I bet you have heard of IQ and EQ (Emotional Intelligence) and their significance, but have you heard of SQ (Self-Aware Intelligence)?
NO?!? Great, because I’ve just made it up 🙈
In all seriousness though, I define self-aware intelligence as how in touch we are with what’s happening in our lives, both externally (people we know, things we do, objects we use, etc.) and internally (our feelings, characters, preferences, etc.) For example: How aware are you of what’s good/bad for you? Do you know what makes you tick? What works/doesn’t work for you?
I believe it’s the most fundamental intelligence of all, dare I say even more essential than IQ and EQ. Why? Because the more we are aware of ourselves, the more we are able to understand ourselves and maximize our strengths, which helps us enhance the relationship we have with ourselves. As we create a strong relationship with ourselves, we will be able to improve our relationships with others and reach our highest sense of self and potential.
The good news is, unlike IQ and EQ, self-aware intelligence is usually given to us as it’s a byproduct of our senses. However, I consider it as a 'lazy' type of intelligence that 'likes' to stay deactivated by default, which often requires us to activate it in order to make it work. In other words, we will need to practice our habit of actively switching it on when we notice it’s off by consciously asking ourselves the following questions:
How am I feeling about this (person/activity/place/object/decision)?
What emotion am I experiencing right now? (remember: answers like ‘happy’ or ‘overwhelmed’ are not good enough, try to be as specific and honest to yourself as possible)
Am I excited? Motivated? Anxious? Frustrated? Jealous? Inspired? Confused? At peace?
What’s the exact part of it that gives me this specific emotion?
What was the last thought in my head that gave me chills?
What makes me like this person? What makes me like doing these activities?
Of the people and things that I don’t like, is there any part of them that I do like?
Just like interpersonal relationships, the more ‘conversations’ we have with ourselves and the deeper we go, the stronger our relationship with ourselves will become.
Pay close attention to how every cell in your body responds to the activities that you do, the thoughts you have, and the people you’re surrounded by. Do more of what makes you tick, spend more time with the people that bring you positive vibes, invest in yourself; and of course, always remember to activate and reactivate your self-aware intelligence along the way ;)
(*fun fact: my blog post this week is inspired by the conversations I had with my parents yesterday, in which I noticed I loved sharing my learnings with them as I could see the impact they had on my family, and it inspired me to share this with you today x)