People With Average Intelligence & These 5 Rare Traits Usually Become Wildly Successful
andreonegin | Shutterstock Have you ever heard the old saying "the idiot in motion will always outrun the genius at rest"? It's iconic for a reason, as it shows just how damaging it can be to believe your intelligence will take you far if you're not also putting in a ton of work.
Yes, high IQ can help you succeed but it's far from guaranteed. Some people may not have the highest IQ but they still become more successful because they take the traits and gifts they were given and make the most of them. These are just a few of those.
People with average intelligence & these 5 rare traits usually become wildly successful:
1. Pattern recognition
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If you’re like me and have no idea what this means, pattern recognition is more than just those little exercises kindergarteners do with circles and triangles in a line.
It's actually one of the most important skills of successful people. Defined as “the ability to recognize and identify a complex whole composed of, or embedded in, many separate elements", it basically means someone is good at noticing patterns that make a larger body of work. This can also help people recognize patterns in themselves that may be self-limiting.
For example, if you notice that the reason you are falling behind in school is because you keep going to bed late, then you can change that. At work, if you notice that your boss is constantly forgetting your weekly meeting, then make sure to send a reminder so you seem more efficient. Noticing patterns is how you level up.
2. Self-awareness
This one is closely related to the point above. A lot of people are not self-aware and therefore, keep making the same mistakes over and over. For example, you might think it’s fine to keep showing up ten minutes late to work because it wasn't your fault. The traffic was bad or there was a long line at the gas station or any other thing.
Without self-awareness, you may not see the power you have in that situation. You can leave 20 minutes earlier to anticipate something unexpected, and the worst outcome is that you might be 20 minutes early. But without self-awareness, you'll keep blaming others and pay the price.
Self-awareness is important in every single relationship in life because let’s face it, nobody’s perfect. “When you understand your own emotions and behaviors, you’re better equipped to understand others, too.” and this is why self-awareness is now a quality that employers look for.
3. Delusional optimism
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Delulu has become quite the buzzword online. However, there is some power to it and a reason it's so resonant it even has a nickname like this.
Optimism is crucial to success because it’s what drives us forward. If we know we’re going to fail at something then what’s the point of trying? Blind faith is what makes us try and then more times than not, we’re pretty successful.
For example, if you don't think you're ever going to get your dream job, then it doesn't matter how smart you are, you won't get it. If you believe that even though you're not the most qualified person you might still have a chance, then you might get the job. People who show up are the most successful and in order to show up, you need to believe that you can do anything.
4. Strategic detachment
Many spiritual people believe in the law of detatchment. Basically, it means that if you detach yourself from the outcomes of things, you will get them (or at least you'll be better at managing if something doesn't turn out how you want). If you obsesses over the outcome, however, you won't get it. If anything, you will repel that thing you want away from you.
Successful people are good at moving on after rejection, which requires a level of detatchment. They allow other people to create their own messes and don't try to control things that truly are not within their control. This frees them up to focus on what they can control and do the work that actually gets things done.
5. Relentless curiosity
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Being eager to learn will get you farther in life than those who aren’t curious or who think they already know all they need to.
There are actually many benefits to staying curious, including basic survival. Studies have also shown that curious people are also happier and that curiosity leads to higher levels of employment and higher academic success.
People who are curious will eventually learn more than those are naturally very smart who, like the genius who sits still, don't actually progress or grow. And growth is, ultimately, the key to being successful.
Sophie Bagheri is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and theatre who covers lifestyle topics.
