There's All Kinds of Intelligence!

A friend posted something on Facebook yesterday about the downside of mentioning membership in MENSA on a resume. Turns out, there's more to be gained by not including that tidbit than by including it, as far as potential employment goes.

(For those who many not know, MENSA is a society made up of extremely intelligent people, based solely on IQ - academic measures.)

But, there are other types of intelligence.

For instance, social intelligence, being defined as the ability to get along with others. The ability to care about the common good and be other-centered. Socially intelligent people are good at interacting with others and caring for them. They readily understand the benefit of deferring their own rights to the common good.

There's also relational intelligence, which flows from social intelligence, but is specific to focusing on human communication. People who are relationally intelligent know how to listen and when to clearly speak what's on their mind without offending. If they don't understand what another person has said, they'll politely ask for an explanation rather than assume. They know the difference between a fact, an inference and a judgment. They are the peacemakers among us.

There's business intelligence. The people with this type of intelligence are geniuses at setting up and running companies. They are right at home with profit-and-loss statements, budgets and business plans. They know organizational flow and understand management. We need people with business intelligence to make sure that our economy remains strong and creative.

How about emotional intelligence? That's the ability to remain emotionally healthy. Not relying on others to validate your worth. Understanding that who you are isn't defined by your bank statement or social status. Being aware of the signs of stress and avoiding burnout. Striking a balance between work and play. It's having the ability to see the good, to go through the day with a positive outlook. Avoiding cynicism and sarcasm.

And there's spiritual intelligence. At its most basic, this includes realizing that you are made up of spirit, mind and body. That your spirit is where your essential, most unique self resides. That to ignore the spiritual is to bring a slow death to your soul.

Spiritually intelligent people recognize God in the face of others. They understand the need for worship and the significance of praise. (It doesn't necessarily mean they have to attend a church service to receive this, but it helps). They are able to cut across ethnic, religious and political lines to be true citizens of the world. They see diversity as a healthy sign rather than a threat. In general, spiritually intelligent people know that each person's soul is sacred and has value. 

Paying attention to only one kind of intelligence is like channeling all your IRA funds into one stock and thinking that your financial future is secure. If a friend told us they did this, we would intrinsically know that they were headed for disaster.

The same holds true when we look at someone only from one standpoint, or type of intelligence.

We all tend to value certain types of intelligence above others. But the truth is, God made each of them and we need them all! To have a healthy society we need well-rounded, healthy people, and healthy people have enough of several of the above-mentioned kinds of intelligence.

What do you think? What kind(s) of intelligence do you have?

Photo Credit: www.en.wikipedia.org