Disclaimer: These are all suggestions. Many people have multiple intelligences, some of which might cancel out each other’s deficiencies. Each intelligence type could be present but express itself differently in your character and behavior. We are not here to restrict but to guide. In the end, you can do whatever you enjoy.
Spatial Intelligence is the ability to think in 3D, to form and visualize any object and space—basically, the skill of reality warping. As a spatially intelligent person, you can create and design multiple realities inside your head, allowing you to envision what’s possible and what the future could look like. Let’s explore the strengths and areas for improvement of individuals with this intelligence, as well as fitting jobs, hobbies, and the impact of this intelligence type on everyday life, both personally and within society.
Strengths:
We encounter spatial thinking in many situations or areas of everyday life—whether it’s planning your room or outfits, engaging in photography, drawing, or even in some areas of math and physics. While everyone’s brain processes spatial information to some extent, individuals with high spatial intelligence go beyond the ordinary.
If you possess high spatial intelligence, your visual-spatial skills are notably distinctive. You can easily imagine rooms, objects, and the amount of space they occupy in a setting.
Your imagination isn’t confined to closed spaces; it’s likely you have a good sense of direction and orientation, making it easy for you to apply pathways on paper or screens to the real world.
As a spatially intelligent person, your excellent visualization skills extend to the ability to freely manipulate anything you can envision. This means you’re not just capable of copying what already exists but also designing and creating what could be.
Spatially intelligent people can connect what’s written or drawn to what physically exists. Thus, you excel at understanding and designing models as representations of various processes.
Moreover, individuals with spatial intelligence often have a strong sense of aesthetics. The ability to envision also includes the ability to arrange objects in space. Spatially intelligent people can imagine balanced spacing or the placement of items to ensure they work harmoniously together.
Areas for Improvement:
As we’ve mentioned, your brain works primarily through visualization, which may result in difficulties with verbal tasks. Technical tasks that rely on verbal communication can be confusing and difficult to understand. Additionally, exercises requiring strong numerical skills could lead to struggles. While verbal expressions can often be transformed into visual ones, numerical tasks might not be as easily converted. This contradictory approach to your brain’s natural way of processing information is why these tasks can seem unsolvable or exhausting.
Do you recognize yourself or certain parts of you in this description? If so, congratulations on identifying one of your intelligence types! You’ve completed step one of your journey: determining your intelligence. But, you might be asking, what should you do now? Let’s move on to step two: how to embrace your strengths and work on your weak spots.
How to Refine and Embrace Strengths:
The skills we’ve discussed are ones you are naturally talented in. However, assuming you don’t need to work on them would be arrogant and could result in others surpassing you quickly. To excel in areas that require your natural gifts, you need to refine your skills. The basic approach, as always, is to regularly work on keeping them sharp.
Your number one tip: practice drawing or sketching regularly. Don’t worry—being spatially intelligent doesn’t necessarily mean you’re naturally good at drawing, and we understand that. But modeling is one of your strengths. To refine it, you need to practice applying what you create in your head to the real world. You don’t need to draw faces or complicated structures—just draw objects, rooms, spaces, or anything you feel comfortable with.
If drawing isn’t your thing, you’re in luck—we live in the age of modern technology. Although actually drawing might offer a different understanding of shadows and angles, if you prefer, you can use 3D modeling software to practice. We recommend using both methods for the best training experience. With software, you can change perspectives and get a better view of different levels of depth and structure.
If you feel like you need extra help, consider participating in art or design classes and working with others. This is always a great way to refine your skills. Seeking help from experienced individuals isn’t a sign of weakness—it shows your desire to improve and is a very effective way to accomplish that.
A more advanced tip is to connect models to the real world, not just visually but also by incorporating touch or even smell, meaning: connect your senses. For instance, close your eyes, feel an object in your hand, visualize it in your head, and then draw or 3D model it. This exercise will also train your visualization skills.
The good news is, your imagination is limitless. Therefore, gradually move to more complex structures or spaces to keep yourself challenged.
How to Work on Areas for Improvement:
To train your verbal skills, engage in reading and writing exercises. Many people struggle with focusing while reading, but regular practice—and even writing on your own—will help you understand text structure and wording more quickly over time.
Numerical skills can most effectively be improved by practicing basic math problems. The everyday necessary complexity of numerical understanding isn’t very high. To train your numerical skills, start with basic exercises and gradually move to more complex ones, depending on your goals. However, don’t be too easy on yourself—go beyond simple addition and subtraction.
Verbal and numerical expression are two of our most commonly used forms of communication in day-to-day life, so struggling with them can be challenging. If the above strategies aren’t helpful, try transforming verbal or numerical expressions into pictures or spaces. When confronted with a text, go step by step and connect it to pictures or diagrams. For math problems, try to visualize them in a real-life setting. For example, when dealing with triangles, imagine them in a real-world scenario, place them somewhere in the room, and ask yourself what you want to calculate. This method might help connect abstract or complex problems to your way of thinking.
Jobs Aligning with This Intelligence Type:
Some jobs aligning with this intelligence type require a fundamental understanding of numerical problems, such as being an architect or engineer. If you dream of becoming one of these professionals, make sure to work on refining your numerical skills as well. Other jobs suited to this intelligence type include graphic or product designer, artist, photographer, or pilot, as well as careers in other creative fields.
Hobbies Aligning with This Intelligence Type:
Hobbies compatible with this type of intelligence often align well with potential careers. You might enjoy drawing or painting while refining your skills. If photography isn’t your dream job, it could still be a fulfilling hobby. Building models can also be a way to train and relax simultaneously. Engaging in these activities can be a valuable outlet for distancing yourself from everyday stress.
Additionally, playing video games might be a hobby you enjoy as a spatially intelligent individual. Games offer graphics, new worlds, and countless things to imagine, envision, and shape.
Now you have a complete guide on what defines your intelligence, your strengths and areas you can improve, the jobs and hobbies you can engage in – but, what now? You can refine your strengths, but for what, a job you need an education for, one you might have in years. You can improve areas you might have some deficiencies in, but how is that helpful? What benefit does this knowledge provide just here and now? Let’s have a look at the effect of spatial intelligence in everyday life and its personal and societal impact.
Spatial Intelligence in Everyday Life:
In everyday life, spatial intelligence proves useful in many ways. First and foremost, it enhances navigation skills. Reading maps, visualizing routes—you’ll always reach your destination.
When it comes to organization, you know how to use every inch of space to its fullest extent. No empty spaces, no useless corners—you live your life like a real-life game of Tetris.
As a creative individual, your room might feel like stepping into another world, or at least you’ve thought about how to improve it if you had the time or money.
Your styling abilities don’t stop with your room; your creativity likely extends to your clothes and accessories as well. Planning outfits in advance? No problem—you can easily envision all your clothes in every possible combination.
Societal and Personal Impact:
For society, you’re a trendsetter. Not everyone can design, but you’re part of the group that plans and creates exteriors and interiors, meaning you design the spaces and environments we interact with every day. Your work shapes society’s reality, the world we live in, and can even influence the look of our future.
On a personal level, spatial intelligence is a creative and generative force. It enables you to explore new forms of expression and communication, giving you a unique way to process and comprehend life’s situations.
Even though verbal and numerical tasks take up a significant portion of our daily lives, humans are primarily visual creatures. We subconsciously trust visual information the most, and this is the realm you excel in.
Crafting new things as an outlet for your imaginative mind can impact every area of life. Whether you create art, design spaces, or innovate new products, you’re constantly imagining improvement.
Realise the importance of visual creation, realise the importance of your ability – you are capable of questioning, you are capable of understanding, you are capable of inspiring, and you are capable of forming.