Failing as a high IQ kid

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Are you spending hours a day working on not failing? Success won't fall in your lap

Having a high I.Q. does not guarantee success in life. Trust me on this one. It only means that you have more tools in your mental toolbox to work with. If you do not actively use those mental tools, they will become rusty with the passage of time. As you use them more in life, those mental tools become honed to a more precise edge.

As others have said, there is still time to change your path in life if you are not happy with it. One thing is that you need to set a series of gradual goals to get on that path. If you falter along the way, understand that can happen on the trip. Do not despair, you can still work on getting the path right, even if it takes a bit longer to do. Remember, the path you set for yourself is ultimately determined by you.

Bragging about having a high I.Q. to others often does not end well, especially in social situations. (I learned that lesson back in high school after my testing information was leaked to the entire school.) Others can get jealous from the differences and seek to cause you harm. It is better to hide that information from the general public when you can. If someone calls you "smart", just smile at them and let it go.

For most purposes, the only thing a high IQ is good for is scoring well on IQ tests.

It does not include talent. Or knowledge. Or industriousness. Or social skill. Or good judgement. Etc.

This is absolutely true. I did a little looking into intelligence some years ago and this is what I came up with as well.

Sometimes it's better not to know your "IQ."

Just find a reasonable goal and work on it.

Very high IQ + more than mild EF deficits + bullying related trauma = Failed academically . Failed socially. Failed employment wise.

From the Dilbert Principle: "a high IQ doesn't have much practical application". It certainly doesn't help you get on with other people!

It may help you solve a lot of issues, but it doesn't help you to find the right questions...

^{I have a framed copy of the February 3, 1992 Dilbert strip on my desk!}

I stand corrected; was it really from 1992? Over that time, its a wonder I still remember it existed!

I can't say whether or not Scott Adams used that same concept in more than one strip at other times.

I can't say whether or not that strip has been reprinted at other times in other places.

I can't say how many of the Dilbert books that strip appeared in.

I can say I've got a framed copy of it on my desk.

The Cattle Scale, as used by MENSA is a bit of a cludge because it tries to be all-encompassing. The full industrial Chandler and Mcleod Temperament and Aptitude test breaks it down into four categories, and having a high score in one doesn't guarantee you'll do so in all cases. Spacial Awareness, and Language Processing, for instance, are really quite different, and can help lead to success in different activities.

Another is that, while useful in the 70 to 130 range, it becomes less worthwhile outside that. These claims that pop up of personalities who score 190, are so much hogwash.

If you are over 130, letting people know will cause more problems than benefits, so I've alwys kept quiet about it. It's not on my CV.

Sorry to be a party pooper but this may not be relevant. It has been observed that to be a great leader, one must be just a little smarter than one's followers, as they need to be on the same wavelenght.

If you are just a bit smarter than most people you encounter, you are on to a good thing, but if you are a lot smarter, people will fail to understand you, or your outlook, and will consider you odd/stupid.

If you really want to know, there are plenty of free online tests available.

Try https://www.classmarker.com/online-test ... 680853b4bb

Failed at what? Was there a particular goal you had for your life? Was there a particular career, qualification or other life goal you wanted to have?

I'm not trying to trivialise your distress but if you haven't achieved your goal yet, it's not too late. and if you don't have a goal, that's totally fine, it means you can just enjoy life.

Wise words.

Myself and my BFF didn't start to succeed until well into our 30s and then we caught up in a big way by our 50s. On my 27th birthday, I was in a hotel room because my tent pole broke (I was homeless and jobless) and my cat was crying at a spider on the ceiling and I was afraid someone would hear and report it. In our late 20s we were temping or doing low-level data entry - 30 years later we are experts in our fields and still learning (love that aspect of Autistic brain elasticity). We both caught a break when we interviewed with neurodiverse hiring mangers (we didn't know it at the time and they probably didn't either). Then once folks got to know us... we did well. Of course, we did our part get along as well as we could. Now by some measurements we have both exceeded the success of our peers. Finding inclusive workplaces was so important.

Even recently during the pandemic I quit under duress and was concerned about finding a new job. As seems to be my way in life, my job search was highly unusual (absent?) and yet in the end it turned out just fine (better than fine).

Take little steps to stay in motion. Momentum (or lack thereof) is thing for many of us. Hang in there.

Ha, this showed up in my FB feed today:
At age 23, Tina Fey was working at a YMCA.
At age 23, Oprah was fired from her first reporting job.
At age 24, Stephen King was working as a janitor and living in a trailer.
At age 27, Vincent Van Gogh failed as a missionary and decided to go to art school.
At age 28, J.K. Rowling was a single parent living on welfare with suicidal ideation.
At age 28, Wayne Coyne (from The Flaming Lips) was a fry cook.
At age 30, Harrison Ford was a carpenter.
At age 30, Martha Stewart was a stockbroker.
At age 37, Ang Lee was a stay-at-home-dad working odd jobs.
At age 39, Julia Child released her first cookbook...
At age 40, Vera Wang designed her first dress (have previously failed to make the Olympic figure skating team, and didn’t get the Editor-in-Chief position at Vogue)
At age 40, Stan Lee released his first big comic book.
...
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I didn't need to be famous, but I did want to be content. I got there, but took longer than others.