I am often called intelligent...?

Question

So I have a pretty high Iq (top 5% or so)
My whole life seems to be one self destructive pattern after another. If I am so intelligent why do I keep letting my life fall apart?

Answer 1

Intelligent people are often very sensitive, may take things to heart to much, may make bad decisions.
You need a good friend or adviser. Several good friends would be great, but one will do. Take the time and energy to cultivate a friendship. This person doesn't have to be as intelligent as you, but does need to be empathetic, warm, and gifted with common sense.
"Emotional intelligence" is a kind of knowing; so is musical intelligence, kinesthetic intelligence (which athletes have), spatial intelligence (usually much higher in men, since estrogen blocks it to some extent in women). The point is, there are many different varieties of intelligence.
Set out to find someone with good emotional intelligence, and become his/her friend and ask often for his/her advice.
Good luck and all the best to you!

Answer 2

I have found that intelligence does not always go hand in hand with common sense. I worked in an office where all of the people (with the exception of the clerical staff) had JD's Juris Doctors-attorneys. Though they were all book smart, they were not life smart. Common sense seems to go out the window when people get book smart. Sometimes people with average intelligence and your average education do better because they can look at things from life experiences.

Though this is easy for me to say, but stop and think before you do something. Ask yourself if what you are going to do is going to be self-destructive or hurtful to others. If you find yourself saying yes, then you should stop yourself from doing it.

Answer 3

Intelligence doesn't have much to do with how successful a person will be in life, just as money does not bring happiness. Intelligence and wisdom are two different things. A person with a low IQ can have a pretty good life if they follow God's advice, believe it or not. Find out the purpose of life and you'll have a reason to work with your intelligence! :)

Answer 4

I have a genius IQ too but it didn't stop me from being self-destructive. Maybe that's because knowing you shouldn't and the reasons why doesn't stop you. The seven intelligence theory talks about inter-intelligence. IQ doesn't measure this. It's about knowing yourself. It's about emotional peace in a sense.
Self-destruction comes from pain. One is in pain and uses a variety of unhealthy means to either repress the pain or displace the pain to another area. So the cure then is dealing with the root of the pain. Otherwise you will extinguish one self-destructive behavior only to replace it with another one to cope with the pain. Bad cycle.
So some introspection is in order to find out what is causing all of this pain. For me it was a horribly abusive childhood and I was using intellectualization as a coping mechanism as well as self-destructive patterns. I had to choose to look it in the face and deal with the emotion of it. I thought it would kill me but it didn't. I had to forgive to stop the torment in my head. I needed outside help. I needed Jesus. It was the only thing that kept me alive.
You will have to decide for yourself what your source of pain is and an appropriate way to deal with it.
Intelligence can help with this process but sometimes it makes it more complicated because you can think through the ramifications of everything. But you can settle things in a deeper way, as well. I hope the best for you!

Answer 5

How intelligent someone is and how "emotionally solid" he/she is are two different things, Some people are very intelligent AND emotionally very solid. Some aren't all that intelligent but may be emotionally solid. Some, though, are intelligent or not too intelligent - and are not emotionally solid.

Also, though, there are different types of intelligence; and people who are very intelligent in "human" areas have a head start in coping with emotional difficulties. Maybe you're not as good in the "human" (understanding yourself and others) areas of intelligence as you are, say, the math/science area.

Either way, while intelligence can be used to help people know how to process emotional issues and find a way to overcome them, there are times when the emotional damage to someone is such that even the most intelligent person just cannot overcome it with reason.

Answer 6

Being as smart as you are, I would hope you could understand that being able to answer a series of questions which attempt to define the construct that is intelligence has little or no relationship with self fulfillment or success. To keep it simple, I would suggest you regain focus on what is important to you (relationships, faith, education) and seek a way to use your gifts to better the world and/or the people in it.

Answer 7

Sometimes I think life can be more difficult for really intelligent people because people take for granted that and ability to easily grasp academic/intellectualy concepts=well grounded and emotionally secure. They forget to treat you with care and in childhood to deal with the enormity of the world you perceive. When a child "gets" things easily, that world is bigger and has scarier possibilities than it is for other children. When this foundation is shaky....well, I'm sure you see where I'm going with this.

Talk to a counselor....She/he can help you see yourself more clearly and help you shape your future according to who/how you want to be. Being intelligent is just part of who you are, not the definition of who you are. And it's a powerful tool you at your disposal when someone caringly teaches you how to use it for your own good rather than just for GPA's and SAT's.

Good luck!

Answer 8

In order to have success in life you must be mature. See, maturity is not related to intelligence. In fact, it has nothing to do with it....

Usually very intelligent people lack maturity,since they base their decision in logic, and self benefit... Is that your case?

Maturity bases itself in: experience, moving systematically toward your goals (that's systematically, not in a rush.. step by step).

Intelligence: Hi IQ, analytical.
Mature: knowing wring from right, taking the write decision.

Get more in touch with your human side, be more emotional. Don't think of your life as a mathematical problem.

Answer 9

Well, without knowing you or how you grew up or what your life is like or what types of self destruction you are talking about, it is kind of hard to answer that question.
It could be lack of self confidence.
I really can't answer without a little more knowledge.

Answer 10

To me, i think living patterns are not dependant on Iq but EQ- how you handle yourself emotionally etc. high IQ does not account for high EQ.