The Core of Intelligence

“The ability to speak does not make you intelligent.”- Master Qui-Gon Jin

I remember growing up thinking that all adults were so intelligent. After all, they used really big words and they talked with such confidence on so many topics. But then I grew up and started figuring out that just because someone knew a few big words and talked a lot did not make them intelligent. I also figured out that fancy job titles nor the number of years a person has lived does not make them intelligent either. Perhaps it should, but I’ve seen plenty of examples where it just didn’t.

Intelligence is so much more than just knowledge. Intelligence is knowledge mixed with wisdom. Everyone can gain knowledge, but in order for a person to gain wisdom they have to first have humility because it is humility that makes us open to learning more and keeps us willing to improve ourselves further. When a person lacks humility they have closed off their ability to progress because in their own mind they are already as good as it gets. When the pure reality is that not one of us is as good as it gets or we’d be perfect… and I don’t know about you but I haven’t met a single person yet who is perfect. Therefore we all have a reason to be humble.

I also think the recognition that the ability for someone to speak doesn’t make them intelligent helps us realize that we should never discount our own ability to intelligently add to situations. We should never assume everyone in the room must be more intelligent than we are just because they might be older or use bigger words. Each of us has a different perspective we can bring to the table that will add value so we should never hold back from contributing our thoughts. And more times than not you will likely be surprised at how much more intelligent you might actually be in comparison, especially because you haven’t lost the very core of intelligence…humility!

It’s going to be a glorious week ahead!

~Amy Rees Anderson

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