You are more than the sum of your parts
You have heard we are the “sum of our parts”. We are the summation of our thoughts, repeated and ingrained in our beliefs, translated into our actions and reinforced in our life experiences.
Sum- one or more columns or rows of numbers to be added, subtracted, multiplied, or divided to add or form a total of (something).
What are quotients? Merriam Webster says, the numerical ratio usually multiplied by 100 between a test score and a measurement on which that score might be expected largely to depend.
How are we measured? IQ is the first thing most people think of. What about the IQ? What does it mean to be smart? Unique preferences and abililties.How does the brain work? Right brain, left brain, whole brain? Take the brain test for your own enlightenment.
http://www.intelliscript.net/test_area/questionnaire/questionnaire.cgi
My brain is “balanced”- neither predominantly left or right. What about yours?
That’s just one quotient. I believe we are more than the sum of our parts and distinctly unique. U= +++++xxxxx++++= You are > than the sum of your parts
IQ- Intelligence Quotient, EQ- Emotional Quotient, RQ- Respiratory Quotient , DQ- Development Quotient, Spiritual Quotient- SQ.
Emotional intelligence- it is more important to have high emotional intelligence than a high IQ. People with a high IQ and little or no EQ, will not be successful. The difficult people can have high IQs and low EQ- everywhere they go, they make people mad and can’t get along with others without understanding why. Daniel Goleman’s work covers a range of intelligences. http://danielgoleman.info/
There are all kinds of ways to be smart. Research from Harvard on MBA’s demonstrates EQ is twice as important than IQ plus technical skills for success.
What’s more, the strongest performers’ tactical reasoning relied not only on the insula (associated with emotional processing) and the anterior cingulate cortex (crucial for making new choices based on the assessment of past outcomes). It also engaged the part of the brain (the superior temporal sulcus) associated with parsing sensory stimuli and anticipating other people’s thoughts and emotions—for instance, understanding how action plans would be received by the workers charged with implementing them.
http://hbr.org/2010/09/when-emotional-reasoning-trumps-iq/ar/1
So, we embrace the concept of “Mutiple Intelligence”. And, we recognize that each of us has different strengths and weaknesses- that’s part of our uniqueness!!
According to Gardner, “intelligence is dynamic, ever-growing and can be expanded through eight intelligences”. Each person has 8 intelligences- Linguistic (words), Logical/mathematical ( numbers), Spatial(pictures), Musical ( music/rhythmic), Body-kinesthetic (movement), Interpersonal (people), Intrapersonal (self), Naturalist (flora/fauna). Intelligences work together.
So, what does this mean in everyday life? What kinds of choices can we make if we accept that we are all more than a particular “measurement” or that what we have to offer is significant in total, even if it seems to be <<< than – when seen in a vacuum?
Self-esteem. It seems to me that we can all give ourselves an upgrade in this department. Have you ever noticed a person who was amazingly talented in some of the arts, example: could hear music and identify the artist immediately, or could play by ear, or could paint in plein air fashion or , or , or……and have you heard them say things that were less than complimentary about some of their other qualities? One comes to mind immediately- they can’t spell! How many times do we make judgements- of ourselves- based on one or two areas when we could focus our energy on expanding, honing and sharing the parts that supercede or more than make up for our few- less than stellar qualities?
Dr. Sear’s July, 2012 newsletter reported on how beer can make your brain better.
We already know that moderate amounts of beer can reduce the chance of heart disease by 41% and even lower the risk of cancer.1Now a new study that shows drinking beer can help you improve your mind by increasing your ability to solve problems. And it brings out your creativity.Here’s the story of how they discovered this, and how you can use what they found to increase your brainpower and creativity…It doesn’t prove cause and effect, but what the scientists figured out is that drinking alcohol can allow your brain to enter a more flexible state of attention. And can help you come up with more creative solutions your problems.When you drink a beer, the alcohol reduces your ability to pay attention and focus – also known as your working memory capacity (WMC).Now this may seem counterproductive, but when your WMC slows down, your brain relaxes. It doesn’t respond to nagging outside interferences. This can allow your mind to be more creative.This is contrary to the belief that you need to focus in order to be innovative. And it could explain why some of the most creative people in history were known drinkers like Ernest Hemingway and Vincent Van Gogh. Sears cited : Jarosz A, Colflesh G, Wiley J, “Uncorking the muse: Alcohol intoxication facilitates creative problem solving,” Consciousness and Cognition, Volume 21, Issue 1, March 2012, 487-493.
I just want to make the point that sometimes we can overthink a situation. Maybe we need to use all kinds of ways -meditation, nature and source- to allow our minds to relax into a “more flexible state of attention”. What’s wrong with allowing our right brain to take over for a while, if we are left brain dominant.
Art is individual. We are individuals based on unconscious forces and conscious choices.
Have you ever noticed that what one person zeros in on and objects to and points out in another, is often what they themselves do not see as a shortcoming or negative quality in themselves? Or perhaps they do and reject it in themselves, therefore rejecting any presence of it in others. If we could focus on the parts of ourselves and others that we would like to see more of, we would see less of the things we don’t like.
Mindfulness- This attentional training enhances what cognitive scientists call meta-awareness, the ability to monitor your own mind and emotions moment by moment.
Recognize, accept and appreciate your own unique qualities and you are even more likely to grow and resonate. As a wise teacher once told me, “We are already who we always were,but as we age, we become more so”. More so, I asked? Yes, and he described how a particular characteristic becomes more pronounced as we age. Haven’t you met elders who were bold and confident- genuinely expressing their unchanging core- saying clearly what they would and would not accept while allowing others like expression? We are more open, more comfortable and more colorfully alive to who we always were and “more so” of who we will always be.