7. Intrapersonal intelligence

If you’re really good at understanding yourself and embracing who you are, you have high intrapersonal intelligence. “Intrapersonal intelligence is an ability to recognize your own moods, desires, motivations, and intentions.

As with interpersonal intelligence, we all benefit from this type of intelligence. But there are some careers in which it’s especially useful—anyone who works for themselves, such as an entrepreneur or freelancer, or on their own, such as a writer, needs this kind of intelligence.

“Anyone whose work is very self-directed would particularly benefit from intrapersonal intelligence: being attuned to when you do your best work, what motivates you to be effective and what’s un-motivating, and how you prefer to receive feedback. Your ability to self-reflect might also make you a good philosopher or theologian—in the words of the ancient Greeks, to be high in this intelligence is to “know thyself.”

Strengths:

• Being very self-aware
• Easily motivating yourself
• Understanding your own needs and wants

Top career choices:

• Entrepreneur
• Business owner
• Freelancer

• Philosopher