Increase your intelligence
Greatness requires intelligence. Perhaps unlike the number crunching that you have always known. You have to have the grit and the horse-power to work through obstacles, challenge limitation, maintain focus, express faith and achieve your dreams.
IT takes intelligence to keep working when others have written you off. Giving up is an easy option.
It takes intelligence to get up and try again when others do not see any hope. It takes intelligence to believe in a vision, craft a novel model, and commit to a promise when everything seems to be imploding. It takes intelligence to declare things, make affirmations and see light in darkness.
It takes intelligence to engage in disciplined thinking, disciplined action and disciplined follow through.
It takes intelligence to maintain your poise when others are losing their heads.
It takes intelligence to keep running, keep working when others have long since retired.
It takes intelligence to read your emotions, understand other people, appreciate the context and build lasting relationships.
It takes intelligence to have clear values, and live a life that matters and sees beyond this horizon. There is greatness intelligence, and it is like a muscle. It can be stretched and grow.
Do not be satisfied to remain in the same place, confined by the environment and locked in by circumstances. Do not for a moment blame people, circumstances, or parentage. Do not for a moment complain because that is not intelligent behaviour.
Complaining shows that you are not in control. Take intelligent responsibility for your life and for sharpening yourself to shoot for the moon. Moonshots require much greatness intelligence.
Whatever you cannot do today, you can always learn. That is being intelligent. Whatever is strange to you today, you can surround it with determination and stick around until you conquer.
That is a manifestation of intelligence. Whatever looks far, you can start your journey towards it. You can embrace it in faith and sing to it. That is intelligent. Whatever gets others down you can survive it. Motivated and powered from within. That’s intelligence.
Whatever you are scared to do, you can do it afraid. Don’t let fear immobilise you. Don’t let nay-sayers get you off the road. That is an intelligent action.
Don’t fear, don’t be intimidated, don’t lose heart, don’t panic and do not run away.
You are more than you think, you can do more than you know. Just apply yourself intelligently.
To be great, you need to cultivate intelligence in four critical areas: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Physical intelligence has to do with how you fuel, use and apply your body and energy.
Whatever you do on earth is a return on energy. When you are weak, faint and infirm you cannot pursue your goals with maximum power. Mental intelligence has to do with how you use your mind as a friend and not an adversary. Your mind is not a dumping ground but a powerful tool.
Used well you can mine miracles from your mind and create amazing things. Do not allow toxic thoughts, bitter thoughts, worry and anything negative to pollute your mind. Emotional intelligence has to do with how you relate with yourself and others and behave.
It has to do with how you regulate yourself and connect with others. It is your ability to keep your emotions under control and to deploy them appropriately. Spiritual intelligence is what connects you to the divinity within, clarifies your values and makes life worth living.
Spiritual intelligence gives you the power to move mountains, see beyond walls and plough through limitations. It transforms life and situations.
Physical intelligence
Your body is the work-suit you need to interact, act and move around Spaceship Earth. To increase your physical intelligence, you need to take care of your diet, exercise, and lifestyle.
Work your body but do not overwork it. Creating seasons and times of rest is as important as working.
The discipline of taking a sabbath breaks is a critical component of physical intelligence. Your body is a machine that requires fuel. Make sure that the fuel is clean and safe and does not clog your system.
Refuse to be a dumping ground of junk food and empty calories — and they paying a premium for that abuse.
Feed and fuel your body so you can perform at peak. Your brain is part of your body, so feed it and care for it well. You need energy to give you staying power. Let your energy shine and do not walk, talk or behave like you are dying. Move and exercise your body.
That is how you become physically intelligent. Learn to listen to your body. Learn to watch what is happening and get regular check-up. It’s all part of physical intelligence.
As you exercise your body you give it the force and agility that you require in order to do whatever you have to do.
Your lifestyle is important to watch. Re-frame what you call success. Live your life like somebody with purpose, intent to live long and do much.
Mental intelligence
You gain mental intelligence by applying your mind and exercising it. Stop believing every suggestion that you are mentally inept. You can do amazing things with your mind if you can dare exercise it.
Find your area of passion and interest, and feed your mind with information and ideas. Read books in new genres.
The discipline study sharpens you mentally. The love of learning is the love of life.
Whatever you learn find other people to teach. When you teach what you know you learn it over and sharpen your mind further.
Learn and increase your mental intelligence in way that are aligned with what works for you.
If you are an auditory learn you learn through listening.
Attend lectures, get audio-books, transform your car into a learning laboratory. If you are a visual learner, you learn through seeing.
Look at the diagrams, watch videos, what documentaries and travel. If you are tactile learner, you learn through touch. You want to sit the site, do study tour, get out there. You want to touch the model and learn as you touch. If you are a relational learner, you learn best when you discuss with others. You learn better when you are asking questions and engaging.
Whatever your style, make a point to learn. Buy and read books.
Find mentors and coaches. A mentor helps you to have a balanced mental view of life. A mentor has been there and done that. A coach helps you to build performance in an area of your life. So if you want to increase your mental intelligence read more, exercise your mind more, and engage more. Your mind is like a muscle the more you exercise it the stronger it gets.
Exercise your mind through reflection, meditation, problem-solving, thinking deep deeply. Apply your mind and create blocks of time for reflection and deep thinking. Invest in a good journal and a pen that you enjoy using.
Create time to doodle, colour, and think. Apply your yourself positively and you will grow your intelligence.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is so important because without it you are not able to operate the other types of greatness intelligence.
With emotional intelligence you are selfaware, motivated, and self-regulated. Emotionally intelligent people have empathy, they can sense what is appropriate and they can regulate their behaviour.
The watermark of emotional intelligence is good social and relationship skills.
Anything that you can do with your mind you can also do with your emotions. You can increase your self-awareness through journalling, getting feedback from others and through reflection. You can increase your emotional intelligence by motivating yourself.
Feed your mind with inspiring materials that super charge you. When your motivation comes from within you are unstoppable.
With this intelligence you can work with others, a play with others and you have got useful social graces. Emotional intelligence helps you sustain your greatness.
Spiritual intelligence
The cornerstone of real greatness is spiritual intelligence. This helps you clarify your values and what matters most in life.
Values give you an anchor in the midst of the changing winds.
Your values enable you to invest and not just waste your life. Things that matter most in life must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.
Spiritual intelligence gives me gives you bearing and direction in life. It helps you find your true north. When difficult times come, your spiritual intelligence with give you staying power. You will be able to weather any storm. Feed and exercise your spiritual intelligence. You feed your spiritual intelligence by reading spiritual books, listening to wise and mature spiritual teachers and pastors.
When you are spiritually intelligent you can be hard pressed on every side, but not crushed. You can be surprised but not confused. You can be perplexed, but not in despair. You can be persecuted, but never abandoned. You can be struck down, but not destroyed.
Greatness demand that you develop intelligence in the physical, mental, social and spiritual arena. Keep growing and learning. Committed to your greatness.
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Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author, and growth mentor. He is a cutting-edge strategy, team-building and organisation development facilitator and consultant. His life purpose is to inspire and promote greatness. He can be reached at: mkamwendo@gmail.com and His website is: www.miltonkamwendo.com