Highly Intelligent People Tend To Be More Insecure

Highly intelligent people often think more, are more accurate, doubt more and are often more insecure in their daily lives.

However, the most arrogant types are naturally self-confident because they don’t worry about the consequences of their actions or because they don’t weigh the effect of their words. Besides, they don’t care if they might hurt other people.

People say  “ignorance is a blessing”.  No doubt we all agree with this statement. Because we have probably all come into contact with that essence that is so characteristic of human stupidity. We are talking about situations where a person acts with complete neglect of feelings and reason. Never are those people aware of the effect that some of their behaviors have.

Most of us can recognize an ‘ignorant’ person. It is the one who acts with self-evident pride, bias and arrogance. But even though we recognize those individuals, we still ask ourselves that one question. Why do they have so much power in our lives?

The historian Carlo M. Cipolla has said that we underestimate the sheer amount of stupid people in the world. But we have to add something to this statement… Why has stupidity in our society reached such high levels of power?

Psychologists and sociologists tell us that there is an interesting aspect associated with this pattern of behavior. The dumbest people often show a heightened sense of security. They are more reckless, “louder” and thanks to these qualities they have the ability to influence others.

But highly intelligent people are often characterized by insecurity. They possess a high level of personal response, reflection and discretion.

None of these things have an impact. Moreover, we live in a world where people still see uncertainty as a negative characteristic.

Highly intelligent people often undervalue themselves

We still have a slightly wrong idea of ​​highly intelligent people. And this is especially true of people who have very high IQs.

We regard them as competent people who are always able to make the best decisions. Or we see them as people who are extremely effective in their work, their responsibilities and their day-to-day obligations.

But often there is something else going on here. Many intelligent people suffer from social anxiety. They rarely feel fully integrated into their environment: at school, at university, at work…

The psychiatrist and neuroscience doctor Dean Burnett offers an explanation for this. People of high intelligence also tend to constantly undervalue themselves.

This is what we now call the “imposter syndrome”. It is a disorder in which the person minimizes his personal achievements and his possibilities. Thus, he gradually undermines his self-image and self-confidence.

Of course we cannot generalize. There may be people with a high IQ who are very confident. Some people with high IQs have climbed the ladder of success and have done so with psychological composure, consistency and effectiveness.

But the first pattern is more common. Intellectually brilliant people often possess a deeper perception of reality. It is a reality that does not always seem easy, pleasant or even reliable.

Is uncertainty really that ‘negative’?

It is true that a confident person is attractive and inspiring. We like people who are able to make quick decisions. They are people who have everything in order and respond quickly. But… is it really right or even desirable that we are always ‘sure’ of ourselves?

The answer to this question is yes and no. The key is in moderation and in balance. Let’s go back to neuroscientist Dean Burnett for a moment and talk about one of his well-known books: The Idiot Brain .

In the book, he explains how, in general, the most naive or “stupid” people tend to display the highest level of personal security. They are those types of people who are unable to recognize when something is wrong. In addition, they cannot apply analytical thoughtful thinking to pre-evaluate the effect of certain decisions, actions, or comments.

But the fact is that “the idiot personality” often has more social success. Directors, officials, or politicians who display recklessness, self-assurance, and firmness in their decisions often have what many people consider to be leadership  abilities .

Yet that assumption is really dangerous. Sometimes we put our future in the hands of people who lack the ability to evaluate the consequences of their actions.

Productive uncertainty

Insecurity that traps and paralyzes you is not helpful. But there is a kind of uncertainty that tells us things like ‘stop, be careful and think before you act’.  This kind of uncertainty can be helpful.

But that’s only the case if we use it to help us make a decision. However, it is not good if we allow uncertainty to hold us back all the time.

Highly intelligent people often have a really hard time dealing with that uncertainty. That’s because, as we’ve already mentioned, often, on top of a few other characteristics, they have low self-esteem:

• They will analyze every fact, event, spoken word, expression and attitude in an exaggerated way.
• Their thought process has many ‘branches’. By this we mean that they jump from one idea to another and then to another, until they are flooded with ideas.
• They are very logical people and for them everything has to ‘fit’. Everything must be logical. But sometimes life requires that we accept it as it is, in all its irrationality, chaos and idiosyncrasy.

So what they need to do is make sure that their insecurity no longer isolates them in the stillness of their refined minds. They have to learn to tolerate their uncertainty. This can be done by accepting that human behavior is not perfect. Much of what happens in the world doesn’t make sense.

In addition, their intelligence must absolutely break through its extremely ‘rational’ barrier. They should focus on emotional intelligence, where they will stop undervaluing themselves or feeling like an outsider.

Even if they don’t believe it, the world needs them more than ever to defeat ‘the virus of human stupidity’.