Personal Improvement

I heard an interview a couple of days before I wrote this article where the guy being interviewed said “There are three kinds of people - thinkers, walkers, and talkers…” It made me stop and think and I believe the reflections are worth sharing.

In reality, there are probably more like a billion kinds of people on this planet. I’ve never been a fan of categorization and black and white questions about “what kind of person are you”.

However…

Sometimes we need to create results in our life. Maybe it’s business, romance, or just some personal need we want to fulfill in our lives but there are definitely times when we need to plan, execute, and measure.

So for purposes of those times in life when results matter, I think it’s fair to say there are three basic types of people:

First we have the thinkers. These are the day dreaming what-ifers who spend most of their time conceptualizing, making lists, etc. Some of their ideas are great but most of the time that’s as far as they get in the creative process.

Being a thinker alone isn’t going to get you much in terms of accomplished goals. Planning and writing down what you want are great steps, but these tactics are no end in themselves.

Then there are the talkers. Talkers may or may not think before opening their mouth, but they are essentially a step above folks who just plan and make lists.

These types are very interactive about their ideas and objectives. Every time you see them they have a new game plan, and an even better idea than what they were talking about the last time you met.

But as they say, talk is cheap. Sharing ideas with others, brainstorming and networking for instance, can be an very powerful part of any process but if that’s as far as you take it well… it’s not any better than just keeping your mouth shut and making notes.

And finally, for the purpose of this exercise, we have the walkers. These are the action takers in life and the people who spend the time doing and not just thinking and talking.

What’s interesting is that sometimes people think, talk, and then act. But the first two steps are not always necessary.

In reality many times a “walker” will just get up and take action before they realize they had a winning idea on their hands. I’m not trying to downplay the value of making plans and getting feedback from others on your ideas, but if you had to choose from one of the three models illustrated in this article I’d push you toward being a walker.

Trust your intuition and take forward-moving action! Don’t spend all your time thinking or talking about something you want when right now is the best time to DO just about anything on your objective list.

I’ve thought, talked, and walked a good deal in my life but when I’ve been truly inspired and really wanted something with all of my being I have found myself in motion before ever taking the time to brainstorm or chat about the issue.

I once heard someone say W. Clement Stone was an “inverse paranoid”, who thought the universe conspired to work in his favor. Think about that for a moment.

It’s fairly common for people to assume the world, life, god, etc. is “out to get them”. In fact most of us at some point, before we stopped playing the victim, insisted life had a way of thwarting us.

The truth, of course, is that we limit, defeat, and thwart ourselves. I believe life is conspiring to give every one of us exactly what we most desire, or something even better!

In fact I think creative intelligence wants us to be fulfilled and happy even more than we want this for ourselves. Even if you disagree consider this:

How much more productive would you be, how much happier, and how much more energetic, if you moved forward under the assumption that all of life is working to manifest your dreams for you?

Imagine the power one could derive from a set of affirmations built around this concept! This is a worthy experiment, in my opinion.

What can you do to cultivate the belief that universal forces are working in each moment to fulfill your every want and need? First adopt the belief that absolutely anything is possible, and then write five or six positive affirmations to the tune of…

“The entire universe conspires to manifest my desires and fulfill my every want and need”

“Every new day contains infinite possibility and I invite the greatest possible good into my awareness here and now.”

“I completely trust life to love and care for me in every way.”

Work this simple program for one month, with the sincere intention of developing the belief that life is on your side, and that nature is working to take great care of you. Give this a shot and see where it takes you.

Mainstream society tends to define intelligence through very limited parameters. From pre-school through the collegiate level a person’s intellectual worth is quite inaccurately determined solely by his or her ability to work with numbers, remember details, and handle language skills.

Students who do not excel in mathematical operations or the ability to communicate via accepted linguistic structures are often labeled as “slow”, inept, or worse. Even outside of the classroom people are measured and judged smart or dumb by virtue of their skills with numbers and written/verbal communication.

It’s right to celebrate a talent with numbers. And it’s good to honor an ability to master sentence structure or remember, manage, and communicate written information.

But these skills are far from being the only determinants of strong intelligence. In fact recent scientific studies have identified multiple types of intelligence.

In addition to the verbal/linguistic and logical/mathematic intelligence recognized and rewarded by the standard academic system, researchers at Harvard have identified the following types of intelligence:

Visual/Spatial Intelligence – This measure of intelligence manifests in the visual perception of the environment, the ability to form and manipulate visual imagery, and the orientation of the body and other objects in space. Simply put, an individual with great visual/spatial intelligence might excel at graphic arts, sculpting, observation of the environment, freehand carpentry, and so forth.

Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence – This of course deals with one’s physical dexterity, fine motor skills, and the ability to learn and express via physical movements. A person with enhanced bodily/kinesthetic intelligence might excel at sports, dancing, sex, and/or have a natural ability to work with hand tools or solve problems through physical means.

Musical Intelligence – This expression of intelligence is fairly self-explanatory, and pertains not only to understanding/producing harmonious music, but also to rhythmic timing, dance response, and the intuitive relation to natural sounds and melodies.

Interpersonal Intelligence – This form of intelligence is often manifested in the ability to understand, communicate with, coordinate, and even manage other human beings. People who are smart in this area find it easy to form relationships and maintain harmonious interaction within overall groups and communities.

Intrapersonal Intelligence – This expression of intelligence is the ability to understand the self, and to interpret and work with thoughts, emotions, instinctive reactions, and intuitive notions.

Naturalistic Intelligence – This form of intelligence involves the ability to observe, understand, and work with the natural world of plants, animals, and even weather patterns and geological phenomenon. Strong organizational and classification skills are typical of this intelligence range.

Dr. Howard Gardner deserves our gratitude for initiating the studies that have categorized this wide range of different intelligences. In the near future it is likely that even more will be done to uncover and organize the less traditional types of human intelligence.

Reviewing the list above, and being aware of the standard verbal/linguistic and logical/mathematic intelligence patterns, where do you feel your genius lies? Don’t be modest here; it’s very likely you have active or latent talents within one or more areas of intelligence.

Spend some time observing yourself and being honest about the things that come naturally to you in life. Refer to the basic list of intelligence types and see if you can match yourself with some of the traits mentioned.

Understand of course that I’ve only made a very basic outline in this article. Each form of intelligence can be greatly extrapolated on.

Often undervalued by mainstream (and especially elitist) society, these additional forms of intelligence have played a critical role in human survival over the past several thousand years! Furthermore all manifestations of intelligence, not just the two facets that are nurtured and praised by our stunted educational programs, color the vivid and wonderful nature of humanity.

It’s time we as a species transcend the limitations of “traditional” definitions of intelligence and embrace our greatness in the many forms it becomes manifest. A good program of personal development can help you uncover your unique genius and therefore work from your strength centers.

If this article appeals to you, it’s likely you’ll also enjoy the concept of Strengths Psychology, or the identification and emphasis of your natural areas of proficiency. I believe this goes hand in hand with finding your own personal areas of intelligence, and it’s an important step in the process of becoming your ultimate self.

I highly recommend a very simple, fun, and enlightening program from the Gallup organization called Strengths Finder 2.0. I think so highly of this program I got copies for my mom and sister and I recommend it to all my business associates as well.

Check it out and let me know what you think.