When they were first devised, IQ tests were intended to be bias-free. Intelligence was modeled as a fixed trait, untouched by a person's environment. But over the years this pristine model has been subjected to considerable criticism. A poor child raised in a home where English is a second language, attending an inferior school, and facing an environment where there is daily violence isn't the same as a child growing up in an educated home, attending a privileged school, and surrounded by an environment conducive to learning.
Does this affect the second child's IQ? I have my suspicions, as do various professional psychologists specializing in this area. But in practical life, I think what's most important is how you use the intelligence you're given. Like any other function that is dependent on the brain, intelligence is expressed in specific situations. It's used to make decision, for example, and every decision is subject to emotions, information, stress, and the people who are in the room when the decision has to be made.
This led me to coin a term - functional IQ - that describes IQ in action. No matter what you believe your IQ to be, there are definitely ways to sharpen it.
First, attend to the well-being of your brain. You are its user, just as you use your car, and a tuned-up brain works much better than a carelessly used one. Your brain needs to be rested with a good night's sleep. It should be focused on one task at a time, since multitasking decreases your ability to perform each task well. Alcohol, smoking, and probably a fatty diet damage the circulatory system, which over time leads to impaired brain function. A quiet workplace free of distractions isn't always easy to achieve, but it makes things easier on your brain.
Next, attend to detriments that affect your mind. We don't have to bring up the controversies over how mind and brain are related, because in general, every cell in the body is chemically connected to a person's mood, stress level, and state of well-being. There is a floating communication system that brings messages to the outer membrane of every cell, and the headquarters for this constant messaging is the brain. It receives complex input from the mind, which then gets translated into output. This feedback loop works best if you aren't
- anxious
- depressed
- fatigued
- obese
- ill
- addicted to various drugs and abused substances
- highly medicated
- malnourished.
The mind is involved in all of these detriments, and as the user of your brain, you should look upon these things as enemies of using your brain efficiently (in addition to harming your well-being in other ways).
Finally, functional IQ depends on the quality of your attention. Being able to focus sharply while remaining relaxed is a skill that can be trained. Meditation is a prime tool here, and to some extent so are simple relaxation techniques, such as sitting quietly for a few minutes with eyes closed in a quiet place. Avoiding work fatigue is essential, which begins by getting up from your desk once an hour and moving around. But if I had to name one factor that even highly intelligent people tend to overlook, however, it would not be maintaining sharp focus, but rather expanded awareness. When you make any decision, you can draw on the shallow part of the mind, which is impulsive, easily distracted, overly influenced by others, and constantly in motion. Or you can draw from the deeper part of the mind, which is centered, stable, self-reliant, and ultimately the source of wisdom.
It's been shown that older people score better on tests that require accumulated experience and wisdom than younger people, who are quicker and intellectually more nimble. But you can have the best of both worlds by expanding your awareness. And the best means for developing this are meditation, mindfulness, self-reflection, and similar techniques.
Constricted awareness is prey to all of the detriments listed in this post, while expanded awareness not only protects you from them - largely by making you more attentive and self-aware - but also leads to a style of functioning that is creative, open, intuitive, insightful, and always growing. We tend to think of the most enlightened states as somehow mystical and reserved for a small band of sages and saints. But I propose that enlightenment is simply the highest attainment of functional IQ, which anyone can achieve if they put their minds to it.
Deepak Chopra, MD, Founder of The Chopra Foundation, Co-Founder of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, coauthor of Super Brain with Rudolph Tanzi and for more information visit The Universe Within.
Deepak Chopra MD (official)
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