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.Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence refers to skills in using your physical body, whether that’s being super strong, super flexible, super fast, or super precise. So, superhumans—they’re bodily-kinesthetic intelligent. But even though we quickly recognize someone with extraordinary bodily-kinesthetic abilities, this type of intelligence is often overlooked.
What strengths do these people actually possess? Are you one of them? Let’s find out.
Strengths:
Individuals with high levels of bodily-kinesthetic intelligence have strong motor coordination skills. Whether it’s simply walking or moving your left arm and right foot in different ways, these individuals excel at tasks requiring coordination of their bodies.
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligent people also have extraordinary dexterity. This is why many surgeons score highly in this type of intelligence. It doesn’t just refer to being strong or fast, but also to being precise.
Another trait of individuals with this intelligence type is physical control. In this context, physical control refers to knowledge of your body. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligent people know their boundaries and are aware of their physical state, enabling them to work effectively with their bodies.
We’ve all seen the video of that baseball player catching a ball to prevent it from hitting the woman interviewing him, haven’t we? Well, people with extreme bodily-kinesthetic intelligence are very likely to have strong and fast reflexes as well—consider it a sixth sense if you like.
Creativity is another trait often present in bodily-kinesthetic intelligent individuals. This might be unexpected, but just think of dancers, for example. People with this intelligence type can communicate without words. They hold the key to a different way of expressing themselves, one that’s inspiring, full of emotion, and honest.
Areas for Improvement:
Many bodily-kinesthetic intelligent people have been engaging in sports since a young age. This, over time, becomes a lifestyle, resulting in a conditioned need for movement. Therefore, since these individuals love to, or rather need to move in order to function efficiently, they may find it difficult to focus on non-physical activities for a long period.
Additionally, some athletes may have a hard time memorizing information in school or university, but at the same time easily remember anything related to their primary activity.
Are you recognizing yourself or some parts of you? Congratulations on identifying one of your intelligence types. With that, you’ve accomplished step one of your journey: determining your intelligence. But even if that’s wonderful to hear, you may be asking, what should I do now? Let’s move on to step two: how to embrace your strengths and work on your weaknesses.
How to Refine and Embrace Strengths:
Just as with logical-mathematical intelligence, the skills we’ve mentioned before are ones you are naturally talented in. To excel in areas that require your natural gifts, you need to refine your skills. For you as someone with bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, this means training regularly in your chosen physical activity.
Build willpower. We recently uploaded an article on >>how to build willpower<<. Essentially, as an athlete striving for success or a career in your chosen profession, you’ll face a lot of competition. That’s why you need willpower to be the best and keep going during the inevitable setbacks this rocky path will present.
You can take advanced classes to enhance your skills, surpass your opponents, and maybe even work with and learn from individuals who are (for now) better than you. If you are the competitive type, this is the best way to improve.
You could also train by focusing on a specific technique. Many successful athletes have a particular strength that sets them apart from their opponents. Remember, perfecting and surpassing everyone with one technique can be more useful than being able to do everything, but only half as well as everyone else.
If we’re talking about enhancing dexterity or precision, you might enjoy tasks requiring craftsmanship. This way, you gain knowledge about your chosen craft, might even create something useful afterward, and refine your intelligence.
Balance your workouts! It is crucial to train your entire body when aiming to become stronger. Even if your primary activity mostly requires, for example, your hands, it is important to train the rest of your body as well. This is the only way you can use the entire power of your primary body part, as your body can’t keep up otherwise.
Live a healthy life. This means: One, fuel your body with nutritious foods. These are labeled healthy because they provide your body with the nutrients it needs to function effectively. Two, move your body regularly. We expect you to do that anyway—if not, please start. And three, get enough sleep. Of course, there are more factors important to living a healthy life, but these three are essential. You can read separate articles about them in our >>Balance Series<<.
How to Work on Areas for Improvement:
As we’ve said, areas you might have room for improvement are those requiring focus without movement. A very straightforward approach is to engage in activities that require concentration. You could start with activities that call for high levels of concentration but don’t take long or activities that need you to focus for a long period but aren’t very difficult. Either way, you’ll gradually learn to concentrate without moving. Do this in your spare time, and don’t directly connect this task to any of your duties like homework or work assignments. Otherwise, you’ll risk getting stressed and giving up. The will to work and to improve should come from within.
Another way to start training your concentration is through yoga or meditation. This task has multiple positive effects for you as an individual. Yoga still involves movement, which is great to start with if meditation is too challenging. Both focus on yourself and your body. They’ll help you relax, which is necessary after training, and they’ll help you listen to and feel what’s going on inside. Getting to know your body is crucial to using it most effectively, making this extremely effective.
Lastly, we’ve also mentioned memorizing certain information as an area for possible improvement. The dual characteristic of easily remembering things related to activities has two effects. One, it requires understanding from the people around bodily-kinesthetic intelligent individuals, and two, it can be used to develop specific learning methods that combine difficult tasks with movement.
Now that we’ve evaluated your strengths and areas for improvement, let’s apply all that to the real world. Want to make money? Want to have fun? Here are some jobs and hobbies that align well with this type of intelligence.
Jobs Aligning with This Intelligence Type:
The jobs aligning with this type of intelligence span a variety of sectors requiring physical work.
Possible jobs include athlete, dancer, physical therapist, surgeon, craftsman, or any other job requiring intense or precise physical abilities.
Hobbies Aligning with This Intelligence Type:
For hobbies, you have nearly endless possibilities. Unsurprisingly: sports. If you don’t aspire to be a professional athlete, you can still engage in any sport.
Activities such as yoga, which we mentioned for working on your areas for improvement, can also become your hobby. Go ahead, try them, and possibly kill two birds with one stone.
Hiking combines movement with spending time in nature. You can hike alone or with others, making it a great hobby to relax and refresh.
To improve dexterity, we introduced you to work in the field of craftsmanship. The obvious approach would be, for example, woodworking, but another good hobby is cooking. You can refine your precision and at the same time learn some new and delicious recipes to keep your body healthy.
Now you have a complete guide to understanding your intelligence, your strengths and areas for improvement, and the jobs and hobbies you can engage in—but what now? You can refine your strengths, but for what? A job you need to train for over the years? You can improve areas where you might have deficiencies, but how is that helpful? What benefit does this knowledge provide here and now? Let’s look at the effect of bodily-kinesthetic intelligence in everyday life and its personal and societal impact.
Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence in Everyday Life:
In everyday life, your strong motor coordination and physical control can be helpful with any duties around the house, such as gardening or cooking, or any tasks that arise during the day.
Exercising is crucial to health. As someone with bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, you regularly engage in movement, which improves health and extends lifespan.
Because you have good dexterity, you can easily develop new skills for repairing or building items. This not only helps you repair things at home but also enables you to freely design your home.
Societal and Personal Impact:
To society, you as an individual are inspiring. Remember what we called you at first? Right, superhuman. Be a role model while being healthy and having fun engaging in what you love. Is there anything better?
Personally, this intelligence type allows you to enhance physical fitness and coordination to an extent beyond the ordinary. Others might underestimate this type of intelligence, but they wish they had it. Lean back for a second and think about how much you use your body daily—realize how useful this intelligence type is.
Effectively using this type of intelligence can transform you into an unbeatable (literally) superhuman. Most often, only logical intelligence is referred to as actual intelligence, but imagine a society without bodily-kinesthetic intelligent individuals. No entertainment, no craftsmanship, no inspiration. Realize the importance of your intelligence type, and don’t let anyone tone you down.
Through your unique ability to express yourself without using words, your way of moving is mesmerizing and motivating. Remember and refine that. Use the human body, the shell containing our soul and mind, to its greatest extent and beyond.