The Art of Balanced Intelligence

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According to popular psychology, there are nine types of intelligence and people can be people-smart, music-smart, language-smart, and more. In Ancient Greece, people commonly learned everything from philosophy to exercise. Any businessperson will tell you EQ is just as important as IQ for networking. But what are the nine types of intelligence, and how do they fit with everything in the scope of a balanced life? Find out more after the jump.

Naturalist intelligence

The first type of intelligence is that having to do with nature. This doesn’t necessarily mean hippies living in communes to save the whales. Rather, it has to do with the ability to discern among things in the environment. A person with a naturalist intelligence has a strong intuition and is typically judgmental. They sense danger.

A person with this kind of intuition can tell when things are not quite right, which means they have a special gift for balance: they know when changes must be made, and often what those changes are.

Musical intelligence

The second type of intelligence is of a musical nature. These folks can read things like tone and rhythm. They can hear things other do not recognize or process. Their gift comes with metabolism and sleeping patterns; if their bodies get out of whack, they know, as nature can be explained by a series of patterns and numbers. They are also typically quite good at math.

Logical-Mathematical intelligence

The third type is in analytical and critical thinking. These people read relationships between two things very well, but are born with the inherent knowledge that correlation does not prove causation. They are logical, smart, and very critical of facts and figures. They will rarely lose power to their emotions, rather yielding to the powerful logic that drives them.

Existential intelligence

Fourth, like Kierkegaard, these folks can question everything, even down to the fundamental meaning of human existence. They know what balance truly is, why they should or should not strive for it, and can out-talk anybody. They are, unfortunately, often negative.

Interpersonal intelligence

Perhaps the most relevant blessing to a businessperson is the fifth type, interpersonal intelligence, which allows a person to engage with and relate to just about anybody. These people can read emotions and fake them, talk for miles and ask a question for every answer, and sell icicles to Eskimos. They also typically know themselves by getting to know others, and can often tell you why they are doing anything and then convince you to “do as I say, not as I do.”

Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence

These sixth-type people are the ones you will find with impeccable balance and perfect strength. They know nutrition, have a strong desire to exercise, and can tell you five ways to do the perfect push-up. They can manipulate any physical object and are excellent with their hands. While they have physical balance, their lives can become out of whack if they do not get the exercise they need.

Linguistic intelligence

The seventh type of intelligence is that of words and language. Often excellent writers, linguistic-gifted folks have the talent of understanding and explaining even the most complex things through words. This is the most common type of intelligence.

Spatial intelligence

The eighth type of person is gifted with the ability to think in three dimensions. They can be great engineers, an often high-paying job, in which they will rarely worry about money, which can be a major hindrance to living a happy and fulfilling life.

Intrapersonal intelligence

Finally, intrapersonal intelligence is the ability of knowing oneself. It is the most important gift to have in a balanced life, because it tells you when something is wrong and what needs to happen. Often, this talent brings on shyness or quietness, with hours spent introspectively analyzing every detail of oneself.

Applications

The types of intelligence are not exclusive, and one can be gifted in many ways. Indeed, according to the Greeks, we are meant to strive to cover all areas equally. While some may come naturally, others will, of course, be a struggle which feels like an uphill battle at times. Not to worry, though. Balance is not meant to be an end, but rather a journey. All that matters at the end is that you have tried to keep positive, engaged, and fulfilled, and grown every step along the way.

What are your natural strengths? How have you used them to save yourself work along your path of achieving healthy, balanced living? Share in the comments below.

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