Many people were damaged in school and believe themselves to be average intelligence or below; but there is no real evidence that proves it--even IQ tests are highly contestable! The thing is, we all have amazing brains, and can achieve more than we think is possible. You can increase your smarts, and here are some tips to do that:
1. Think growth: Psychologist Carol Dweck of Stanford has written about two different mindsets in people: fixed mindset and growth mindset. Those with a fixed mindset enter new challenges and environments with a sense of fear, insecurity, and doubt; they tend to focus on the negatives and believe they are "too dumb" to do something well. But those with growth mindsets, enter new experiences and challenges with a sense of wonder, curiosity, and vulnerability: "Quantum mechanical analyses of renaissance art? Don't know what the heck that means, but it sure sounds cool!" The key is that anyone can have a growth mindset simply by switching gears in one's thinking. Instead of entering a new challenge in dread, tell yourself how cool it'll be to learn. And, the other key to a growth mindset is the phrase 'not yet': "I may not be able to succeed yet, but with hard work, I will." You see, growth mindset folks believe not in smarts, but in hard work in achieving their goals; and they know that doing something hard will stimulate and thus cause more neural pathways in their brains. Want to begin now your journey to being smarter? Just start believing you will!
2. Read different things: Being smart is usually linked to one's ability to speak about or comment on a variety of things; but it really has nothing to do with being smart, but more to do with just taking time to read. For those of you who need new ideas for your jobs, it's important to read a cross-section of news sources, books on various subject matter, and even watch lectures on stuff you know nothing about. With generating ideas, you're only as good as your last scan of information. Take time out of your day, at least an hour, to research news and read books and watch lectures and TED Talks.
3. Document: This sounds more serious than it is--it's simply keeping a journal. No, not a diary, but a journal. There was a study done in which university students who wrote notes long-hand in class had much greater retention than those who typed on computer? Journaling has been used by great thinkers, artists, innovators, and business leaders for hundreds of years. The key is to write down your reflections on experiences, things you've read, and, importantly, your new ideas and insights. As you're writing things down, go back over them and read them again and again--you'll keep track of your ideas and be in a position to let them grow and develop further.
4. Research learning techniques and choose two you like: There are all sorts of learning techniques out there that will stimulate your brain and allow you to retain more information, from luminosity to superlearning. Some you'll resonate with and others you won't--the key is to give two a try and see how they work for you. You want to try out more--try more! Learning is a continuous journey: something that didn't work for you in your twenties may suddenly have greater significance and 'stickiness' in your forties.
5. Do creative stuff: The psychologist, Carl Jung, maintained that creativity is to the soul and food is to the body. The problem is, we often don't incorporate much creativity in our daily lives--especially not like we did when we were kids! Here's something crazy enough to be fun: bring a set of watercolour paints to work and when you're working on ideas, draw and watercolour them! If that's anathema, ask yourself why that is--is it just your assumptions about what work is, or is it actually something written down as policy (which I highly doubt: "Thou shalt not use watercolour in any work-related idea generation or documentation..."). Try resetting your office space; or create a studio at home. Always wanted to get into sculpture? Do it. Want to take piano lessons? Do it. Want to connect more with the stuff you loved doing as a kid? Do it. Want to start a garage band at 55? Awesome. You'll find that by exploring and delving into different parts of yourself will cross over into other aspects of your life.
This hardly scratches the surface of things that can make you smarter; but I hope it gets you on the path--if for whatever reason you've ventured off. This could mark a new day in your life--I truly hope so.
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