strict standard that is limited to either smart or dumb. You know or you don’t. No in-between. And it’s usually around some kind of book knowledge. Oh, don’t get me wrong. When you are about to lay your body down on the operating table, you want a surgeon who has aced their medical boards. Your lawyer should indeed have passed the bar.
But – praise heaven– not all knowledge is book knowledge. In fact, there are multiple intelligences, many ways we exhibit genius. Isn’t that a relief? Trouble is we just don’t know them. And because we don’t know, we are wasting all those ways in which we can hone and channel our gifts into work that we love and that supports us. We never discover what we are born to do.
In the 1980s, Harvard professor Dr. Howard Gardner posited a learning theory that there are 8 types of intelligence, and that we all have each of them to greater or lesser degrees. Each of these intelligences has many facets, like a diamond in the rough. They all change as we learn, grow and develop new interests. However, there is often one or two of these intelligences in which we naturally excel. When we are using them we feel completely ourselves, knowing, whole and fulfilled.
Are you ready to free your inner genius? The 8 Intelligences are:
1. Linguistic – able to express one’s ideas with words, to understand and master verbal and written language and the relationship of words.
2. Musical – able to understand and master musical patterns, musical expression and to create music, sensitive to rhythm, pitch and tone.
3. Logical/Mathematical – strong abstract thinking, reasoning, counting and organizing skills; prefers logical structures.
4. Spatial – a keen observer, can visualize complex problems, able to think in 3 dimensions, in large spaces and layouts, likes to use metaphors.
5. Kinesthetic/Body Movement – excels with physical coordination in detailed tasks, or energetic large muscle tasks, good body control and fine motor skills.
6. Interpersonal/Social – understands others’ intentions and concerns, has tremendous empathy, highly concerned with the moods, feelings and motivations of others.
7. Intrapersonal/Spiritual/Self – has a deep sense and understanding of self; able to access one’s own feelings and has insight into one’s personal experiences.
8. Nature/Naturalistic – knows the natural world and understands the ecology of all actions (cause and effect) on the biosphere, ecosystem and environment.
Are you a masterful writer, public speaker, crossword decoder, or polyglot? Got a great ear for music, or an easy talent for playing an instrument? Are balance sheets and puzzles your thing? Can you picture the far reaches of space and compute the speed of light like Einstein? Are you nimble with a basketball, crochet needle, or swinging on a towering construction site? Do you feel the pain of others, and are you the healer or peacemaker at work or at home? Does meditation, poetry and daily journaling soothe you? Is gardening, a 20K race or saving the whales your idea of fun?
These are just some of the ways the 8 intelligences can manifest in everyday life. If you can identify the one or two that are your main ones, ask yourself: to what degree are you engaging them? How are you leveraging what you are best at to live your best life?
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 8.
