What To Do If You Don’t Feel Smart

Do you ever feel unintelligent compared to those around you? Do you struggle to feel intellectually equal in this world of geniuses? Well you’re wrong. The great thing is many of the people you think are geniuses have probably also been wrong many times. Despite that, you might still think you’re not as smart as those around you. The reality is you are probably just as smart, if not smarter.

We may feel less intelligent compared to others because almost everyone knows something we don’t. When we encounter this knowledge, we might feel like we are not as intelligent because we are likely comparing ourselves to a collective, rather than an individual. You probably won’t know everything that everyone on social media comment sections knows. That just doesn’t make sense. But if you read all those comments you might think you are behind on experience and knowledge when in reality it is normal that someone out there knows something that you don’t.

Everyone has different experiences. Different people have learned different things because of the lives they’ve lived. But the same applies for you. You probably know something someone doesn’t know and someone else probably knows something you don’t. That is NOT an indication of intelligence. The life you’ve lived has conferred experiences on you that are unique to you. We cannot use knowledge as a means to compare people on an intellectual level because it just isn’t fair. So the first step to take if you feel unintelligent is you need to stop comparing what you know to what others know because that might unfairly disadvantage you.

But intelligence is not just knowledge. There is so much more to it and that’s another great reason why we cannot compare people. Intelligence is a multi-faceted concept that includes knowledge and many other sub-sections. There’s problem solving, creativity, understanding, emotional intelligence, social capabilities, and other stuff I’m not in the mood to list. Oh, there’s also patience.

Is it possible someone has intelligence in all of the different fields? It is possible but highly unlikely. But few people have intelligence in all areas. Some are great at socializing while others are great at math. Some may be talented in both and some are talented with neither. Some people are creative but with horrible attention spans. Brainpower doesn’t have to mean possessing all of these or even any of them. If you meet someone with better social skills then you, your first thought should not be to assume they are smarter than you. Same goes for if you meet someone who is a better problem solver, or who is more creative, etc.

The special and unique combination of skills and knowledge a person has is what defines THEIR intelligence. Smart is not defined by one universally accepted skill or idea. You have to look for what you feel best at. There may even be something you are not good at and you decide to dedicate effort to improve that.

Say someone’s not great at math. They can practice equations and learn new mathematical concepts to improve. They should not expect to become a human calculator in one day and they may never become one at all. But the nice thing about the human brain is it is receptive to practice, and because of that we can work on ourselves to improve.

If you are not talented in one area of intellect you should be looking for something you are good at. Maybe you a have a little bit of everything but you want to take one skill area over the edge. Work on that one.

Whatever you do, don’t look at what other people are good at unless you are appreciating and learning from them. You’re mind is more unique then your fingerprint and this applies to others as well. Comparing yourself and what skills you have/lack to others is like comparing apples to oranges. You are smart in your own way and the schooling system, IQ tests or any other measure of intelligence does not define you or your level of smarts.