What Is Intrapersonal Intelligence?
The word intra means “inside” or “within” so intrapersonal means “within yourself”—so, “intrapersonal intelligence” is just another term for self-awareness. People who have high intrapersonal intelligence are aware of their beliefs, goals, and, motivations. This is not the same as interpersonal skills. Rather than being good with people, they are often, Self-motivated, Confident, and Goal Oriented. These types of people are in high demand by companies and so if you can improve your Intrapersonal Intelligence you can drastically improve your chances at success.
Improving Your Intrapersonal Intelligence
When studying about something, some people learn by reading aloud, others by moving about as they memorize something, and some learn by making it into a song. The notion of this is based on the theory of multiple intelligence by Howard Gardner. He deems eight types of knowledge to help people when they want to understand something.
Among the myriad of probable types stated by Gardner is the intrapersonal intelligence. While it is only one of eight, many experts believe that it is something that every person innately has. However, some people find it quite challenging to identify as it is one of the lesser-known types of intelligence.
How Does One Improve Intrapersonal Intelligence?
1. Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a practice exhibited by many, which is usually composed of pouring one’s undivided attention to what is currently happening in the present without judgment. Since it is a psychological process, it does not occur in an instant.
Like a person’s intrapersonal intelligence, mindfulness takes time. It requires development through constant practice of meditation and other pieces of training.
2. Let Yourself Think about What You Feel
When improving intrapersonal intelligence, it is good to allow oneself to feel. Do not hinder any feeling from flowing. Instead, reflect on each emotion, know what triggers it (if it is a negative one), and it would bring a bearable change. It would allow anyone to shift their perspective in life, to hopefully, a better one.
3. Take It to Your Advantage
Knowing and understanding one’s way of thinking and recurring feelings can help improve one’s quality of life. The predictability allows people to create responsive and adequate plans to hinder the development of a person’s feelings, which, in turn, can have a negative impact if left unanswered.
4. Keep Track of Your Progress
While improving a person’s intrapersonal intelligence, it is essential to evaluate the progress. Some experts recommend keeping a journal, one that allows day-to-day logging of important events. It makes it easier to look back on the strategies implemented to know which one works and which one does not.
Again, when evaluating one’s progress, it is vital to allow feelings to flow. It aids in knowing which one feels excellent (a quality of positive reinforcement) and which one does not. Nevertheless, every course of action and reciprocating response is crucial in a person’s mental development, as well as intrapersonal intelligence improvement.
The steps mentioned above are not a guaranteed way of improving anyone’s intrapersonal intelligence. Although they are the first steps, anyone can take when they do not know how and where to start. Still, it is essential to note that each individual has a different response and different developmental period. So, what works for one person may or may not work for another.
Nevertheless, what is essential is to take the first leap, the first step, with developing a person’s intrapersonal intelligence.
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