Author: Dina-Perla Portnaar
I sat across a director of an executive search and leadership company, talking about secure base leadership, unleashing the individual’s potential, changing the minds of the top leaders of the country and more, when he looked at me in a daring way and said: “I read so many books with theories on culture, human behavior, risks, failures and successes. In the end, the key differentiator which will lead to success is not EQ or SQ, but IQ”. This man was trying to challenge me and question the psychological-spiritual backbone I built up in the past six years. It made me think of the target-oriented, corporate, driven and masculine professional I used to be. A large part of me longed for the ‘simplicity’ of that existence, talking and acting in secular ways and focusing on knowledge, competences and skills more than anything else. Another part of me screamed: who are you kidding? You know, it is the combination that makes a difference, both short-term and long-term.
The more we put in, the more we get out
Some days later, I met up with a journalist / publisher, mostly of educational books, when the Dutch writing and speaking market came up. Writers of autobiographies are not embraced in the Netherlands the way they are in for example the U.S. Besides, the masses often assume you are not doing well when writing on heavy subjects. How wrong can we be? Doing this is in fact the ultimate sign of strength and healing. Moreover, the Dutch masses are interested in the life stories of others, when those stories are of the rich and famous. The question remains: what will they learn from it all? What is the intentionality? What do these life stories model, teach and change in us, in society and in the rest of the world? Also, there aren’t as many podiums to talk about the stories of our lives in a meaningful way, or means to make a living out of it from the first instant of going on that path. It definitely is about focus, finding and creating the opportunities ourselves. As always, the more we put in, the more we get out, which comes down to mostly IQ and some EQ. Or?
Linking pin
Here’s the thing: of course IQ and everything that is linked to it is of great importance. I’m not sure about IQ as the key differentiator though. It depends on whether we would want to zoom in on a piece or look at the whole. Also, there are many examples of IQ and free will in terms of thoughts/ideas, leading to historical darkness and destruction. Of course we can explain how neurology works much better than decades ago and make more accurate individual predictions, but the director’s factual way of thinking may be too limited in these times. Without EQ, which can be specified by the quality of our relationships for example, or emotional competences such as empathy, how can true success be possible? What does intelligence or rationality even mean when not being in relation to others and of value to humanity as a whole?
There’s a linking pin. SQ connects IQ and EQ, or the left and right side of the brain. SQ is the essence of our existence and comes with pure insights, unlimited and unrestrained creativity and progress for example. SQ means deep thinking. SQ is what gives meaning to our lives, by going beyond the conscious and unconscious, towards the endless realms that lay beyond. It is exactly that which makes the stories of our lives and thus autobiographies or documentaries so valuable. It makes the way SQ takes the lead in a human world more tangible.
Deep thinking
Success in our work and in the stories of our lives comes from deep thinking, before, during and after acting. Deep thinking goes beyond the perishable and is about a knowing that has nothing to do with the 3D human way of knowing. In fact, there are many things within our own lives and the lives of others in relation to time and space that we do not understand or do not know what that is for. With that in mind, we can say that becoming one with the universe means trusting it.
I decided to apply this principle much more from 2019 onwards. Becoming a universal voice means trusting it and more often than not, not questioning it. The times of solely solitary studies, external masters and works are over. Nor will I go back to my inner voice only. I will work my way towards an integral inner voice and just be.
How will deep thinking translate for you in the coming period?
