INTRODUCING “SQ” - SPIRITUAL QUOTIENT

We all know the term EQ/EI and IQ have been around for a long while now which stand for “Emotional Quotient/Emotional Intelligence” and “Intellectual Quotient” respectively.

Growing or developing the EQ or EI and IQ have been touted as the key, if not one of the key ingredients for success, especially in the working world and even life itself, as some organizational psychologists and management consultants have advocated over the years..

EQ

EQ or EI as its known in other professional spheres is defined as a (notional) measure of a person's adequacy in such areas as self-awareness, empathy, and dealing sensitively with other people. Studies have shown that people with high EI have greater mental health, job performance, and leadership skills although no causal relationships have been shown and such findings are likely to be attributable to general intelligence and specific personality traits rather than emotional intelligence as a construct.

IQ

IQ is an acronym for Intelligence Quotient. So what is IQ? The IQ is a measurement of your intelligence and is expressed in a number.

A person's IQ can be calculated by having the person take an intelligence test. The average IQ is 100. If you achieve a score higher than 100, you are smarter than the average person, and a lower score means you are (somewhat) less smart.

An IQ tells you what your score is on a particular intelligence test, often compared to your age-group. The test has a mean score of 100 points and a standard deviation of 15 points. What does this standard deviation mean? It means that 68 percent of the population score an IQ within the interval 85-115. And that 95 percent of the population scores within the interval 70-130.

Hence the general notion is someone with a high EQ and a high IQ is generally deemed to have the best opportunity to succeed, though it is often widely accepted that EQ in the long term plays a more defining role in determining the trajectory of a person`s life.

However allow me here to introduce a few key characteristics here which are not originated through either EQ or IQ, for our consideration. They are not emotionally or intellectually based characteristics but rather originates from the human spirit, hence the term SQ is used.

1)     DISCERNMENT - this is an inner impression in us about a situation or about another person and serves as an inner barometer for correctly gauging how to act and/or respond and relate to the person or situation. It is the ability to judge which things of a particular kind are good and which are bad;

2)     INTUITION - the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning. It is the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference. It is potentially huge in guiding our actions and decisions;

3)     WISDOM - wisdom is NOT knowledge, it is rather application of the right kind of knowledge as guided by discernment and intuition. It guides us when to speak and not to speak, what to say and not to say and how to and when to act and not to. It directs our actions based on an internal alarm. A classic illustration here is a farmer can have more wisdom than a NASA scientist.

4)     SELF CONTROL OR SELF RESTRAINT - this is the invisible inner muscle which harnesses our human will to work closely with the 3 characteristics listed above;

5)     CARE OF SPEECH OR WORDS USED - this is another huge characteristic of SQ. Those operating with only IQ or EQ, cannot maintain the use of words which are constructive and helpful consistently, since operating in this characteristic requires much wisdom and self-control.

6)     ABILITY TO FORGIVE & LOVE CONSISTENTLY - this is so important a characteristic to develop and apply since forgiving someone is not merely a feeling level activity however it is a deep spiritual level activity where instead of bitterness only compassion and eventually love for the person flows out instead. It is evident we cannot use EQ or IQ to forgive and love people.

As much as EQ and IQ are important aspects which we need to develop both in our personal and professional life, however it is evident that we cannot afford to ignore the SQ factor in our journey in life as they define more and more as to WHO we are.