How Am I Smart in Different Ways?

How Am I Smart in Different Ways?

Howard Gardner, from Harvard University, is responsible for discovering that the brain is divided into eight distinct intelligences. Because we're each unique, we don't have the same strengths, but we do have the potential to develop all 8.

Word Smart	Linguistic Intelligence	Think with words
Logic Smart	Logical-Mathematical Intelligence	Think with questions
Picture Smart	Spatial Intelligence	Think with visuals
Music Smart	Musical Intelligence	Think with rhythms and melodies
Body Smart	Body-Kinesthetic Intelligence	Think with movement and touch
Nature Smart	Naturalist Intelligence	Think with patterns
People Smart	Interpersonal Intelligence	Think with people
Self Smart	Intrapersonal Intelligence	Think with reflection

Unfortunately, because so many children have been told they're "stupid" or "you'll never amount to anything," they don't believe they're smart. This is damaging because it gives them permission to give up, not try, and have shallower dreams for their tomorrows.

But, as students of all ages listen during assemblies, they begin to believe the descriptions of the smarts and the evidence that they have each one. An hour later, when asked to name their top four smarts, they find it hard to narrow the list to only four! That's life changing. It's why we do what we do.

If you look at the list and aren't sure you have one or more of the multiple intelligences, it might be because it was never fully awakened or it's been paralyzed.

The earlier a smart is awakened, the greater the likelihood that it will be strong later in life. This is one reason children and their parents often have at least some overlap in strengths. For example, if parents are nature smart, they're more likely to point out cloud formations while driving, go to the zoo more often than other parents, and plant a garden, giving their children part of the responsibilities.

Smarts that weren't awakened when we were young or that we didn't enjoy using in our childhood are probably still the weaker smarts today. That's okay. Unless we need to further develop an intelligence to be more successful in school or at work or to better relate to someone, there's nothing wrong with having 1-3 that we don't use much.

Another reason it's possible to feel as if you don't have one of the intelligences is that it wasparalyzed when you were younger. Maybe your peers laughed at something you drew. As a result, you decided you weren't good at art and you chose to not do anything creative or artistic that wasn't absolutely necessary. Consequently, your picture-smart part of the brain is under-developed.

Fortunately, paralyzed intelligences can be reawakened when we're safe enough to take the risk and use that part of the brain again. The best way for the reawakening to occur is for the person who unintentionally or intentionally did something, didn't do something, said something, or didn't say something that resulted in paralysis to apologize.

That's not always going to happen, so recognizing that paralysis occurred, we can take control of ourselves and decide to invest energy in developing what has been a weaker intelligence.