INTRAPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE: CHARACTERISTICS AND HOW TO DEVELOP IT - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

The intrapersonal intelligence is one of the types of intelligence described in the theory of multiple intelligences, and has to do with the quality of the relationship with himself. This concept is opposed to that of interpersonal intelligence, which has to do with the skills to relate to other people.

People with a large amount of intrapersonal intelligence are able to understand their own inner world and their emotions and thoughts. In this way, they understand better than the rest why they feel in a certain way, and are able to better regulate these feelings.

This intelligence is one of the least used on a regular basis, since most people do not usually give it too much importance.

However, working on intrapersonal intelligence is essential to be able to achieve your own goals and feel better about yourself.

The 4 main characteristics of people with intrapersonal intelligence

Intrapersonal intelligence usually manifests itself mainly in four different abilities: awareness of one's emotions, introspection, self-regulation, and metacognition.

All four are closely related to each other, so they tend to occur at the same time in the same person. Although they can occur innately, these characteristics are usually developed throughout life through effort and dedication.

Awareness of one's own emotions

Being aware of our own emotions implies knowing our feelings, attitudes and points of view, as well as the reasons why they are caused. Specifically, intrapersonal intelligence has to do with the cognitive part of emotions.

All emotions are made up of three components: a bodily sensation, a tendency to act in a certain way and a cognitive part, which is related to the causes of emotions and what each person tells himself about them.

A person with low intrapersonal intelligence will feel the physical part of an emotion (such as anger) and will act out of control without thinking about whether it is what they really want to do.

Once you've calmed down, you'll find that you don't understand why you've acted that way.

On the contrary, someone with good intrapersonal intelligence will be able to realize the emotion that he is feeling. In this way, you can choose your way of acting more consciously.

Introspection

Closely related to the previous point is the skill of introspection. It consists of the ability to observe one's own emotions or thoughts, and understand why they occur.

In this way, an introspective person is able to discover the causes of what he is feeling at a given moment, in such a way that he can get to the root of the matter.

For example, if an introspective person is jealous, they might examine this emotion and discover that behind it are other emotions, such as insecurity or sadness.

Introspection is very useful to discover what kinds of situations provoke certain emotions, so that you can work in the future to change them.

Also, by being more aware of the causes of a feeling, people are able to act more consciously and not get carried away by that feeling.

Introspection is at the base of many ethical and moral systems. When a person discovers exactly what her emotions and thoughts are, she can decide a way to act that is more in accordance with her own values and beliefs.

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Another of the outstanding traits of people with high intrapersonal intelligence is self-regulation. This ability consists of being able to act in a certain way despite what we are feeling at a certain moment.

When we feel a very strong emotion, the most common response is to behave accordingly without thinking about what is being done.

Returning to the previous example, a person who is experiencing a lot of jealousy will tend to get angry with his partner, accuse him or move away from him.

However, these first responses that come to mind when experiencing an emotion are often not in accordance with our values ​​or with the people we want to be.

Therefore, it is necessary to stop and reflect before acting uncontrollably. And regulation takes care of precisely this.

A person with a great ability to self-regulate is capable of experiencing a powerful emotion, but can also calmly choose the way he wants to behave in that situation.

This does not mean that they feel emotions less strongly than other people, but that they can accept them and still act in a way that is in accordance with their values ​​and beliefs.

Metacognition

The last of the capabilities related to intrapersonal intelligence is metacognition. It consists of the ability to reflect on one's emotions, thoughts and beliefs, in such a way that they can be better understood.

In this way, a person with a great ability for metacognition is able to know their strengths and weaknesses, thus being able to make better choices in their life.

He is also able to communicate what he is feeling at a given moment more clearly, since he understands it better.

Finally, metacognition also allows you to know in which areas you need to develop more, as well as to understand what is the most effective way to achieve it.

How to develop intrapersonal intelligence?

Among the intelligences described within the Theory of multiple intelligences, intrapersonal intelligence is undoubtedly one of the most useful of all.

Therefore, working to develop it can be a great investment in yourself if you notice that it is not among your strengths.

Deep down, the four skills of intrapersonal intelligence are closely related to the ability to know yourself and be aware of your own thoughts and emotions.

This means that to improve capacity in this area, you have to be able to understand yourself.

There are many ways to become more aware of your own mental processes; Here are some of the easiest ones to practice.

Still, do not be fooled by their simplicity: practicing them will help enormously when developing your own intrapersonal intelligence.

Meditation / Mindfulness

In its most basic form, meditation is about being able to observe your own thoughts without being carried away by them.

In this sense, creating a meditation routine can make intrapersonal intelligence develop very quickly.

One of the easiest ways to learn to meditate is to try to do it in everyday life. This is what is commonly known as mindfulness.

While doing a task, such as washing dishes or taking a shower, you need to be able to fully focus on what you are doing, without getting lost in your own thoughts.

If you can maintain focus, at the moment in which a particularly strong emotion is felt, the person will be able to realize what is happening and choose how they want to act, without being carried away by it.

This is why practicing meditation is one of the first things you should try to develop this kind of intelligence.

However, many people who have ever tried some form of meditation have found it difficult, since it can be difficult not to get carried away by the mind.

Therefore, learning to meditate (both in the traditional way and in everyday life) requires great perseverance.

There are some techniques that can help you live in the present more easily:

- Sit in a quiet place, close your eyes, and focus on your own breathing. Count the number of inspirations and try to go further and further before being distracted by thoughts.

- When performing a routine task, it helps to focus on sensations and emotions. If any thought distracts from what you are doing, let it go and bring your attention back to the present.

- At the moment in which a very strong emotion is felt, it helps to name it before acting. For example, if there is a lot of anger, the person might say to himself something like, "I am feeling angry." Just by doing this, the emotion will decrease in intensity.

Keep a personal journal

Another of the most effective ways to improve intrapersonal intelligence is to write down at the end of the day what has happened to you and how you have felt. In this way, there will be a written record of your own emotions and thoughts.

Writing is a very useful resource to improve this type of intelligence, because it allows us to realize what type of thoughts and feelings are had on a recurring basis.

Thus, for example, someone may discover that they always feel very happy after talking to a certain person, or sad if they do not leave the house all day.

To increase the effectiveness of a diary in improving intrapersonal intelligence, the most important thing is not to write but to carry out a subsequent analysis of what has been written down on paper.

In this way there will be a greater awareness of the mental processes themselves, so that they can be detected at the moment when a very strong emotion prompts them to act in a way that is not ideal.

References

1. "Intrapersonal Intelligence" at: Udemy. Retrieved on: February 05, 2018 from Udemy: blog.udemy.com.
2. "5 Ways to Nurture Kids' Intrapersonal Intelligence" in: Growing With Your Child. Retrieved on: February 05, 2018 from Growing With Your Child: growingwithyourchild.com.
3. "An Introduction to the Theory of Multiple Intelligences" in: Thought Co. Retrieved on: February 05, 2018 from Thought Co: thoughtco.com.
4. "Theory of Multiple Intelligences" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: February 05, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
5. "Intrapersonal Learning" in: Inspiring Breakthrough. Retrieved on: February 05, 2018 from Inspiring Breakthrough: inspiring-breakthrough.co.uk.