You can increase your intelligence.
Your brain and neurological circuitry are always changing, forming new connections, and generating new nerve cells.
There’s a lot of misinformation about how to boost your brainpower. But by using evidence-based guidance, you can focus on what works.
Physical Intelligence
Move more. Intense gym workouts, walking, or even simple stretches can help improve your memory and cognition.
Be Still. Find a relaxed and upright posture, sit still, breathe deeply, and you’ll soon see how much easier it is to think clearly and solve problems.
Eat healthier. Eating a diet with lots of healthy fats and vegetables can give your mind the fuel it needs to work and grow at peak performance.
Emotional Intelligence
Notice your emotional state. Put a label on how you feel and find new ways to describe them. Pay attention to what triggers them, what effects they have on you, and how they change over time.
Manage your moods. If you don’t cope with stress, sadness, and anxiety in healthy ways, you’ll deplete your ability to think and learn. Search for better mood-management strategies. Therapy and support groups can be very helpful with this.
Empathize with others. Spend time considering how the people around you are feeling right now. Listen to what they say and hear their story. Consider how our life experiences differ, our emotional landscapes can be very similar.
Conceptual Intelligence
Expand your experiences. Keep your eyes and ears open to the world around you. Travel to new places, read stimulating books, do things you’ve never done before, and tell people about these experiences.
Discover new words. Practice learning other languages, or learn new vocabulary in your primary language. Look up words in the dictionary or a thesaurus. Unlock new ways to describe and think about the world around you.
Think about thoughts. Examine your ideas and beliefs. Be curious about your thinking patterns. Write in a journal to explore your thoughts and feelings more deeply and insightfully.
Social Intelligence
Find your community. Belonging to a group also allows us to share ideas and learn from each other safely. We can realize new things about ourselves and the world around us by interacting with others who have different perspectives.
Share with friends. Together with friends, we feel more stimulated, connected, and supported. This trust allows us to be open and vulnerable, allowing us to grow.
Have meaningful conversations. Make it a habit to ask more questions and listen closely. Seek out opportunities for dialogue and civil debate. Even with casual small talk, be curious and interested.
Sensory Intelligence
Have fun. Enjoy a good laugh and appreciate the little things. Surround yourself with pleasant, fun experiences that make you feel good about doing them.
Make love. Romance and intimacy help us feel alive and rejuvenated. It creates a deeper connection with our partners, opening up new possibilities of understanding.
Share beauty. Create something beautiful and share it with others. Linger in the stimulating moments of music, dance, fragrances, tastes, textures, or the sunset.
Self Intelligence
Self-observation. Be curious about yourself and why you do what you do. Keep asking what you can do to improve yourself. Notice the automatic reactions that recur throughout each day.
Self-transformation. Your life is not fixed. Take on new goals and dreams. You have within you the power to change your perspective, behavior, self-image, and habits in every moment.
