Cognitive Psychology: 5 Common Mistakes That Intelligent People Make

What are the 5 most common mistakes that smart people make?

Mistake 1: Smart people do not have a balanced life.

If we ask the people around us to summarize in a few words what they want in life, we will encounter words such as LOVE, MONEY, SUCCESS, FAMILY, RECOGNITION, PEACE, HAPPINESS, etc. But all these things are different and most people want to appear in their life at the same time. The problem is that most of us do not balance our lives properly to reach them at the right time.

We all have examples around us of successful careerists who feel alone or people who have a happy family but feel a bitter taste when it comes to recognition in professional life. Happiness means balance.

Solution: When we have a busy professional (or social, family) life, all our energy is focused on it and an imbalance is created. Although concentration is very important if we want to do things "by the book" we need a balance between the social and the professional dimension. Neglecting every chapter of our life can only cause stress or a negative mental state.

Mistake 2: Smart people overwhelm themselves with too many choices.

In the 21st century, information is moving at the speed of light, and opportunities for innovation seem limitless, giving us many choices to project our lives and careers. Unfortunately, the abundance of choices can lead to indecision, confusion, or even inaction.

This is what different marketing studies have shown: the more product options the consumer is offered, the less they will buy. After all, it is much easier to choose one product out of three and not one hundred, and if the purchase decision is too difficult to make, many people will give up. The same thing happens with the decisions we make about each area of ​​our lives, more or less important.

Solution: If you are trying to make a decision or make a choice for your life, do not waste your time evaluating all the details or possible options. Choose what you think will work for you and give it a try. If you are not satisfied with what you have chosen, move on to another option.

Mistake 3: Smart people become obsessed with perfectionism.

Many intelligent people are perfectionists. They set high standards and devote much of their time or attention to the work they do to maintain those standards. His passion for excellence urges him to always do more, and this dedication is seen in the results. But what happens when perfectionism takes control?

As perfectionists, there is a possibility that we will be discouraged when something does not turn out as we expected and we will not complete it. As perfectionists, we can get involved in something new and end it even harder than we thought we were good enough in a certain field.

Solution: We must be aware that the world does not necessarily reward perfectionists, but people who bring things to an end, and the only way we can do that is to be imperfect 99% of the time. Only through years of training or regular activities can we achieve perfection!

Mistake 4: Smart people learn to do something they never practice.

Unfortunately, there are very few people who manage to live the story they have dreamed of all their lives, and the reason why this happens is extraordinarily simple: never act!

The "acquisition" of knowledge does not give us evolution. Evolution occurs when the things we know positively change our lives. Dreams come true only when we make them "happen".

No matter what IQ or education we have … we can't change anything in our lives until we act. There is a major difference between knowing how to do something and doing that thing. Knowledge and intelligence are useless without action.

Solution: Success is set in motion by the simple act of action. We must be absorbed in the pursuit of our purpose in life. We have to make decisions. And we have to act.

Mistake 5: Smart people confuse "being busy" with "being productive."

In The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferris advises us to slow down in our lives and to remember that most of the things we do not have the power to differentiate us from other people.

Being busy is often a form of mental laziness. Thus, Ferris guides us to work productively, not much - a cliché, some would say, but a cliché to which too few people adhere.

Busy people rush to places where they are often late. Busy people attend conferences, are overtime at work, have business meetings. Busy people barely have time to sleep or meet loved ones or communicate with family. 

Their busy schedule gives them the impression that they have an important life, but it is not like that at all, everything is a beautiful illusion. They're just robots …

Solution: Slow down. Just breathe. Review your priorities. Put in the foreground what should have been in the foreground from the beginning. And do things one at a time. Take short breaks at 2–3 hours of work.