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If I’m So Smart, Why Do I Feel Like A Failure?
Was this you? You were told repeatedly that you were so smart; that you had a high IQ. You were the top student. Your parents and teachers praised you often for your abilities and achievements. School was easy so you could get high grades without studying. You won awards. Teachers said that you were gifted. Your parents said that you’d…
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Are You Too Smart To Fail?
You don’t like to fail. In fact, you may be terrified of failure. And you have trouble not seeing any minor mistake as a monumental failure. Right? Am I in your head? Yeah? It’s pretty wild in here. So many monkeys. But what is failure? What are the advantages of failure? Why do I think you…
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I Can’t Show How Smart I Am To Anyone, Not Even To Myself
You hide. You stay small. You “dumb down.” Why? Because– (Pick one or more.) 1. It’s not cool to be too smart. 2. Other people will feel bad about themselves. 3. I’ll be lonely. 4. I’ll be ridiculed. 5. I’ll take up too much space. 6. I’ll overshadow others. 7. I’ll become egocentric, arrogant and self-absorbed.…
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If I’m So Smart, Why Aren’t I Successful?
Smart people are rich and famous. They win Nobel Prizes and Genius Grants. They’re high achievers and arrogant. They don’t waste time on the little people. Right? Wrong. Well, OK. I guess that some smart people are all of the above. Or parts of the above. Maybe your Uncle Charlie. But how many are, say, none of…
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I’m Not Gifted, I’m Just Lucky–Part Two
I know. You’re not gifted. Humor me. If you were gifted, here are some things you would need to know. 1. Intelligence is not a fixed, hard, immutable thing. Intelligence is not an either you-are or you’re-not situation. Sure, you have a rainforest mind. You’re smart, sensitive, empathetic, analytical, creative, intense, perfectionistic and complicated. But that doesn’t…
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Muddled by Your Musings
Do people have difficulty following you? Are they muddled by your musings about the flaws in our current cultural mythologies? Do they retreat at your ruminations about the future of the planet? Do they get lost in your lectures about quadratic equations? Well, my geekly one, I have the answer for you. If you want someone to…