Why do relatively less intelligent people often do better in life than highly intelligent people?
In (successfully) carving my way to glory, I have understood one important point. That there is a huge gap between where we are and where we wish to be.
On a positive note, there is also a definite way to bridge that gap. It involves doing a set of important actions day after day after day. Eg. To build a stunning body, one needs to go to the gym day after day after day.
So far so good. Each of us knows this bit pretty well. Knowing what needs to be done and resolving to do it is the important first step. However it is the relatively easy one.
In my 10+ years of experience as a holistic coach, what people struggle with is the second step: that of doing what needs to be done day after day after day. And there is a bunch of reasons why we fall short in this area.
One important reason that I often find is the pre-dominance of intellect. While the intellect is a great tool to clear the cob-webs, it also can be a source of constant confusion. The world is full of relatively less intelligent people making it to the top. How come?
The person prone to over-indulging the intellect is constantly jumping from one solution to another. He doesn’t stick to a singular path or regimen or teaching or teacher long enough to break ground and strike gold. On the other hand, a person who knows how to restrain the intellect (or is not inclined to overuse it) sustains on a decided regimen for long enough to break through.
Does this particular limitation plague you too? It definitely has plagued me in the past. What do you feel are the other reasons that come in the way of this perseverance/persistence/consistency that each of us so needs?
