Being “gifted”, only makes you wish you weren’t sometimes

You're gifted enough to cruise through the first few stages of your education without trying, so you forge an identity as "the smart kid" but never build up skills in learning or studying, so when you finally get to a level where your natural intelligence can't carry you anymore you can't keep up with the people who did learn those skills and you start to fail and lose your identity as the smart kid which causes you to break down because that'd how you defined yourself for so long..... or so I've heard.

I am good with knowing my deficiencies. What sucks is being told that they are my fault because I should be "smart enough to overcome them".

The guilt that "you could have done more with your life", despite being a successful engineer with a happy family.

There's that joke about wearing regular clothes on Halloween to go as the "gifted kid", and when people ask what you're supposed to be you sigh and say you were supposed to be a lot of things.

I'm in this picture and it makes me keenly aware of what I could accomplish if I didn't just coast by

Let's be honest, most of us think we're in the blue zone, when we are probably in the red zone

I still suffer from this. Promising early start, intense self-confidence issues and depression by the end.

This is funny, but even the most intelligent people are inflicted with this. Don't let it keep you down, we cannot be good at everything.

Its been consistently self-reported by Harvard students. And another effect is present, too - excellence leads to being placed in competitive environments, where everyone else is just as excellent. And this can make brilliant people feel stupid.

Ah, I see the stereotype of everyone thinking of themselves as "lazy genius" is something we've carried over from Reddit. We're all above average intelligent and could really achieve something if we just bothered to work hard and apply ourselves!

lol

Fun fact: programs for gifted kids have historically been far more underfunded than programs for other exceptional students.

By the way, the euphemism of "exceptional children" pleases my autistic brain way more than any other word for Special Education students. It has all the compliment-sounding qualities of "Special Needs" but is even more literal than any previous euphemism. It literally means "kids that teachers need to make exceptions for"

Did you know that 80% of people think they're above average intelligence?

There is no green region. It's blue all the way up.

Being gifted only refers to intelligence most of the time. But intelligence alone won't make a person excel at their field. You can be among the most intelligent people but still stay in the blue zone.

I think excellence comes to be when intelligence meets motivation, purpose, creativity, social skills or other factors.

And when it comes to the blue zone resilience would be a key factor. If one is intelligent of course you realize your faults quicker as well. However it takes resilience to keep going in the face of your own doubt.

That's why in the real world people who are very convinced of themselves and their own ideas will get far even if not gifted at all.

I wish my iq was 20 higher or lower, idk just gimme out of the blue zone

Fun fact about being in that green region: Don't! It's like being in the blue region, but green!

Getting mature early is a curse

Cuz you are left with a wee little tolerance for biased thoughts and advices

Who wants to bet that most commenters will place themselves in the blue zone?

Thankfully I can look down on everyone as I’m firmly at the top of that curve.

I don't mind being aware of everything, but I do mind that nobody else is

Awareness of your own weaknesses is the first step to make them your strengths.

Show this comic to 100 people and almost all will think they’re in the blue zone.

This is like those ADHD memes which just list every one of life’s inconveniences or challenges as some kind of “symptom.”

Everyone has these feelings, it’s not a curse, it’s just life.

Others have touched on this, but ultimately the most vital trait a person can possess is perseverance and a bias for action. I would gladly work with a mediocre person who works relentlessly at improving their skills and figuring out solutions. I don't enjoy working with "gifted" people who have plenty of ideas and few actions to show for it. Intelligence can make you risk averse, and you're useless if you're too afraid to take any action.