The most common traditional view of what we would consider intelligence, like the ability to calculate, reason logic, pattern recognition, memorize and recall facts and knowledge. Our education system is a narrow funnel built to develop and recognize only this kind of intelligence.
But intelligence comes in many different and unique capacities. What about those whose intelligence operates in a different realm. Intelligence in kinesthetics, like sports, performance, building, working with your hands. Aesthetics, like spatial ability, arrangement and color intelligence, visualization. Compassion and empathy, the heightened capacity to understand and hear other people. Leadership. Service. Communication, listening and speaking. Creativity. And so much more. Everyone unique. Each one as valuable as the other.
We need each of them to help inform, teach and bring awareness to what we do. As we are able to understand more of each other, it gives us more meaning, connection and value to what we do. But it seems we are left to our own devices, if our “intelligence” is outside of the common accepted formats. We’ll spend much of our lives not even aware of our value or uniqueness. Never even acknowledged, because it doesn’t fit the mold, expectations, convention, status quo. There are a few fortunate ones that someone, maybe from a similar background, that is able to identify the uniqueness and help mentor them.
But for many of us we’re left to figure it out on our own, if we ever do. And even if we do “figure” it out, we’re on our own to develop it, seek it out, nurture it, bring it to life, fruition. There are no simple solutions. It would be so much more efficient and optimized if our education system could be more encompassing, our community, family and friends could be the exact resource we need. But most things are never really ideal.
I guess I would say, we don’t need permission or acceptance to value what is valuable. Know that our uniqueness is intrinsically valuable, it’s what brings life. It’s a belief we have to hold onto, so that we can discover and get to know our value, to help us get through the moments we might feel less than or have a hard time seeing or knowing. And we don’t need permission to develop our intelligence, maybe we’ve been ingrained to think that we need somebody else to tell us what to do. It maybe hard, unknown, confusing, feel impossible but we know ourselves better than anyone else, we just have to trust our instincts, intuition. Sometimes it’s self-work, recalibrating, honesty, accepting mistakes, seeking out teachers, listening to voices, listening to your own voice, practice, discouragement, triumphs. But it’s worth it. You’re worth it. And if it’s worth it to you, it’s worth it to us. We need you to recognize and bring your value to the world. And sometimes maybe bringing that value into the world is meant to not be easy, not obvious, a journey only you can take, and only you can know how difficult it was. Maybe there’s value in that.