Four Ways to Become Smarter When You Don’t Like Reading

Intelligence is a good human quality.

Your words contribute to people’s first impression of you. It helps to have something intelligent to say to make people think well of you. That is why general wisdom is as essential as niche knowledge.

Most people pride themselves on only knowing one topic well. But this limits your ability to join in conversations. And solve everyday problems.

A broad information base makes you adaptable. The world needs more flexible citizens to create solutions for modern challenges.

If you want to earn money online, you will need to be smarter than your competition. How can you achieve this when “read more” advice annoys you? I will share some of my best tips.

Think For Yourself

Everyone has a fear. It is a natural characteristic - and some people are afraid of being different. They think people will consider them weird and they will not have any friends.

But if you hope to become brilliant, then you have to see things in unique ways. Avoid forming a view because the idea is mainstream. For example, Christopher Columbus did not agree that the world was flat. Now, history remembers his name.

Think for yourself, or others will think for you without thinking of you. - Henry David Thoreau

Once you have a different perspective on a topic, test out your theory. Experiments and application of concepts are the best way to learn something new.

Learn From The Mistakes of Others

It is critical to learn from your mistakes. It is even better to learn from the mistakes of others.

This practice saves you time. We all know how important time is to achieve our goals. Mistakes make it hard to get time-sensitive opportunities.

There are thousands of podcasts where people share lessons they learned the hard way. Listen to the speakers, study how they resolved their problems, and note what they would not do again.

Smart people learn from their mistakes. But the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes of others. -Brandon Mull

Vicarious learning helps you get ahead because you do better the very first time. Success boosts your confidence and keeps you motivated.

Learn from people to sidestep errors and achieve success faster. Goal attainment is more than working hard; it is important to work smart as well.

Make Time for General Knowledge

Though I am about to speak against mindless entertainment, I enjoy it. I have lost hours of my day to dance routines and dog videos. These moments are essential for self-care and our mental health. But knowledge is also vital to your intelligence and how you feel about yourself.

Balance mindless and informative entertainment resources.

If you often watch dog videos, learn about different breeds and facts unique to each animal. That way, you are watching dogs be true to their nature. Not all knowledge has to apply to your daily life. Some are useful for hobbies, networking, and making small talk with new people.

Begin Teaching Topics You Want to Learn

I am not saying you should pretend to know a topic; quite the opposite. I am encouraging you to document your learning process. As you run tests, do research, and create case studies, share your insights with the public.

If you want to learn something rather than use all your free time to scroll timelines or play video games, teach the subject. Teaching forces you to fill knowledge gaps and be consistent with your studies.

Teaching also helps you understand the material more. It requires preparation for tough questions. You also need to simplify concepts for beginners. Thus, this form of learning raises your IQ.