Watch this if you got a bad grade recently

Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, a pioneer in the personal computing space, and the man who introduced the Macintosh and the iPhone, dropped out of college after one semester. Yet I don't think anyone watching this would hesitate to call him smart. Thomas Edison, the man who invented the light bulb, the phonograph, and even the motion picture, wasn't the brightest student either. In fact, records indicate that after a few months in school, his mother pulled him out and decided to homeschool him. Yet again, I don't think there's a single person who would question his intelligence. In today's video, I want to prove to you that you are, in fact, smart, even if you don't feel that way. Intelligence is a confusing topic to understand, and one that I've been fascinated with for almost my entire life. But in this video, we're just going to cover a small slice of the conversation. In the first part of today's video, we're going to look at what it means to be smart and explore the different kinds of intelligence. In the second part of this video, we're going to look at why we often wrongly doubt our own intelligence. And then in the third part of this video, we're going to look at how we can regain confidence in how smart we actually are. So buckle up and let's begin with the first part. What does it mean to be smart? Now, if we draw on history and look at the most successful scientists, entrepreneurs, and innovators, we'll notice that a handful of them defy our traditional perception of intelligence. Granted, most of them adhere to that perception, but a surprising amount detract from it. For example, not only do we have Steve Jobs, who dropped out of college, or Edison, whose teacher literally called him addled, which, by the way, means confused or unable to think clearly. We also have the billionaire Richard Branson, who dropped out of high school. And then we also have Charles Darwin, who you have probably learned about in your biology class. Ironically, he wasn't the best student either. None of these people had a perfect GPA or attended a fancy college, yet we still know that they are smart. Now, before we go any further, I just want to clarify that the point of this video is not to critique our educational institutions or to make some point about book smarts versus street smarts. That's not the idea here. The idea is to better understand what it means to be smart because most people have a very narrow definition. We often think that if someone gets good grades, that makes them smart. And yes, while that might be the case most of the time, there are many other attributes that also define our intelligence. Okay, so let's dive in. First, we have the obvious signs of intelligence. Besides having solid grades, if you simply know a lot of stuff, people might classify you as smart. For example, if you're sitting at dinner and whip out a bunch of niche facts about medieval tools or 18th century shipwrecks, first of all, people might think you're a little weird, but they will definitely think that you're pretty brilliant. Now, another trait we associate with intelligence is strong memory. And this one goes hand in hand with knowing a lot of stuff because to know a lot of stuff, you have to have memorized a lot of stuff. But this one is a little bit different. For example, if you're able to instantly remember the names of people you meet at a networking event or quickly recall facts and details from a reading passage that you have just read, people will be pretty impressed. And look, we're not talking about understanding or comprehension here. We are simply talking about rote memory, which is the ability to look at some information and then to recall it at a later point. That ability alone to many people is an indication of intelligence. And then finally, one of the most obvious signs that someone is smart is having strong problem-solving skills. And this is probably the trait we associate most with intelligence, especially in school. The students who are able to piece apart problems and then walk through them logically step-by-step tend to be the ones with the highest grades. Okay, but what we just covered were the obvious traits. Now let's move on to signs of intelligence that aren't as obvious. One trait that people often overlook is social insight. For example, someone who is able to flawlessly navigate social situations and understand people's emotions and motives is probably really smart, even if they don't have the highest grades in school. But this isn't something we talk about often. We're very quick to associate the term smart with academic intelligence, but often overlook other attributes like EQ. Another trait we don't talk about often is pattern recognition. Some of the most brilliant entrepreneurs and inventors throughout history achieved their success by observing patterns others did not. A famous example is Isaac Newton, who after seeing an apple fall from a tree allegedly found the inspiration for his theory of gravitation. And then we have Steve Jobs, who I've probably mentioned way too many times at this point, who deeply understood consumers' desire for simple and elegant technology. Now these people not only had the ability to recognize patterns, but they also exhibited another less obvious trait of intelligence, creative thinking. The ability to will something novel into existence, whether a drawing, a painting, a song, a movie, and so on, is so incredibly impressive. And the truth is, some of today's artists and musicians weren't the best students in school, yet they used their creative thinking to impact millions. Now if that isn't a sign of someone who's smart, I don't know what is. Okay, so we looked at all these attributes that should give us a better idea of what it means to be smart. And these attributes come together in what I like to call our intelligence profile. School unfortunately limits our focus to a specific subset of this profile, namely problem-solving ability and memory. But the truth is, being smart is much more holistic. And chances are, if you're not strong in one attribute, you're probably stronger in another. All that's to say, we are all smart in our own ways. And the smart way to browse online is by using the sponsor of this video, Opera Air. This is the first ever browser designed for mindfulness. It prioritizes your well-being to provide a calm, focused browsing experience. Let's check it out. First, I want you to notice the simple intuitive design. No clutter, no chaos, just a peaceful space for you to focus. But that's barely scratching the surface. Opera Air has built-in breaks And then there's a body battery indicator that'll tell you when it's time. For each break, we can do a mindfulness exercise, such as a breathing session, a neck stretch, a meditation session, or a full body scan. Let's go ahead and do a breathing session. I already feel more relaxed. And once you're done with your break, it's important to get back in the zone, which is where the boost feature comes in. You can use it to access over 20 soundscapes and lo-fi tunes designed to enhance your focus. I actually use the creativity boost to help me script this very segment. Not to mention, you start each browsing session with an inspirational quote to keep you motivated. Be yourself. Everyone else has already taken. I actually love that one. If you're looking to create a more balanced, distraction-free browsing experience, check out Opera Air by clicking on the link in my description. And now, back to the video. So now let's move on to part two of this video. Why do we doubt our own intelligence? So maybe you're sitting there and you're not convinced. Maybe you're still skeptical about your own intelligence. Well, don't worry, because I was in your exact shoes several years ago in college. So my freshman year at MIT was a crazy wake-up call. I met Olympiad medalists, Intel Science Fair finalists, Coca-Cola scholars, RSI alumni, the list goes on. These people were freakishly smart. And whenever I would pit my public school background against their elite intellectual accolades, I would feel like an imposter. And I wasn't alone in this. Many of my friends also felt the same way. In fact, many of the smart people that I was comparing myself to also felt the same way. This feeling is known as imposter syndrome, and it impacts tons of high-achieving students, especially at top colleges and even competitive high schools. Imposter syndrome refers to this feeling whereby high-achieving students fail to internalize their own accomplishments. Put simply, it's when you feel like a fraud. You may have the grades, the accolades, and the track record to prove your success, but you feel like you don't deserve it. Most of the time, you might just attribute your success to luck. Okay, but why am I telling you this? Because chances are you are an overachieving student who might be feeling the same way. And let me tell you, compared to the state of education a couple decades ago, we are in a pretty tricky situation today. Not only are we comparing ourselves to our immediate peers, but we're also comparing ourselves to people online. And it becomes much easier to undervalue your own accomplishments when you're comparing yourself to the 1% of the 1%. Chances are you are much smarter than you think you are. But it's these unhealthy and, more importantly, inaccurate comparisons that are clouding your perception. Remember, people self-select what they post to social media. It's the highlight reel that hides people's failures and insecurities, and thus, it should not be a reference point. Now, don't worry. I am going to propose a solution to this feeling and imposter syndrome more broadly later in this video. But before we do, I want to introduce another concept that makes imposter syndrome a bit trickier. Confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek and internalize information that confirms our own beliefs. So, for example, if you feel like an imposter, you're more likely to remember moments that reinforce this feeling, like getting a low grade on a test. And so it becomes this feedback loop. The more you feel like an imposter, the more you remember information that confirms this belief, making you feel like even more of an imposter. But here's the beautiful part. The opposite is also true. If you perceive yourself as intelligent, and I'm not saying in an arrogant or pompous way, but rather, if you're confident in your own abilities, you are more likely to persist through challenges and see them as learning opportunities, rather than a sign of weakness. This, in turn, will boost your performance, which will then reinforce your belief in your own intelligence. Now, this is the scenario that we want to end up in. And so that brings me to the third part of this video. How can we regain confidence in our own intelligence? How do we break this vicious cycle where our imposter syndrome feeds our confirmation bias, which then feeds back into our imposter syndrome? First, realize that you're not alone. Imposter syndrome is a very common feeling, especially among students. And you should never see this feeling as a reflection of your worth or potential. It's simply a reflection of your current circumstances and mindset, which is something you have control over. So let's dive into my advice. And this is coming from someone who has experienced imposter syndrome. I experienced it when I went to college, when I started this YouTube channel, when I started my business, and so on. And luckily, I've been able to escape it many times over. First, you have to step back. As I said earlier, intelligence is multidimensional, and everyone has their own unique intelligence profile. Yes, you may have weaknesses in certain areas, as all of us do, but I promise you that you are so much more capable than you realize. Second, I want you to question your negative self-talk. So whenever you have a critical thought about your own abilities, ask yourself, is this actually true? And is this thought helpful? And as you answer these questions, look at the facts. Look at the hard work and the perseverance you put into getting where you are today. Look at the milestones that you have achieved along your journey. Once you look at these clear and obvious signs of why you deserve the success that you have, it's easy to peel back this veil of self-doubt. And don't let anyone or anything diminish the value of the work you've put in. Okay, and third, look at where you stand, or I guess where you're sitting, literally. Because let me tell you, only a special kind of student is drawn to these videos, and only a special kind of student watches these videos until the very end. If you have made it to this point of the video, take a deep breath. You are smart. Not a single part of me doubts that. And look, I know this might sound cheesy because we're not actually talking to each other, but I genuinely believe in you. Because if you have made it to this point, it shows you care. It shows you care about your education. It shows you care about your potential. It shows you care about your mental health. And if that isn't a sign of someone who is smart, then I don't know what is. Y'all, if you enjoyed this video, all I ask is that you pause, reflect for two minutes, and leave a meaningful comment below. I would love to hear your genuine thoughts about what I said here today. And as always, subscribe and like if you haven't already. Join my Discord server if you want to talk to me. And I'll see you again next week.