Our Attitude, More Than Our Aptitude, Determines Our Altitude
Our society admires strength and power. Since the early games of the ancient Olympics, we've had contests of strength, stamina, speed, and the like. We've approached brainpower or intellectual abilities in the same way. We're in awe of intellectual giants with memory, reasoning, or complex problem solving abilities far beyond our own. IQ tests were developed to measure this intellectual strength and power. We've come to believe that highly intelligent people make the best professors, doctors, managers, scientists, and so on. Many people believe that high IQ and high levels of success and happiness go together.
But many intellectual giants are emotional dwarfs. We all know people who can run mental circles around us lesser mortals, but their lives are a mess. Many "do not suffer fools gladly." Their cutting wit or biting sarcasm often shows an arrogant, superior attitude that arouses resentment and reduces cooperation. This usually results in badly damaged relationships, businesses, families, or teams. Something is missing. We know there's much more to a successful life than a strong head; we also need a strong heart. Intelligence is only part of the equation; we also need to deal with the human factors ¡¦the humanness in others and ourselves. We need to deal with emotional factors.
Jim Clemmer, Growing the Distance: Timeless Principles for Personal, Career, and Family Success.
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