If we are talking about a situation in which an individual is very aware of their abilities and abilities, in addition to their limitations, the term intrapersonal intelligence is often used.
According to researchers such as Howard Gardner, each individual possesses certain types of intelligence that allow them to move forward in life, which make it easier for him to solve certain problems and which also make him capable of behaving in a certain way.
Intrapersonal intelligence is one that is capable of pointing out the introspective quality that a person can have. That is, the ability of an individual to delve into his own being and his own psyche.
Key features
One of the main characteristics of this type of intelligence is that it provides the ability to be in deep contact with oneself. Although this may seem normal to most individuals, what actually characterizes this intelligence is that the people who possess it in too many are able to easily contact with their interior, but it is not so easy for them to do it with the outside. Behold, the possessors of this type of intelligence as their most developed intelligence they are often shy and reserved, and that they tend to remain silent when they are in a group.
This does not mean that they cannot establish lasting relationships with other people, but that it will not be as easy as for people with interpersonal intelligence, since it is not his priority in life. The priority of a person with intrapersonal intelligence is to establish a lasting and prosperous relationship with himself.
This does not mean either that he cannot have other types of intelligence, but that this will be the one that guides him much more in his way of acting, since it is the one that predominates in the individual.
In general, the subjects who handle this type of intelligence tend to find a way to carry out their work and solve problems by themselves, without the mediation of a third party, and in this way they obtain better results than working in a group. It is also known that those who handle this intelligence tend to be more in contact with their emotions, and that they are sensitive people aware of pain and sadness, but that at the same time they are capable of feeling great joy.
As established by Gardner, having this intelligence as the dominant characteristic is an incentive for people to look for jobs that allow them to keep in continuous reflection, for example: philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, among many others.
People who handle this intelligence are independent and possess good self-esteem and self-confidence. In addition, they have a very good sense to denote their strengths and weaknesses and think deeply about the things that are important to themselves.
People who develop this intelligence they also tend to develop their language skills with her, since this is part of the development of communication with oneself, and has a personal and internal character. At the same time, although this intelligence predominates in them, they are capable of using other intelligences to develop solutions to problems or simply to reflect.
Characteristics of children with intrapersonal intelligence
The characteristics present in these children capable of creating a good relationship with themselves include discipline, understanding and self-esteem, and they are capable from very early on. children to create an accurate perception of themselves, which makes them mature faster.
This is evidenced by children who are reflective and who have reasoning that is often correct, and thanks to this they can be advisers to their peers.
They are aware from a young age of their strengths and weaknesses to achieve their goals. They help us to reflect on our feelings and thoughts with their correct words, which sometimes makes us think that our children are more intelligent than us. They have an innate ability to regulate thoughts and concerns, as well as personal stress.
How to know ourselves
If we go to the theory of multiple intelligences, to know ourselves we must first recognize the repertoire of thoughts and feelings that make us up, and also the type of stimuli that can induce any of them.
Act quickly. move between different moods and discover how our actions are once inside each one of them in order to create a reliable scheme that allows us to get to know each other little by little; in this way we can regulate our behavior to reach the achievement of established objectives. This is the way intrapersonal intelligence allows us to access the corners of our mind, and use that information to our advantage.
Improving this intelligence
If what we want is to improve this type of intelligence, regardless of whether or not you were born with it as the predominant intelligence, you must study yourself in order to improve in this area. The best way to do it would be to use these tips:
Consider how to use self-knowledge to achieve your goals
If what you want is to achieve a particular goal, you must do it as a person who masters this type of intelligence would. Know yourself. You must introspect and discover which of your personal characteristics can allow you to do it, the right way, and which of them could make you fail miserably.
One of the things that individuals with intrapersonal intelligence do first is an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses; therefore if you still do not know them, it is important that you begin to do so.
Be one with your emotions
One of the things that will also help you to achieve the first is to stop to reflect on your emotional patterns, so that you achieve a communion with your emotions, and that you know under what stimuli you can make come up. That way you will be able to notice which situations cause a mood in you and what you can do in those particular cases to help you move on.
Evaluate the progress made
If you want to progress in self-knowledge, it is important that you be critical of your progress, so that you can deduce for yourself what works and what does not. In addition, being critical of our progress is essential if we do not want to take an overly optimistic view of what we do.
Some activities to do
Some of the activities that these individuals can perform to enhance their intelligence are the following:
- Reflect on where you are and where you want to go.
- Write an autobiography or journal.
- Make a list with all the qualities that you have and that are beneficial both to find a job and to be able to have optimal social relationships.
- Establish real objectives that can be met in the short or medium term.
- Write another list where the “failures” are established and where those that are considered to be improved are determined.
Avoid getting confused
Intrapersonal intelligence is often confused with emotional intelligence; a branch of psychology that has been worked on but that did not stem from the theory of multiple intelligences. Although, although both are focused on self-knowledge of the virtues and the channeling of emotions, intrapersonal intelligence is a slightly broader context.
We could also confuse it with interpersonal intelligence also proposed by Gardner.
At this point, interpersonal is the intelligence that allows us to relate satisfactorily with others, and that also gives us the ability to feel in communion with others. emotions of others through empathy. Intrapersonal is the way in which we know ourselves and are aware of our emotions, which allows us to help others, if that is what we want, through the reflective process