Once I was looking for a job (as a journalist). At the interview, I was offered an IQ test. I remember my surprise - after all, I did not apply for a technical vacancy. But out of curiosity, the test still passed and scored 146 points. 132 would have been enough for hiring, but I refused - and here's why.
I didn’t want to work in a place where you are judged only by formal criteria such as analytical ability and don’t want to study my work experience and what I have to offer. This is just stupid - the smartest person I know has never gone to university. I have met people who would not score a single point on this test due to dyslexia, because they simply cannot read the text. In the end, even the creator of the IQ test, Alfred Binet, admitted that the accuracy of his test has certain limits, since it is very difficult to formalize intelligence.
The truth is that the main factor that makes a person successful is not IQ, but the ability to not give up.
Being a talented person is not a guarantee of success. There are millions of unlucky musicians, actors, businessmen among us. They can do more than those who have achieved success - but they vegetate. They just did not cope with the blows of fate, and those who are now on horseback could.
Judge for yourself:
Bill Gates' very first company, Traf-O-Data, was a complete failure. In fact, the software product he invented didn't work at all!
Stephen King's first book was rejected 30 times in a row by publishers. Today, more than 350 million copies of Carrie have been sold, and a blockbuster movie has also been shot.
The famous American TV presenter Oprah Winfrey was sexually abused many times as a child and constantly ran away from home. At the age of 14, she gave birth to a child who died shortly thereafter. But those dire circumstances did not stop her from winning a college scholarship and subsequently becoming one of the richest women in the world.
In the 20s of the last century, a study of 1,500 children with an IQ of at least 140 points was conducted (on average, it was 150 points). Scientists monitored their lives to see if the IQ index affects how they are doing in life.
The children were divided into group A (most successful) and group B (least successful). It turned out the following: despite the high IQ level, most of the test participants from group B did not become professionals and earned only slightly more than the average level. In addition, among them there were more cases of alcoholism and divorce than among participants from group A.
Why was group A better? Its members had three unique qualities: goal orientation, self-confidence, and perseverance. In other words, we came to where we started: for success, it is not the mind that is more important, but the ability not to give up and go forward no matter what.
How to develop this quality in yourself?
Think flexible: remember that everything changes every second
If things don't work out, look for another way to get what you want. Find other people or alternative solutions to the problem. For example, the famous rapper Jay Z did not want to record any record company. The musician came up with an original way out: he just opened his own label.
Don't take failure as personal. In fact, no one remembers this anymore
Failure is an important part of your bottom line. Accept defeat, analyze your mistakes and move on. It took James Dyson 5,126 attempts to create the world's first Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner. And when he finally made a mass-marketable version, no distributor in the UK wanted to contact him. The inventor did not despair and brought his product to the Japanese market, where his efforts were appreciated with a special award. But even after that, the vacuum cleaner manufacturers did not want to produce his models. As a result, Dyson founded his own company and became a billionaire.
Don't look at the time
Many of us are familiar with the idea that "if you have not achieved anything before 30, you are a failure, and nothing in life will shine for you." Tell that to Colonel Sanders, who invented his famous recipe when he was 50 and started offering his recipe to restaurants at 62. At 74, he could sell his KFS franchise for $ 2 million.
Practice mindfulness meditation to distract from fears and anxieties
Be here and now, live one day. The best way to learn how to do this is to master mindfulness meditation (for example, as described by the German psychotherapist Roland Kopp-Wichmann). Kopp-Wichmann says that all your fears exist only in the future, not now.
Focus on what's happening right now. Perhaps it's a good day outside the window and the sun is shining, or you accidentally met an old friend, or you are just doing what you love the most in the world. And all the problems will be dealt with by your strong character and ability not to give up and go forward, no matter what.
The main thing is to seek and create moments that you will enjoy. After all, this is one of those things for which a person should live.
See also:
- 10 mistakes that made you not yet successful.
- Why You Have Too Few Friends: 11 Reasons.
- 8 interesting examples of landscape design to manipulate the behavior of citizens on the street.
