OH! Magazine - Australian Version October 2015 | Page 18

( Men’s Health )

THE
INTELLIGENCES
PART 1. SELF INTELLIGENCE
Mike Campbell explains one of three ‘intelligences’ that make up our whole self.
few years ago, back when I was at
uni in my homeland of New
Zealand there was a show on TV called
Test the Nation, which was an IQ test. The
basis of the program was to have the
audience at home get an idea about their
intelligence, while in the studio they
pipped professions versus trades (e.g.,
lawyers versus teachers versus builders,
and so on).

A

It was a simple way to simultaneously test
the intelligence of a large chunk of the
nation. I took part, pretending not to care
about the result, but I actually cared very
deeply because it showed you where you
sit in relation to the nation and everyone
else you know.
However, the biggest problem was that it
encouraged us all to compare ourselves to
others (especially the next day at work). It
also suggested that cognitive intelligence
– also referred to as ‘IQ’ – is something
that is largely unchangeable and that it is
the only form of intelligence, and
therefore, the only way to measure how
intelligent someone is.
How wrong they are though! IQ is actually
just one part of an overall set of
intelligences that we, as humans, have.

18

OCTOBER 2015 ( OH! MAGAZINE )

Think about it: we probably all know
people who are really ‘book smart’ but who
have poor social skills; or people who
might fit into the category of being ‘quite
stupid for someone so “smart”’!

So, in part one of this three-part article
series, we’re going to explore ‘self
intelligence’. So let’s define what that
means.

At the end of the day we would all like to
become better versions of ourselves; after
all, we are all a ‘work in progress’ – a
project, if you will. So let’s call this
concept ‘Project Me.’

‘Self intelligence’ refers to gaining
maximum awareness of ourselves,
mastering our fears and understanding
why we behave the ways we do. It is
about understanding what motivates and
drives us, what provides us with direction
and purpose, and what will bring us the
most genuine level of contentment. From
this we can better manage our behaviours
in order to ensure we are following our
own compass and forging the life we
want. Self intelligence can also mean
knowing when to ask for help and who to
bring into our team.

Project Me focuses on three cornerstones:

How self intelligence impacts your health

•
•
•

There are many of us who are simply
floating through life, moving from one
event to another, going through the
motions as if it’s ‘groundhog day’. There
is often a distinct lack of direction,
clarity and purpose. These people tend
to put their heads down after school/
uni/work and just ‘do the right thing’ –
but by whom?

There are many theories around the
different intelligences; however, without
going to deep into the details, we want to
simply apply whatever is relevant for us to
better ourselves. The good news is that
when we focus on our other intelligences,
we can improve them.

self intelligence
physical intelligence
social intelligence.

These will each look and play out
differently; however, increasing our
competency in the first two can result in
drastic results for both our physical and
mental health.