Finding my identity as a gifted adult
I've always wanted to be an artist. And I am, for the most part an artist. But I think I always wanted to be an artist because it was an identity I respected and I thought fit me. Because I didn't have an identity. A place in society. A community I felt I belonged too. An occupation, a career, calling, a purpose.
At one point I thought I'd like to be an entrepreneur. I wanted to be rich, and common wisdom is that starting your own business is the way to go. There are certain common traits of entrepreneurs, and I fit about half of them. The other half, I figured I could learn to become.
But recently, I've stumbled across a way of being that rather than be something to aspire to, already fit me. Being gifted.
I never really thought I was special. I often feel overly aware of my deficiencies. I've dealt with depression most of my life. But at the same time, I notice that I think much more deeply than most of people I've ever met. Apparently, those are some of the traits of the gifted.
I was tested for IQ when I was in school, and I remember it being in the moderately gifted range (130 - 144), perhaps bordering on highly gifted. I always wondered if it was just a ploy that my mother used to make me feel smarter, to help me do better in school. And so I lived, tried to live my life by the standards of those around me, the limits of those around me, the dreams and goals of mainstream society. I didn't realize what it meant to be gifted.
But I'm finding myself now.
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The Pressure to Conform
The influence on the gifted student of his or her awareness of being different, and the resultant pressure to underachieve for peer acceptance, can hardly be overestimated. Research suggests that the more highly gifted the child, the greater becomes the social pressure to moderate his or her achievements (Hollingworth, 1926; Silverman, 1989; Gross, 1993, 1994).
"The highly intelligent child must learn to suffer fools gladly-not sneeringly, not angrily, not despairingly, not weepingly-but gladly if personal development is to proceed successfully in the world as it is" (Hollingworth, 1942, p. 299).
https://www.hoagiesgifted.org/underserved.htm
At one point I thought I'd like to be an entrepreneur. I wanted to be rich, and common wisdom is that starting your own business is the way to go. There are certain common traits of entrepreneurs, and I fit about half of them. The other half, I figured I could learn to become.
But recently, I've stumbled across a way of being that rather than be something to aspire to, already fit me. Being gifted.
I never really thought I was special. I often feel overly aware of my deficiencies. I've dealt with depression most of my life. But at the same time, I notice that I think much more deeply than most of people I've ever met. Apparently, those are some of the traits of the gifted.
I was tested for IQ when I was in school, and I remember it being in the moderately gifted range (130 - 144), perhaps bordering on highly gifted. I always wondered if it was just a ploy that my mother used to make me feel smarter, to help me do better in school. And so I lived, tried to live my life by the standards of those around me, the limits of those around me, the dreams and goals of mainstream society. I didn't realize what it meant to be gifted.
But I'm finding myself now.
///
The Pressure to Conform
The influence on the gifted student of his or her awareness of being different, and the resultant pressure to underachieve for peer acceptance, can hardly be overestimated. Research suggests that the more highly gifted the child, the greater becomes the social pressure to moderate his or her achievements (Hollingworth, 1926; Silverman, 1989; Gross, 1993, 1994).
"The highly intelligent child must learn to suffer fools gladly-not sneeringly, not angrily, not despairingly, not weepingly-but gladly if personal development is to proceed successfully in the world as it is" (Hollingworth, 1942, p. 299).
https://www.hoagiesgifted.org/underserved.htm
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