An intelligent person knows the solutions for everything, except for self-love. What is hidden in the inner world of extremely intelligent people that they constantly doubt themselves?
Do you ever wonder why despite your awesome intelligence and abilities, do you feel low self-esteem? What to do when you are faced with doubts and fear of failure, even if you are very intelligent person?
Intelligence does not guarantee that you will have a positive opinion of yourself and high self-esteem. Intelligence and confidence are like two sides of the same coin and play a key role in our perception of ourselves and in coping with life's challenges.
Some highly intelligent individuals experience low self-confidence and the feeling that they are never good enough, regardless of their achievements.
Signs that you are a highly intelligent person who does not value himself enough
1. Overthinking
Your mind is constantly analyzing situations, sometimes even to extremes. This constant thinking prevents you from enjoying your own achievements by focusing on possible mistakes or things you could have done better. As a result, it is hard to see your own worth.
2. Perfectionism
You have high standards and a clear idea of how things should look. However, this need for perfection often becomes your worst enemy. When things don't go as planned (which is often the case in life), it takes a toll on your self-esteem.
3. You have a hard time accepting compliments
You often reject kind words or minimize your achievements, attributing them to luck or the merits of others. Sometimes you overanalyze compliments, looking for hidden meanings or mistakes, which makes it difficult to accept recognition and praise.
4. Fear of failure
This fear isn't just a small worry, it's a deep-rooted emotion that prevents you from trying new things or taking risks. Although you know that you have a sharp mind, the thought of possible failure and the fear of what others think scares you. Maybe you keep asking yourself, “What if I'm not good enough? What if others realize I'm not as intelligent as they thought?” This fear of others seeing you as a fraud or an incompetent person is always present, which makes you shy away from new challenges. Every little mistake seems huge, making you feel like you're not good enough.
5. The need for approval from others
Despite your great skills and knowledge, you want others to validate your achievements.
This need for approval can turn into a vicious cycle where no amount of praise from others can fill the void in your own self-esteem. Because of fear of failure and perfectionism, other people's opinions can influence your decisions, even when your logic knows that your idea is great.
6. Avoiding attention
Although you have a lot to offer, you prefer to stay in the background rather than be in the spotlight. Fear of criticism or the wrong impression is holding you back. You often prefer to keep quiet and keep your intelligent ideas to yourself to protect yourself from possible judgment.
7. Concern for the opinion of others
You may notice subtle changes in tone or words that indicate the true opinion of others. However, this sensitivity can be very worrying for you. You may be overthinking every conversation or meeting, analyzing every word, smile, gesture or situation. You want others to see you in a positive light, but you constantly doubt yourself, which causes a lot of stress.
8. Emotional turmoil
Beneath the intelligent surface lie deep emotions. You know you are intelligent, but this often comes with a heavy burden, because you expect a lot from yourself and fear that you will not meet the expectations of others. It's not just that you don't feel worthy; it's a big gap between what you can do and what you think you deserve. This conflict creates a storm of emotions that can be exhausting and really hard to deal with.