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Going to keep this short.
Over the journey of my life, I have come across situations where the best course of action would simply be to be realistic and put my down head and tough it out. But, for better or worse, I have been my own worst enemy by telling myself things like "this is too easy for me, I'll do it later or invest only 50% instead of 100% effort" or "I'm surrounded by idiots, I should be able to slack off the next 5 hours and work only 1 hour and still yield superior quality output". Well, I have all too often found myself like the hare in the classic story of the tortoise and the hare, where the hare is so far in front in the race that he rests under a tree and falls asleep, but the tortoise is slow and steady, and by the time the hare wakes up, it is too late for him to catch the tortoise before the tortoise crosses the finish line, despite the hare's vastly superior speed.
I just feel like I should put aside my ego sometimes and stop overestimating myself, because that leads me to a lot of trouble usually. Like everyone, I am constantly searching for that spark of inspiration, but those moments are rare and hard to come by, so maybe it's better to keep my mind focused and in the zone but at the same time realizing the innovation and potential for growth. Miracles don't just happen, you have to be in the right place at the right time.
In the past, I had been under the impression that I was kind of unrecognized, under appreciated genius. But that is self-destructive thinking. Because true geniuses don't boast about their skills or talent, they understand that even though they might have a lot of knowledge, everything and all there is to know comprises a deep and large ocean and they are humbled by the experience.
Maybe I should start underestimating myself so I don't get disappointed (which happens most of the time). And so when I do something great, it pleasantly surprises me and that element of surprise and satisfaction fuels extra innovation and effort. In contrast, if I think too highly of myself and my abilities, anything that falls short of those inflated expectations makes me feel disappointed. And it's more healthy to think in a glass is half full kind of way rather than the glass is half empty.
This is all some metacognitive #%€£ here but maybe I have a point, I don't know.
 
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I used to do this as a kid/young teenager. For example, I was much better at math/science than just about anyone I knew so I would go to class and literally do no homework and always do a bit worse than the less natural/more studying kids. What changed it for me is when I went to University. At this point I realized that due to the entry restrictions(and going to one of the better universities in Canada) everyone was as smart as me, so I started needing to do my homework just to keep up with the average. Although it means more work and being less stand out I still seem to enjoy doing work where it actually requires full effort from me, so I'm really liking it. 
As for the unrecognized genius part, I didn't have that same problem. I knew that I was smarter than most kids around me due to testing I went through, but I knew that in the grand scheme of things being a mild amount smarter than average doesn't mean shit. I can't compare to a Da Vinci, or a Newton, and I knew that once I got to University I would probably be average.
EDIT: As for the underestimating yourself part, I like your idea. I've been using it a bit recently, and it means that when you fail at something you don't get upset, and when you succeed you get pleasantly surprised. It's a much healthier mindset to have, I feel.
On a side note, look at how many times we both use the word "I" in our posts. I think we are both still pretty egotistical.
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Hmm. I don't think this is an overestimating yourself problem, as much as it is time management. Sure, you might be able to whip something out in an hour. But you're putting the "slacking" time at the wrong part... don't slack off at the start and then rush to catch up. Do whatever it is you need to do first. Get it done. Then you can decide whether or not you need to look at it again, do it better, or whatever, but it will be done. THEN, you can slack off if you really can.
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On September 15 2012 01:47 felisconcolori wrote:
Hmm. I don't think this is an overestimating yourself problem, as much as it is time management. Sure, you might be able to whip something out in an hour. But you're putting the "slacking" time at the wrong part... don't slack off at the start and then rush to catch up. Do whatever it is you need to do first. Get it done. Then you can decide whether or not you need to look at it again, do it better, or whatever, but it will be done. THEN, you can slack off if you really can.
Logic.
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You're not crazy or weird IMO, similar things happen to me too. Perhaps not to the extent that you have experienced it, but I have definately experienced the same. (and still do a little bit, but I've realized this in myself and work to get rid of it)
But even if I have realized this flaw in myself, it still isn't enough to truly motivate me, to get me going. To actually get up my ass and do stuff.
I know that I have an exam coming up in 11 days. Even though I know that I must really dedicate myself and study for it to pass it relatively easily, I keep pushing the day when I start to srsly study for it. Suddenly I notice that I'm just a few days from the exam, frantically study for it, and possibly fail. Usually I pass barely, sometimes I get decent results. And I keep repeating myself. Thus, while I don't really consider myself a genius or especially smart etc, I have similar troubles to get up my ass and study.
Another problem that I have with myself is that very often I will glance at a problem (especially in math), think to myself that 'this is easy, I can do this 100% np' or 'bleh, I'm done with this problem, I basically already solved it. The specifics I can explain if need be'. The reality is, often I barely GLANCED the problem, leaving 50-60% of the problem basically untouched even though I would have the skills to do it if I could just sit down for a moment and think.
I've been trying to fix these problems as well, but it seems to take a lot of time. The only way to fix this that I know of is basically do a massive amount of preparation, studying, counting, whatever you need to do so that I actually REALIZE what each problem demands of me. That means, even though I often feel that I learn and understand many concepts faster than an average student (or how I often feel like anyway), I must spend an equal amount of time studying the subject. Whether this is because of my careless attitude or because I just think I'm better than average I don't know, but at least I have realized this in myself.
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Under appreciated super genius and Target castoff, EffervescentAureola!
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intrigue
Washington, D.C9935 Posts
LOL hawk u mean
EA maybe you just need to realize that your intelligence isn't something you earned, you were born with it and had a decent education. unless you work hard as fuck to acquire more, it's a rather shameful thing to boast about.
on the other side of things, overestimating your own abilities is sometimes the only thing that can still keep you motivated in a difficult task. it can be extremely constructive. balance all things.
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Reminds me of myself, ive never done any homework or study and still passed all my exams with ease. Since i was a kid ive always been very good at math/science and languages.
Heck,as a child i could write with both hands upside down and backwards fluently (cant anymore though, sadly)
The tricky thing is when you've never actually spent any time trying to learn something because it comes naturally to you, is when you're faced with something that doesnt. Im not talking about school but real life stuff.
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if only everyone were as smart as u
+ Show Spoiler +In my opinion intelligence is merely a love of thinking and learning, nothing more. If you are too smart to study and develop your skills you are not smart at all.
Look at all the people just like you in this thread. It's not cause TL is full of geniuses, it's because a lot of people are lazy and arrogant.
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this is really interesting i feel identified
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On September 15 2012 01:26 EffervescentAureola wrote:I have been my own worst enemy by telling myself things like "this is too easy for me, I'll do it later or invest only 50% instead of 100% effort" or "I'm surrounded by idiots, I should be able to slack off the next 5 hours and work only 1 hour and still yield superior quality output".
Yeah, you know who thinks like this? That one annoying friend who's been in silver forever but keeps saying "nah man if I played more I'd be diamond or masters easy". Don't be that guy. Listen to intrigue.
Nobody gives a shit about your potential; the only thing that counts is what you actually DO. To the three other posters saying that had similar experiences in school, yeah, so did I, and so did almost everyone on the upper part of the socioeconomic spectrum to some degree. Then you realize how childish that is. Getting a 98 in organic chemistry without studying isn't something to brag about, it just means you're lazy.
You develop this sort of entitlement complex where you assume you're good at things, so you subtly shift from thinking you CAN succeed without putting in all the effort that those mundane idiots around you have to slog through to thinking you DESERVE to succeed without putting in any effort. And then when you encounter things you can't effortlessly do, you realize that you've never learned how to actually apply yourself and give up without trying, before going off to find some other task that better showcases your talents. Fuck that. One of the most important things I learned from going to a high-tier college was that no matter what you're trying to do, there are tons of people out there that are just way, way better at it than you will probably ever be, but that doesn't matter; go do it anyway. Aptitude isn't about being able to solve routine problems more easily, it's about being able to solve harder problems than would otherwise be feasible. Don't worry about playing some sort of mind-game to psych yourself into being more motivated, just set some goals and go chase them.
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Rofl, me x100. Doesn't help things are usally easy. Things in school are definitely getting harder, exam year now and I am definitely doing a lot more work. When stuff actually gets harder I am working harder. I've also gained an interest in some of my classes. It will fix itself when the things I need to learn get harder Right now I am having troubles with chemistry. So I have basically decided to relearn everything I learnt the past 3 years in 8 weeks.
Edit: It's hard playing Counter Strike and making a post at the same time lol.
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EPT
