It's Not How Smart You Are, But How You Are Smart

 There is a stereotype about what a smart person is like.  Mostly it is based on the ability to memorize certain facts and feed them back to authority figures.  I know a man who didn't stay in school past grade school but later got into college.  His teachers labelled him as dumb but I was amazed at the way he could identify so many different kinds of airplanes, among other bits of information he had at his fingertips.  Schools need to admit that different people learn in different ways and are drawn to learn different things.  All too often students are expected to only learn by sitting on a hard chair and listening to endless words coming out of a teachers mouth.  Memorization is not the end all and be all of education.  I actually asked one of my college professors once a question about his knowledge of History.  He told me that he wasn't sure he understood all that he had lectured on that day.  His lecture was mainly a memorization of what his professor had said when he had been a student in college.  Words passed down but not understood.  Rebel against this nonsense stereotype today.  Accept that you are smart.  Now go away from the label.  Start to explore the ways in which you are smart.  How do you learn?  Good spellers often learn by spelling out the word in a rhythm. Some people like to doodle and diagram and draw pictures to grasp the ideas they are learning.  Some chant.  Some listen.  Some Read.  Some write things out.  Some speak the facts.  Some need to talk new facts over with someone before they get into their brain.  Put on you 'Smart Hat' and explore the ways in which you are smart.

Be Smart Like a Cat

  When it is time to learn something new you have to overcome a few things.  There is the inertia of the way things have been going along the same, without this new knowledge.  Then there is the uncertainty about whether it is of value or worth the trouble.We want variety but we just don't know about this new stuff.  Here is where watching the way a kitten approaches a new box to play with can pay off.  There will be a sneak approach.  Then a jump back.  Maybe a sideways sidle will take place.  Then a paw might reach out and bat at the box.  Maybe the kitten will try to bite the box.  There is not any prolonged contact with the box right away.  It is explored from all sides and in many ways.  Only when the kitten feels comfortable with that box will it become a place to crawl into and relax or groom itself.
   You can do the same thing.  Math, for instance, is simply counting.  But it can be counting in very complex ways.  Jump at it.  Play around with the concepts.  Jump back.  Go to a familiar place.  Find ways to jump at it from above.  Little bites and shoves.  Don't turn your back on it.  There is a reason people decided to count things.  When these reasons make sense to you there will be an "aha" moment.  Approach life like a cat and your Smart Hat will stand up proud and tall.

New Year's Resolution: To Realize You Are Smart Then Forget It

   Everyone is so much smarter than they realize.  To learn about how smart you actually are you must start with small discoveries.  Can you look at something, then close your eyes and remember what you saw?  That is memory use.  We use memory all the time and it is one of our smart tools.  Can you see gaps in things, where something is missing?  Another tool.  Can you arrange things in sequential order?  Can you arrange things so that they are backward?  Have you told anyone about a movie you have seen lately?  All ways to use your brain.
   Many people want others to see them as smart.  That is understandable. But if you doubt your own smartness it won't matter in the long run how others see you.  You can brag and show off  a lot to try to impress others but you will end up looking foolish.  Being smart is the ability to deal with your life in a satisfying way.  Once in a while it matters what others think.  We like to get good grades. We like to be seen as successful at work. But turning in homework that is neat goes a long way to get grades. Showing up on time to work impresses the boss. But school or work can be a very small part of a great big wonderful world. It is very smart to find ways to not let either work or school be a source of stress. Try a game of adventure and discovery.  That can be fun. Keep an adventure log.  If you don't like something, write it down in your adventure log as something you didn't like.  It is smart to discover things.  Make decisions about changes you can make in your likes or actions so your environment works better for you.  Intelligence is the ability to learn from your environment.  Learn and change.  Put on that smart hat and have a good year.