You think you’re one of the less bright candles on the cake? If your self-perception doesn’t fool you …
Self-perception can be quite tricky! Some people overestimate themselves, others underestimate themselves, but only a few get it exactly right. The following signs indicate that you tend to give yourself less credit in terms of mental performance than you actually have up your sleeve.
there is a lot you don’t understand
Many people believe that not understanding something means you’re just not smart enough to understand it. As we learned in school: If you don’t get math, you’re an idiot. But the truth is: There are sooooooo many things that absolutely nobody understands! But this is only noticed by those who think.
you make many mistakes
Mistakes are typical for scatterbrained people? Wrong! Mistakes are typical for all people. But while some people make mistakes without noticing and without learning from them, reflective people notice their mistakes and are aware of them. So if you say you make a lot of mistakes, you probably make about as many as anyone else – but you notice them more often.
you ask (yourself) questions that no one else asks
You sometimes have questions that seem completely absurd to other people? Well, that’s how it is when you don’t understand anything.?Joking aside: “Strange” questions are a typical sign of creativity and the ability to think around corners. You may feel totally stupid asking (yourself) something that no one else seems to have a problem with, but in reality it proves that you think for yourself and recognize gaps that others don’t even notice.
you don’t think you’re super smart
We humans are certainly not the dumbest creatures on the planet – but we’re not superbrains either, otherwise we wouldn’t be cluttering up the oceans, polluting our air, and sometimes making life so difficult for ourselves. Smart, reflective people are usually aware of their stupidity and the capacity to develop their mental power and do not consider themselves geniuses – even if they might be in comparison to others.
you are bad at convincing others
You might think that the smarter someone is, the better that person can argue and convince others. But often the opposite is true. Smart people look at things from multiple perspectives and have an understanding of different positions. Moreover, they are aware that they themselves can also be wrong. Therefore, they appear less convinced and persuasive than people who are unencumbered by such things and consider their view of things to be the only correct one.
