You're Smarter Than You Think: How to Develop Your Practical Intelligence for Success in Living
Books / Hardcover
Books › Psychology › General
ISBN: 0671782215 / Publisher: Simon & Schuster, February 1993
A personality expert describes the Constructive Thinking Inventory--the test he created to measure practical intelligence--offering insights into the personality traits that really matter in life
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A high IQ may help you do well in school, but experiential intelligence - what most of us think of as common sense - is far more important when it comes to success in life. It is this second mind that helps you to cope with emotions, get along with others, and solve practical problems in living at minimal cost in stress.We all know people with unexceptional IQs who are surprisingly high achievers at work, in their social relationships, in their love lives, in raising their children, and in maintaining physical and mental well-being - much more successful than many people who have higher IQs.Such people, says eminent personality psychologist Seymour Epstein, seem to have a "talent for living." They know how to make constructive use of their experiential mind: a mind that bypasses rational processes and operates on automatic pilot on the basis of past experience.Experts have long recognized the importance of practical intelligence. But until recently no one has known how to measure it. In this provocative book, Epstein, world renowned for his research and theory on personality, unveils a ground-breaking new theory of intelligence - Cognitive Experiential Self Theory (CEST). And he also offers a sophisticated new test - the Constructive Thinking Inventory (CTI) - that allows you to measure how well you manage your emotions and challenging situations, as well as your habitual responses to setbacks and failures. Here you will learn how to diagnose the automatic thinking processes that cause "smart people to think dumb"; how to identify your basic needs, beliefs, sensitivities, and compulsions, and how to use this knowledge to increase your understanding of yourself and others; how constructive thinking is related to success in work, social relations, intimate relationships, and mental and physical well-being; and how to nourish better constructive thinking in your children.You'll learn how to avoid such common pitfalls as "catastrophizing," categorical thinking, personalization, and the tyranny of the "should." You'll find techniques to help you tune into your preconscious and communicate with your experiential mind through fantasy and imagery, the language it knows best. Exercises are provided to give you practice in replacing destructive responses with constructive ones. Soon your constructive thinking will become automatic.By teaching you how to think smart, this pioneering work offers important insights into the personality attributes that really matter in life - and tells you how you can develop them to the fullest.
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