There is an old saying that goes, “ignorance is bliss,” and for good reason, because intelligence can be bittersweet. While from the outside looking in, intelligence may seem worthy of envy, there are certain aspects of intelligence that can be straight up hell.
If you gave most people the option to opt in to intelligence, they would. That is why there is article after article on the internet explaining how to be more intelligence, what the habits of the highly intelligent are, and how to get smarter, more intelligent or even dare I say, genius. However, before you proceed to go down that path, you should know that intelligence is not always a beautiful experience. On the contrary, intelligence can be a very bittersweet thing.
Below, I will go over 7 struggles only highly intelligent people will understand.
1. Perfectionism.
Most people fear failure, because at the end of the day, we all want things to go our way. However, for an intelligent person who is hyper-aware of themselves and how their actions impact their lives, this can lead to majorly intense perfectionism.
2. Getting bored with small talk.
Intelligent people tend to get bored easily with small talk. It simply isn’t enough to keep them engaged. Instead, they crave deep talks about real topics, which can, at times, throw people off.
3. Overly-analytical.
Intelligent people over-analyze everything. They are easily suckered into the cycle of overthinking, because they want to see all routes a particular path could take. Due to this, they can easily get caught in a cycle of overthinking and overanalyzing.
4. Socially awkward.
When you are extremely self-aware, it can make things a bit awkward. Most people tend to just act, and don’t focus a lot on how they seem to others. Intelligent people tend to notice everything about themselves, from their tone to the way they said something, and it can make things really awkward.
5. Easily distracted.
Intelligent people have very active minds. Due to this, they are easily distracted and thrown off task when their minds go another way unintentionally.
6. Being too aware.
When you are too aware of yourself, life can be a bit frustrating. Now, let me be clear, it’s good to be self-aware. However, for intelligent people, it’s very easy to end up overstepping the line and getting caught up in being too self-aware.
7. Falling prey to stereotypes.
It might sound crazy, but a study actually found that intelligent people are more prone to falling prey to stereotypes. What I mean, is that since intelligent people pick up on patterns easily – they can also pick up on a pattern and make a false assumption quite easily.