When we were climbing Mount Edith we were constantly thinking about how to connect hiking with intelligence. Many people do not believe muscle builders and athletes have to be intelligent. They believe that all you need to have are enhanced physical abilities and sometimes have a great look. They also believe sportsmen do not do anything creative because they follow a bunch of rules that have been written for them. I think these people are just jealous because they think professional athletes make easy money. And just because most athletes workout, these people automatically put them in the same category as those big, dumb, muscular guys in the comedy movies. I do not agree with their stereo typical thinking.
Firstly the creator of a sport must have been intelligent. In order for a sport to be successful it needs to be entertaining, to have a logical objective and to have a fair set of rules. Now days there are lots of “main stream” sports. The reason why sports like basketball, soccer and baseball are most well-known is because they all contain the things listed above. These sports are exciting to watch and participate in; some people even play sports for a living. They have been played worldwide for decades and will be played for decades to come. Secondly athletes need to be intelligent with their body. Most athletes play sports for a living. Why do athletes need to be intelligent with their bodies? Construction workers need their tool belt to do their job, but if the tool is broken or missing they cannot go on with their job. Same thing goes with athletes, they need their body to play the sport and if their body is broken or mistreated they cannot go on playing. So they have to be intelligent and find ways to protect their body or at least reduce the damage. A lot of the time, this is the exact reason why some athletes’ career last longer and are more successful. Injured and broken body parts have forced many professional players to retire or find another profession. Lastly the most intelligent athletes are able to make sports more interesting. These athletes are able to create new moves, style of playing and even making the sport easier but still follow the rules. Having one of these smart athletes on your team, they will make the sport much more intense to play and watch. There were also times in history where the rules of sports have been changed because of these players. But intelligent people are always able to change according to the surroundings. The new rules were nothing to the players, they have quickly found other ways to play around with the rules. And when we climbed Mount Edith we all got a hiking stick, the hiking sticks have made our hike much easier. And when we were going downhill we went down side ways. This way it is harder to fall, but if we do fall we would not fall face first down the steep hill. These are simply two of the things that some intelligent hikers have come up with to make hiking easier and safer.
I believe that most professional athletes are intelligent. Sports have become a great part of our daily lives. Almost every school has their own sports teams. There are huge gymnasiums and hokey arenas built in almost every community so people could participate in the sport they love. Sports have also brought many people jobs, and the intelligent people even started their own sporting goods and clothing companies. Now days sports is not only a competition, it is also considered a friendly way of connecting with each other. Sports have even allowed different places to understand each other’s culture and believe.
During this expedition we were put into teams/ groups. A lot of the times competition occurred between the teams, but how come one or two team would always get things done the best. What do you think makes a better team, a team that is composed of fools or a team that have composed people with great intelligence? The answer is obvious, is it not? It would be the team that is composed of intelligent members and leaders.
But think again more carefully. Even though intelligence is no doubt an important key to a team’s success. There are also many other components: co-operation, good communication, hard work and as well as the profound understanding of other fellow team members, intelligence is not the one and only key to success. The efficiency of a team depends on how well each team member works together, how well the leader controls the team and how much the members trust the leader. The level of intelligence of a team does not mean everything.
Intelligence can sometimes be the burden of a team. Our experience tells us that most intelligent people are not able to work well together, they are far too proud, carrying too much pride to be humble, to accept different opinions and criticism and to follow instructions or obey orders. They all want to be noticed by their leaders, and they all want to be confirmed the most intelligent member of the team. The greatest flaw of intelligent people is their faith in themselves, their belief in the power of an individual is stronger than that of teamwork. They think people who are not as intelligent will slow them down and cause them to look slow and dumb. They are wrong.
There is an old saying in China, it says “Three fools are far smarter than a wise man”, intelligence is almost never a work of a single individual, it is a collective work of many people. Research, think, discuss and making decisions. This is what your team is there for, to discuss and to give you their own opinions. This is why intelligence under a good leadership is both a precious gift and a heavy burden.
A strong and successful organization should be composed of people of different mind sets and abilities. The intelligent ones and the foolish one are equally important, both are valuable to a team. And that means no body’s opinion should be ignored. Sometimes, the solution to a problem is stupid. As people who are intelligent always view matters in a more complicated way, sometimes turning a simple problem into numerous, far more complicated problems. On the other hand a person that is not as intelligent thinks more simply and sees things in its original form, he can use a rather simple but more efficient way to tackle problems. The reason behind this is the intelligent people think and consider too much, they have too much worries, they handle things more delicately and do not believe in solving a problem in a simple way. But sometimes what you really need is a little complicity to you answer.
However, as intelligent people are more thoughtful and considering, they are often the ones in a team that can find out problems in a seemingly flawless plan, they can for see problems and prevent mistakes before they can give you the final result. This is especially important to a team. A leader’s plan to success and victory is like travelers planning their long and challenging voyage, every stop and step must be calculated and planned extremely carefully. Weather forecast, equipment check must be done before the trip. Let’s say an accident occurs on the way, for instance, a flat tire, the impact of the accident must be minimized to as little as possible. The key to that is to think and act fast. The situations do not allow slow thinking, every second is precious. At times like this you need fast and effective problem solving.
In conclusion intelligence is not always a blessing. Everything has its pros and cons. So do not be so prideful because you are the most intelligent, and do not be discouraged because you are not the brightest. You will find a place for you to shine. So learn from your mistakes and become truly intelligent. And remember: intelligence is knowing that you’re not the most intelligent.
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