IQ, EQ, LQ
One sign of a high IQ is selective memory. A very smart person knows what to remember and what to forget. Albert Einstein refused to learn his own phone number. He had more important things to ponder; he did not want to be distracted by such trivia. In a world of trivial pursuit, it is easy to sound like an idiot (I really do not know Madonna’s age or how many times she has been married — and I really do not care to know). It is easy to look like a fool at a dinner party unless you can answer shallow questions.
Never assume you are talking to an idiot — even if they sound like one. Do not confuse virtue with being smart. Some of the greatest criminals in history had a high IQ. The worship of intelligence is short-sighted. IQ does not include common sense automatically. In fact, it can even inhibit it. To put it in the words of Forrest Gump, “Mama says that stupid is — is stupid does.”
A few years ago, a measure for emotional intelligence was derived. EQ was praised for a while, but it too is not the complete measure of a person. You can be an emotionally well-balanced person but unable to succeed. Going through life without emotional extremes can be pretty dull (I suppose anyway — that has never been the case with me). No agony — no ecstasy. Who wants to live a life that bland?
I would like to propose a better measure: LQ — the ability to feel, express, and practice complete unconditional love. That would do more to truly change the world than having emotionally well-balanced geniuses parading around the land. We are blessed by the great minds and comforted by counselors that help us with our emotions, but what we humans need most is absolute unconditional love.
If you have an average IQ or less, if your emotional life has been a wreck, but you have experienced and shown even a moment of unconditional love, then your life has been well-lived.
