Thoughts

Increasing Intelligence

I have affirmations that I look at and read every single day. It occurred to me that I didn’t really have statements written down that serve as guideposts for me as a homeschooling parent as well as a lifelong learner. I realized that needed to change.

This is what I have come up with:

Qualities that lead to personal growth and increasing intelligence:

1. Be willing to stay curious and explore.
Nothing grows intelligence like a mind that is always hungry and open to learning. It’s all too easy to get set in our ways of being and thinking, but when we take on rigid stances, we miss the opportunity to learn, evolve, and deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

2. Maintain a scientific mind, questioning, observing, and then forming your own hypothesis about your experiences.
So much of what we know about the world was once someone else’s theory and conclusions, which really means that we should question everything, not because we don’t believe certain things to be true, but rather to gain a greater understanding of what we do hold as truth in our lives. When taking this route, it can sometimes be a surprise to realize that some ideas we hold to be true are not as relevant to our experience and may even actually be holding us back from becoming the better version of ourselves.

3. Be OK with not being the smartest person in the room.
It is really humbling to be the person in the room who knows the least, but this also signifies that you are in the right room. Surrounding yourself with people with whom you can learn a great deal from is one of the best ways to quickly grow your intelligence. When you become the smartest person in the room, it’s time to learn something new and keep pushing forward.

Number 2 and 3 are probably the hardest concepts to follow. It is very difficult to continuously question what you know and believe to be true, and admit to yourself that so much of what you know may be incomplete. Learning is a never-ending process and the minute you think you know everything is probably the time when you know the least.

And that’s a good thing. Life is so much more exciting when you still have many more adventures to go after.

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