15 Stupid Mistakes That Smart People Don’t Realize They’re Making

1. Smart people rationalize stupid actions. They do not realize that they are making mistakes because they are so good at coming up with reasons and excuses for their actions. They are blind to faults in their own behaviors by justifying it to themselves and others.

2. Smart people need to have an answer for everything. They have a compulsive need to be right to keep with their own self-image. Their intelligence is tied to their self-worth. If they do not understand or know something, then it threatens their sense of safety.

3. Smart people multitask too much. They take on too many things all once and overwhelm themselves. They want to do it all and think that they can do everything. They tax their resources to the fullest capacity and do not realize that they are near the tipping point of a breakdown.

4. Smart people do not like to ask for help. Smart people are so used to giving others solutions that they assume asking for help makes them look weak. They often do not even recognize that they need help because they are used to being self-sufficient and independent.

5. Smart people overanalyze things. They got lost in their thoughts because of constantly analyzing the pros and cons of things. This indecision makes them miss out on opportunities, as they do not take action when the time is ripe.

6. Smart people believe that every problem is solvable. They do not know when to let of things or people. They see the best in people, and the bright side of the situation even when there may be none.

7. Smart people beat themselves up over their past. They waste away time in regret because they want to learn from their mistakes but instead get hung up on the past. They remain mentally and emotionally stuck rather than looking forward into their future.

8. Smart people focus on details instead of big picture. They are perfectionists and get lost in the details, which makes them lose perspective of the bigger picture. They make wrong assumptions without discounting the possibility of human subjectivity.

9. Smart people do not cope well with sudden change. When something uncontrollable and unplanned happens in their life, they have undeveloped and poor coping resources since they are used to having everything under their control.

10. Smart people think their irrational fears will come true. They have good imaginational potential but this can be a curse when it creates unnecessary anxiety and fears for the future. They constantly worry that the worst will happen.

11. Smart people have unrealistic goals. They are constantly dissatisfied with life and do not know how to be content. They are not grateful for what they already have in life because they feel entitled to deserving more.

12. Smart people underestimate the value of true grit. They are used to setting and achieving big goals through their high intelligence. They fail to understand the values of dogged and sustained patience and persistence when things aren’t necessarily going their way.

13. Smart people give up easily when they fail. They are used to solving problems very quickly compared to others. When they fail at something, they think that something is wrong with them and give up, instead of realizing that it is simply another stepping stone to success.

14. Smart people push themselves too hard. They are committed to personal growth and becoming the best possible versions of themselves either personally or professionally. This pursuit of excellence can be detrimental when it becomes obsessively perfectionistic.

15. Smart people seek to pursue meaning. The smartest people are idealistic and seek deeper fulfillment. They continuously strive for the pursuit of meaning without realizing that you cannot intellectualize everything.