5 good habits of smart people

Surfing on the web I came across an interesting infographic displaying the good and bad habits smart people have in their lives. So, in this post I want to focus just on the good ones. If you want to see also the bad ones, you’ll find it in the entire infographic at the end of this post.

To clarify this point, who is considered a really smart person?

The most famous parameter to evaluate a person’s intelligence is the IQ indicator. So just to clarify this rating, here is a little summary:

• IQ 100 : It’s the average IQ and most of the people have it
• IQ 115: It means you are a little above the average
• IQ 140: Congrats! You are a genius!
• IQ 160: Ok, this is extremely rare and means you are an extraordinary genius!

But, who’s an extraordinary genius? To give you a physical example here are some famous geniuses of the human history and, guess what? They are famous today, but when they started, most of them failed. Here is some of them:

• Albert Einstein (IQ=160): He did not speak until he was 4
• Bill Gates (IQ=160): Before Microsoft, he failed his first business
• Thomas Edison (IQ=145): He blew 1000+ lightbulbs before creating the first one actually working
• Benjamin Franklin (IQ=160): He dropout school at 10 yo
• Beethoven (IQ=165): He was considered a broke and he would fail

So, what are the good habits of these smart people and what they did to succeed in their lives?

1. They are Persistent

As you may noticed, there’s one thing in common in all the gentlemen above: they failed. Especially if it’s the first time you are trying to do something, whatever it’s a business or a particular skill, failing is part of the trip. If we don’t fail, we are not able to learn. If we are not able to learn, we are not ready to grow. Those people created something new and unique and, it’s thanks to their persistency if we know their results today.

2. They have a vision and set goals

One of the most important thing when you want to realize a goal is to have a clear vision of what we are heading to. Setting up short, mid, and long terms goals is fundamental to measure results and change the route. Write a goal, is like doing the first step toward it. That’s why is so important to write a list. When we write something, is like we are materializing a simple thought or idea in something real, visible. Even if it’s just on a paper.

3. They Read

Many people don’t realize the importance of reading. In fact, it increases your verbal skills, it helps articulate thoughts, enhances problem solving skills, increases concentration, improves writing skills and improves memory. You don’t have enough time to read? Try with just 15 minutes a day: it’s over a million word per year!

4. They are self-disciplined

The study reports a particular type of self-discipline related to the sex activity. In fact, people with an IQ lower than 100 have a five times more active sexual life than people with an IQ higher than 100. Personally, I don’t think this is necessary a good or universal example of self-discipline but, we have to see it has the ability to control our mind and body. But, again, self-discipline has many faces 🙂

5. They think about thinking

What does it mean? It is generally known as metacognition, the  “knowing about knowing”. “It comes from the root word “meta”, meaning beyond. It can take many forms; it includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or for problem solving. There are generally two components of metacognition: knowledge about cognition, and regulation of cognition”. In simple words it’s the ability to control our knowledge, to organize it and being able to analyze and compare it in order to optimize our future actions. mhh… yes that’s in simple word. 🙂

Ok, these are the good habits of smart people. Want to see also the bad? Check out the entire graphic below! 🙂

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Source: Online-PhD-Programs.org

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