7 Tiny Behaviors That Make People Instantly See You As Intelligent
You can increase your intelligence by changing your behavior.
Joe Ciciarelli | Unsplash Did you ever say something regretfully dumb when angry?
That’s our malleable intelligence at play.
I’ve always argued that intelligence is changeable. There are different kinds of intelligence, too — from social to verbal, to spatial and linguistic.
Here, we’re focusing on our general ability to take in and interpret information effectively.
Here are 7 tiny ways to increase your general intelligence:
1. Incorporate simulated urgency.
Humans are highly well-attuned to the need to survive in an often threatening environment.
When resources are limited, and we have a goal in mind, our senses are heightened to aid us in working towards a solution.
For example, if we’re being chased by a bear, our minds sharpen.
Our focus is on nothing but survival.
We can emulate this by restricting time.
We can add deadlines, social accountability, timed work sprints, challenges, and crystal-clear objectives to our days and weeks.
2. Take two minutes to relax.
Our intelligence and a relaxed body are inextricably linked.
Many of us operate under the belief that if we’re grinding teeth and all scrunched up, we’ll do better.
We never do.
Our minds become still when we’re calm. When our minds are still, we can tap into our innate wisdom.
You know this to be true because you’ve received the best ideas when calm and feeling good.
Right? So spend a moment focusing on your breath and allowing your shoulders to drop. This is the gateway to true intelligence.
3. Create fewer options.
It’s easy to think we’re doing ourselves a favor by having more options and ideas to pursue some objective.
Perhaps you have an essay to write, and you’re considering what to write about. There’s a reason we stall with option overwhelm.
Have less to write about, and you’ll likely find more creative solutions. More choice means more for our brains to handle.
When we minimize options, we can be more effective, and see more clearly, and our intelligence rises.
4. Lean into uncertainty.
An interesting thing happens when we resist the fact that no one knows what will happen next.
We try to control our futures where there simply can be none.
We wish we knew.
We pre-plan and overanalyse. We tighten up physically and imagine frightening futures that haven’t even happened yet.
All this worry blocks brains.
We relax when we accept uncertainty and find a way to be okay with not knowing.
When we’re relaxed, our brains work better, and intelligence rises effortlessly.
5. Get outdoors and move.
There’s a reason why so many past geniuses were keen walkers and exercisers.
When we’re sedentary for any considerable length of time, we grow less intelligent
Our bodies are born to move, and when we deny this, our minds gather a surplus of negative thoughts that cloud true insight.
When we walk, run, or play, especially outdoors in daylight, where we evolved to be, our intelligence will align with our natural inclinations.
6. Cut out the processing time in your diet.
The more processed the food you eat, the further removed you are from what your body needs.
Processed, in general, equates to a loss of nutrition in service of preservation.
The ideal food for your mind and body is in its most natural (and local) form.
It was a mistake to introduce processed food into our diets long ago if the intention was to make people happy.
Our diseased and mentally ill society is a testament to the destructive power of processed stuff.
Intelligent brains and minds are housed in bodies that skip junk diets.
7. Make more mistakes.
There’s one sure-shot way to guarantee you act in a way that limits you creatively: be scared to fail.
You know this is true because there have been moments when you were nervous.
You didn’t want to do a poor job or look foolish. So you held back.
You didn’t express yourself fully. You operated like an engine with several blocked valves.
When our worried minds are on things other than the task, we can’t possibly perform as well.
Be willing to make mistakes and become present.
Intelligence is gifted to those who strike a balance between conscientious effort and looseness.
Alex Mathers is a writer and coach who helps you build a money-making personal brand with your knowledge and skills while staying mentally resilient.