Two questions: How smart are you?

How do you determine how smart you are?

I rather suspect life’s experiences have a lot to do with your answer.

Based on the high grades I got throughout school I might have been considered smart.

But I knew in my heart that had more to do with one skill of mine than it did with “being smart.”

The skill that has always come easily to me is memorizing. When I was in grade school I won the Bible challenge only because I could easily memorize Scripture.

Did you ever stop to consider how much of school work is pure memorizing?

I sailed through classes because I could memorize what I read.

I’ve always been convinced that those who get the top grades aren’t necessarily the smartest. Other factors come into play.

Hard work counts way more than the amount of candle power we were given.

I remember one graduate class with the professor regarded as one of the toughest on campus.

There were only nine of us in class so it was impossible to coast through without a lot of hard work.

Worse yet, when I looked around the class I was intimidated by the bright guys in class, including several of them who were pre-law.

When the professor announced he grades on a scale and only one or two of us would get A’s, I knew I had my work cut out for me.

But what I had going for me is that I was willing to work harder than anyone.

We were supposed to defend our stand on a controversial topic while the rest of the class attacked our position. I did more research than anyone in class to make sure I was prepared to defend my theories.

That class reaffirmed that the smartest kids aren’t necessarily the ones who get the top grades. I learned that super smart people often coast by on their brains without putting forth a lot of effort.

When I went to my graduation ceremony I was truly stunned when it was announced I was college valedictorian.

Then I learned once we are out of an academic environment, grades and honors mean nothing. Even when applying for jobs, no one asked to see my college transcript.

There was a big article on the internet this week with the headline: The highest IQ in Hollywood.

And how, I wondered, could anyone determine that? The article was a bunch of baloney.

Even if the writer knew everyone’s IQ, which is doubtful, it didn’t take into consideration there are several kinds of intelligence that contribute to how smart we are.

How well we do in any workplace isn’t about being the smartest person. It’s about knowing how to get along with others, how to problem solve, and how to apply yourself to the task at hand.

Then there’s emotional intelligence that determines how well we do on so many fronts.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use and manage your own intelligence in positive ways. It’s knowing what to say and not say.

I’ve known some smart people who nonetheless lost job after job because they couldn’t keep a grip on their emotions.

After decades of research, Dr. Travis Bradberry says emotional intelligence is the critical factor that sets star performers apart from the rest of the pack. The connection is so strong, he says, that 90 percent of top performers have high emotional intelligence.

It means making smart personal decisions, being a good judge of character, mastering your own emotions and being able to pick yourself up quickly from a setback or failure.

Emotionally stable people know if today wasn’t satisfactory, there is always tomorrow, always a chance to learn from the experience and do better tomorrow.

Another kind of intelligence that most appeals to me is plain old common sense. Yet, it’s not as easy to come by as one might suspect.

I bet you know some smart, educated people who have a lot going for them but seem to be making frequent poor decisions. They have a series of bad consequences not because they aren’t smart enough but because they are lacking in common sense.

I describe that kind of person as being like a fine piece of material limited in use because of one major flaw that spoils its potential.

Lacking common sense can derail careers and relationships far faster than other types of intelligence.

OK, I’ll level with you and tell you why I’ve been thinking this week about intelligence. It all started with a leaky garden hose that had me soaked every time I used it. No matter how much I tightened the connection, it spewed water everywhere except where I wanted it to go.

Finally I took off for Walmart to buy a new hose.

Trying to connect the new hose to the faucet had me calling myself stupid, stupid, stupid. Anyone should be able to connect two simple parts. Anyone except me.

When my neighbor came by he said I needed a different adapter. Still couldn’t get it on. My nice neighbor said I had to stop trying to screw it on. Push it, he said.

OK, there’s also mechanical intelligence, something I sorely lack.

Classroom work was easy. It’s the small stuff of everyday life that baffles me.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.