ARE YOU SPIRITUALLY INTELLIGENT?
ARE YOU SPIRITUALLY INTELLIGENT?
How Spiritually Intelligent are you? Do you rely on that little inner voice we call intuition to guide you in your life and career, or perhaps you’re letting your ego get in the way of your decision making?
Sarah Alexander is author of ‘Spiritual Intelligence in Leadership’ and ‘Spiritual Intelligence in Business’. These are guides to help us use our inner intelligence to make the most of our lives..
Sarah has devised a quiz to help you identify how strong your Spiritual Intelligence really is, and determine if you need to focus more on developing your Higher Self.
Answer the questions below to find out of you are Spiritually Intelligent – or if you need some extra help!
How much to you value quietness, reflection, contemplation and inner listening in your personal and professional life?
a) Not at all
b) I make time for this every day
c) I see the benefits of activities such as Yoga or Pilates in all aspects of my life.
When making an important decision, do you:
a) Decide based on what appears to be the logical and rational thing to do?
b) Take time to quieten your mind and decide based on the answer that your intuition is giving you?
c) Listen to the advice of others and decide based on their advice and what feels right.
Do you use achievement as a way of feeling more worthy?
a) Yes – I feel like I am a better person when I achieve something positive
b) No – I believe that my sense of worth is unrelated to what achieve
c) Sometimes – I occasionally feel the need to prove myself through achievement.
In your work or business, what is your main focus with people?
a) What can I gain from this person? How can I get them to do what I want?
b) How can I best support and bring out the best in people that I interact with?
c) How can I help this person change to be what I want them to be?
There is a major conflict at work. How do you resolve this conflict?
a) Let everyone sort it out amongst themselves
b) Focus on achieving a win-win for all parties involved, because Higher wisdom will ensure there will be one
c) Find a compromise through discussion, listening to everyone involved.
You have just been made redundant, following many years of work for the company. How do you react?
a) Do you feel worried, angry at the situation and become depressed, taking the rejection personally
b) Accept your fearful emotions, and recognise this as an opportunity for something better to emerge in your life
c) You feel fearful, hope that something better will come along and in the meantime desperately apply for any new roles.
You feel passionate about a certain issue in the world. Do you:
a) Complain about how awful the current situation is yet do nothing yourself to improve it
b) You work proactively to change the situation and willingly give your time or money to help it
c) Send a donation and then forget about it as time goes by.
You hear stories about murder, rape and abuse in the news. Do you:
a) Just listen with no reaction, because it is not directly affecting you or anyone you know
b) Send a prayer or positive energy to help the people involved and have compassion for how they must be feeling
c) Sympathise about how the people involved are feeling but feel disassociated because you’ve heard it all before.
How do you relax and unwind? Do you:
a) Sit in front of the TV with a glass of wine
b) Give yourself regular quiet time alone in meditation or contemplation
c) Go out with people whose company you enjoy and do things that make you feel good.
If you answered mostly As:
Your Spiritual Intelligence is not yet developed. Your thinking is still largely in line with your ego. This is the spiritual term for the part of you that takes control of your life based on your past conditioning. It could be beneficial to you personally and in your career if you acquired the skills to align with your unbiased Higher Self. If you listen to your Higher Self and its intuitive wisdom, rather than just acting from your logical thinking and desires, you will work more in-line with the Universe. This will ensure that you are where you are “meant” to be in your career, and could save you time and money.
To start your journey, take the time to regularly make an inner connection with yourself and your feelings, perhaps through listening to your breathing for 5-10 minutes a day.
You tend to have too much focus on yourself and may lack some understanding of how others are thinking and feeling. The more you take the time to understand the people surrounding you, the more you will work coherently together, and the happier and calmer your environment will be. Spend time contemplating how you can best help others thrive, rather than always going after what you want and need. Be willing to let go and move on when things don’t go your way.
If you answered mostly Bs:
You have a high level of Spiritual Intelligence. You apply this Intelligence in a lot of what you do, both personally and professionally. Invariably, you value and take time for inner reflection, contemplation and meditation. You depend on your Spiritual Intelligence to assist you in life’s challenges and you have faith in the strong inner guidance that you receive. You knowingly reap the benefits when you apply it in your career. You are aware of your inner worth and value, regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in. This allows you to work impartially for the greater good of your business. You enjoy supporting others evolve and seeing them be successful. And you have understanding and empathy for them and you are willing make a difference wherever you can. Well done on having this level of Spiritual Intelligence.
If you answered mostly Cs:
Your Spiritual Intelligence is growing. Generally you listen to, and follow, the guidance of your inner wisdom to the best of your ability. Yet, there are times when you find help in the advice of others because your guidance alone is not clear enough. Through regular meditation, your guidance will become clearer and you will have the trust to follow it.
You are understanding and compassionate when needed, allowing you to work well and empathise with others. You do your best to understand where others are coming from in their interactions, particularly when you have any problems or issues that you are dealing with. You invariably forgive people’s wrongdoings.
Developing your Spiritual Intelligence further will benefit you personally and professionally, allowing you to work in tune with the Universe’s wishes, and ultimately, for the greater good. These are qualities that create inspired, confident leaders. Remember to regularly take time out to reflect and listen to your inner wisdom. Keep up the good work developing your Spiritual Intelligence.
About Sarah Alexander
Sarah Alexander is author of ‘Spiritual Intelligence in Leadership’. Sarah runs one-to-one transformational programmes for business owners and leaders, guiding them to use their inner intelligence to make the most of their life’s work. Sarah has worked with international sports competitors, executives from multinationals and successful entrepreneurs.
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