“A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.” ― Nelson Mandela
Intelligence doesn’t come from reading books but from evaluating experiences. Being smart isn’t a quality everyone is born with, but there’s no doubt in the fact that each and every being was born dumb. A new experience stretches a mind in a way that it doesn’t go into its old shape.
It has been in our society for quite a long time now, that a physically attractive person can’t be smart and vice-versa. The only question that arises here is that what looks have to do with a person being intelligent? Does intelligence come with looks? If yes, then most of the population wouldn’t picture an old hairy man or a wrinkled woman as a doctor. You don’t have to fashionable, popular & life and soul of the party to be intelligent. All you need is a brain that works just right, and common-sense & knowledge to go with it. Being intelligent makes you powerful in every aspect of life. And to attain this in life, every one of us needs a teacher. A teacher here can be any one old, your parents or the most important of all, time. No educator will tell you what to do. You’ll always be provided with all knowledge they can, so that you can decide what’s best for you to do.
No one becomes an intelligent person over-night. Smartness comes to people who question the basics. The root has to be strong in order for the plant to grow greener. But does wisdom comes with knowledge? Well, my answer to that is a big NO. You can get knowledge from books, but no wisdom. Wisdom is trapped within ourselves. We just have to release it and put into right practice. Knowledge is never enough. If you do not use it to gain more apprehension then all you have is only getting decayed. It takes time and commitment to be intelligent. A recognized school or college will fail miserably if you don’t put the knowledge you’ve in practice. It is always in progress. Gathering information isn’t just enough, but putting it into practice is what counts.
But what are the benefits of being an intelligent misfit? Growing up, we aim for businesses or job with big paychecks and great peer group to enjoy it with. Well, being intelligent helps you attain this. You not only become friends with people who respect your qualities that make you stand-out, but also you are smart enough to distinguish between people who like you and who don’t.
Albert Einstein said ““The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
So, to be more intelligent there are certain things you need to change and habits that you need and that you don’t.
Here are tips to help you become more intelligent:
CONFIDENCE = SUCCESS
There’s no lie when I say this that intelligent people are likely to be confident. You need confidence more than talent to succeed in life. Intelligent people have a component of confidence called “self-efficacy”. They have the belief of accomplishing any particular goal on their own, like, “I know I can give you a better result than this” or “I know I can get a better job on my own.” This quality sets these people apart from peers who have low result in any field.
So, in order to be more intelligent you need to confide in yourself and every work you do.
Questioning yourself at every stage isn’t what a smart person does. You need to get your pants on and do what you feel like instead of thinking whether you’ll fail or succeed.
SOURCE OF ALL KNOWLEDGE? READING & QUESTIONING
Read and question, question and read. I was in my teenage years when I started reading. And since then there’s no looking back. The knowledge and wealth of mind I accumulated from this habit has surely helped me to enrich my intellect. And I’d suggest this habit to everyone. Reading not only gives muscle to your memory but also boosts up your analytical thinking. Your vocabulary gets strengthen and also, you way of looking at things. Reading often shows you things that even you didn’t know about yourself. You become certain about what you “really want” in life.
BE NOSY
But what you read and listen isn’t always right. To become an intelligent being you need to have eagerness to question everything. You cannot subscribe to unconventional wisdom and knowledge. It is important for every one of us to keep our mind and eyes open. Raise questions on what others think, and stand-up for what you believe in. In order to learn, get curious. Curiosity is the key to overcome knowledge.
MASTER YOUR INTEREST
A person who is intelligent might not have knowledge on every topic but she/he must have one particular topic in which he has completely dived in. That’s why you need to have one topic that you master in. Discover what motivates you, and get indulge in what interests you. You shouldn’t be completely devoted to one topic. Be an avid reader and know what’s happening around you. You become smarter with every opportunity you get to learn something new. Acquire new skills, because life will never stop teaching if you don’t stop learning.
No matter what you want to do or become in life, without knowledge you’ll just sink.
LIVE & LEARN EVERYDAY
Eckhart Tolle said, “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have.” To be intelligent, you have to make most of everyday. Instead of treating everyday just like the other and procrastinating, you are just pushing yourself down the cliff. You have to be more productive and make sure that you involve yourself into things which teach you something. You can either create your future or destruct it; it’s all in your hands.
Jot down every idea that comes into your mind and push yourself to be creative and new ways of thinking. Review and edit you ideas to enhance your mind.
POSITIVITY IN, NEGATIVITY OUT
If you do not have inner and outer peace and open the doors for negativity every time you do something, then no matter what all you have to offer, it’d just be a waste. Shape your mindsets and beliefs with everything you do, which will further turn into your guide. Be mindful of what you are absorbing, and put it into practice. If you do not share your knowledge and share what makes you actionable and meaningful just because you think of cons, then your attempt to be more intelligent is just failing miserably.
You have to be selective in what you want and who you choose, because smarter people tend to have fewer friends. Who you spend your time with reflects you.
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