How do you know if you are not just smart, but actually a genius? Well, the signs of a genius can be somewhat difficult to figure out, especially if you don’t have access to something like an IQ test. If you are starting to feel like you are more than just a little smarter than the average person, however, there are things that you can look out for.
These include personality traits, habits, and behavioral tendencies that geniuses usually exhibit at various points in their life. So that’s why we are going to help you figure out if you are truly as smart as you think you might be.
Make sure to read until number 1, because it’s one of the biggest indicators of your intelligence!
Number 10: You often talk to yourself.
One of the most worrying genius traits that smart people often show is a tendency to talk to themselves throughout the day. Of course, this shouldn’t be the case, but people tend to associate talking to yourself with mental instability. While this can sometimes be true, it’s usually a trait that very intelligent people actually have. It means that you are fully focused on a problem or issue you are trying to resolve and that you are bouncing ideas off of yourself to make sure they stick.
Number 9: You are more likely to feel pressure and anxiety over things.
Not all signs of a genius are good ones, unfortunately, as intellect is a bit of a double-edged sword in a lot of ways. A lot of people that have superior intellect can get a bit spooked by the events of the world, or, as the saying goes, “ignorance is bliss”. Geniuses hate ignorance even more than being anxious, and as a result, they usually feel like they have to stay on top of every issue in their life as well as around them.
This can cause a great deal of stress, and that’s not all, either. An intelligent person usually expects a lot out of themselves, and this pressure can eat away at them and cause them to become overwhelmed. If you feel like you are scared of not living up to your lofty expectations, or that every success must be followed up with equal or greater success, you might be suffering from anxiety as a result of your intelligence.
Number 8: You listen a lot more than you speak.
This is a classic sign that you probably have a high IQ, but it’s also very common. Smart people are almost always empathetic, and they are also curious. For both of these reasons, they will usually listen to you speak about things more than they may talk to you. They usually will choose their words very carefully, and even might be listening to you just to know more about the things you care about.
Conversation is essential in learning about people and building relationships, and because of this, a genius will almost always be the quieter of the two in a conversation. This also applies to their careers, as they will actively seek out your opinion on shared projects. Intelligent people don’t feel a need to prove anything, and they also know that other people will inevitably come at issues from a different perspective than they do. Because of this, they will be absolutely fine with you sharing ideas and talking, even if they don’t necessarily need your help.
Number 7: You are always challenging yourself.
Intelligent people don’t like to become stagnant and are always looking to grow in some way. That means that they will always be challenging themselves, even if it’s in a very minor way. They may try to learn how to read faster or attempt to learn a new skill just for fun. These people don’t really find a ton of joy in activities that don’t utilize the mind, which is why they can often be found reading books instead of watching television.
It’s not because television is bad per se, but books scratch that itch to push their mind into gear while television tends to provide the information for you in an easy manner. Smart people are going to pursue things like puzzles, or structured art projects, rather than easy entertainment. These people also like to push themselves to do something new, and they will sometimes branch out of their comfort zone just to prove that they can do it.
Number 6: You can be a bit spacey.
When you picture a natural-born genius, you probably think about someone with laser focus who doesn’t ever lose track of things. That might be true for some people, but that’s probably more of a result of movies than it is reality. Geniuses actually are kind of scatterbrained, and they can become distracted really easily. With all of those thoughts swirling around their heads constantly, it makes sense that they may have a hard time slowing down and focusing on one thing at a time.
As a result, it’s not uncommon for people to have to rein in people with higher intelligence, since it isn’t always that productive to have four ideas going on at once. Nonetheless, this is a problem that most geniuses tend to get under control as they get older, but it can actually make them seem more childish than they actually are.
Number 5: You may have struggled with addiction.
Unfortunately, we tend to look down on people that have struggled with substance abuse or addiction. Addiction is a disease, and it is also one that apparently attacks the more intelligent of us. Recent studies have suggested that smarter people are more likely to turn to drugs or alcohol when they are feeling stressed.
The theory here is that smarter people have a hard time turning their minds off, so they turn to these substances. Obviously, this is not a good thing, though, and we only mention it as it is very much worth being aware of. Smart people can sometimes become overconfident in their abilities, and overlook that they may be hurting themselves.
Number 4: You don’t accept things you don’t understand very well.
If you use all of your brain power and become frustrated when you can’t crack something, you may be a very smart person. Even the smartest people can have blind spots or just things they can’t really figure out. When this happens to normal people, they either disregard it and move on or ask for help. Smarter people, however, can focus intensely on a single question for hours, letting it dominate their thoughts.
This is also a good trait, though, as intelligent people also are naturally curious, and will question almost everything. This can be satisfying to them, even if they can’t solve it, and huge existential questions can become fun riddles for them. Like anything, it’s important to try and maximize the positive aspects and minimize the negatives, so if you are struggling to let questions go, it may be good for you to see if there is any way for you to work on that.
Number 3: You prefer to stay up at night.
Smart people can find it really hard to get up in the morning, and they often are night owls instead. With all of the thoughts and questions swirling around, your head can be busy enough without all of the noise from the outside world. Many geniuses famously tried to sleep as much during the day as possible so that they could get the most out of their nights, and this trait is pretty consistent amongst geniuses, actually.
Our only reason as to why this might be the case is that the pressures of the world are a little less and that things are a bit calmer at night. Other than that, it’s still anyone’s guess as to why the smartest people become almost nocturnal over the course of their lives. We do know that typically smart people like to be far away from others when they are creating or trying to solve something, and that could also help explain things.
Number 2: You swear a lot.
This one always surprises people, but there’s actually a good explanation for why it’s the case. Smart people don’t really look at things as right or wrong, to them they simply are. What this sort of means is that you can’t tell them something arbitrary and expect them to follow it like it was a fact. Swear words are something that many people dislike and think they are a bit immature. To geniuses, though, these words are just words and they don’t have any power or hidden meaning.
Some smart people will actually swear more in order to get that point across, and yes, it seems to be more than a little antagonistic. Geniuses can be strange, however, and they are usually very picky with their language. If they know that a swear word will have the desired effect, they won’t choose to censor themselves and will just go for it. Because of this, it’s not uncommon for people to think of highly intelligent people as arrogant or rude.
Number 1: Your living space or office is a bit of a mess.
Messy people, rejoice! Research has consistently found that the smartest among us don’t really care about keeping things neat. They are so focused on their passions and their career that they couldn’t care less about what their room or office looks like. A highly intelligent person is all about results, even at the cost of aesthetic value.
They also don’t usually care about what other people think of them, although they usually care about their thoughts generally. They aren’t going to go out of their way to present themselves in any other way but their most natural form, and that’s why you will usually see a very messy space when you visit a genius.
Read More: The Psychology of Humor – What Makes Something Funny?
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