psychology
5 Surprising Signs You’re Smarter Than You Think
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Think you’re one of the less bright candles on the cake? If your self-perception doesn’t deceive you…
Self-awareness can be pretty tricky! Some overestimate themselves, others underestimate themselves, but only a few estimate themselves correctly. The following signs indicate that you tend to attribute less to yourself when it comes to mental performance than you actually have on the box.
5 signs you are smarter than you think
1. There’s a lot you don’t understand
Many people believe that not understanding something means you just aren’t smart enough to understand it. As we learned in school: if you don’t get math, you’re an idiot. However, the truth is: There is sooooo much that absolutely nobody understands! But that’s only noticeable to those who think.
2. You make a lot of mistakes
Mistakes are typical for clumsy people? Incorrect! Mistakes are common to all people. But while some people make mistakes without realizing it and without learning from it, reflective people perceive their mistakes and are aware of them. So if you say that you make a lot of mistakes, you probably make about as many as everyone else – but you notice them more often.
3. You ask (yourself) questions that nobody else asks
Do you sometimes have questions that seem completely absurd to other people? Well, that’s what happens when you don’t understand anything. Joking aside, “weird” questions are a typical sign of creativity and the ability to think outside the box. You may feel silly asking (yourself) something that no one else seems to have a problem with, but the truth is that it shows you’re thinking for yourself and spotting gaps that others don’t even notice.
4. You don’t think you’re super smart
We humans are certainly not the dumbest creatures on our planet – but we are not superbrains either, otherwise we would hardly be littering the oceans, polluting our air and sometimes making life so difficult for ourselves. Clever, thoughtful people are usually aware of their stupidity or the potential for developing their mental powers and do not consider themselves geniuses – even if they may be compared to others.
5. You are bad at persuading others
One might think that the smarter someone is, the better that person can argue and persuade others. But often the opposite is the case. Smart people look at things from multiple perspectives and understand different positions. They are also aware that they too can make mistakes. As a result, they appear less convinced and convincing than people who are unencumbered by something like this and think their view of things is the only correct one.