One of the most important lessons I would like to teach my son is that being smart is sometimes dumb. "Academic Intelligence" offers almost no real preparation for lifes challenges. On the other hand, "emotional intelligence" is the key to determining how well we can use whatever other skill we have, including raw intellect.
I have learned many lessons from living on my own, but the greatest lesson I learned came from meeting my husband and studying for the LSAT. I had neither emotional aptitude nor intellectual aptitude. Lesson #1 I learned from my husband. It is the lesson that people who know and manage their own feelings well, and read and deal effectively with other people's feelings--are at an advantage in any domain of life, whether romance and intimate relationships or picking the unspoken rules that govern success in organizational politics.
Furthermore, lesson #2 I learned from studying from the LSAT. And it is that people with well-developed emotional skills are also more likely to be content and effective in their lives. Not only that but these people are better able to master the habits of mind that foster their own productivity. And people who can not direct some control over their emotional life will fight inner battles that sabotage their ability for focused work and clear thought.
Growing up I felt as thought I had more emotional intelligence than academic intelligence. And my greatest success came when I learned to balance my logical aptitude with my emotional aptitude. Once I did that, I became clearer in my thinking and my work became more focused.
I want to train my son is in personal intelligence. This will be quite the challenge for I was not trained in personal intelligence. I have higher "intrapersonal intelligence" than interpersonal intelligence. But this is the cross in life I must bear.
No comments:
Post a Comment