I sometimes feel smarter than other people.. does this make me a cruel person..

[Nanita]

Sometimes, my thoughts are two (or more) steps ahead of other people´s thoughts.
I find myself becoming extremely annoyed with people, when they can´t follow my thoughts and ideas.
Then I feel bad for getting annoyed with them. I´m sure some of them must notice that I get annoyed, and they must feel like I´m being condescending.

Once in a while, I do meet people that understand the way I think. But because of social phobia and so on, I don´t meet a lot of people, and more importantly, I have difficulties keeping/maintaining friendships.

I always did pretty well in school and college. I never had to study much, it all just came to me (well, except for math). In some classes, people would just sit and look at me and the teacher having a conversation that no one else could take part in.

On one hand, I´m tired of people who don´t understand what I´m talking about. On the other hand, I´m tired of myself because I can´t be a better person who just accepts other people as they are.

 

[coyote]

Sometimes, my thoughts are two (or more) steps ahead of other people´s thoughts.
I find myself becoming extremely annoyed with people, when they can´t follow my thoughts and ideas.
Then I feel bad for getting annoyed with them. I´m sure some of them must notice that I get annoyed, and they must feel like I´m being condescending.

Once in a while, I do meet people that understand the way I think. But because of social phobia and so on, I don´t meet a lot of people, and more importantly, I have difficulties keeping/maintaining friendships.

I always did pretty well in school and college. I never had to study much, it all just came to me (well, except for math). In some classes, people would just sit and look at me and the teacher having a conversation that no one else could take part in.

On one hand, I´m tired of people who don´t understand what I´m talking about. On the other hand, I´m tired of myself because I can´t be a better person who just accepts other people as they are.

we sound a lot alike

i've felt this way pretty much my whole life

i don't know what the answer is

other than to let go of the need to be understood

 

[Nanita]

other than to let go of the need to be understood

- I think that is a good idea

 

[Newtype]

Sometimes, my thoughts are two (or more) steps ahead of other people´s thoughts.
I find myself becoming extremely annoyed with people, when they can´t follow my thoughts and ideas.
Then I feel bad for getting annoyed with them. I´m sure some of them must notice that I get annoyed, and they must feel like I´m being condescending.

Once in a while, I do meet people that understand the way I think. But because of social phobia and so on, I don´t meet a lot of people, and more importantly, I have difficulties keeping/maintaining friendships.

I always did pretty well in school and college. I never had to study much, it all just came to me (well, except for math). In some classes, people would just sit and look at me and the teacher having a conversation that no one else could take part in.

On one hand, I´m tired of people who don´t understand what I´m talking about. On the other hand, I´m tired of myself because I can´t be a better person who just accepts other people as they are.

I see a lot of myself in what you have written. I guess I just let go of trying to be understood, like coyote said. Did it make me a happier person? No, but it takes some of the stress away and enables you to focus more on your own growth. I don't think that accepting other people as they are would make you a better person. It would make you dull. That rebellious side of you is charming and precious and accepting them would be to betray yourself. It's more important to be old one day and tell yourself that you were able to become what you've always wanted to be.

 

[MikeyC]

I believe all of us think that we're smarter than the average person out there. "I'm too clever to fall for that Ponzi scheme!" "I'm too smart to get hooked into credit card debt!" In reality, we all fall for these things at some point.

Just because people don't follow your way of thinking or the point you're trying to get across doesn't mean they're less intelligent. You may just attack a thought from a different angle, or you may have a better memory, which means you can rattle off trivia better than others. Or maybe your IQ really is higher.

I am the opposite of you: I oftentimes believe I'm less intelligent than others.

 

[Nanita]

I see a lot of myself in what you have written. I guess I just let go of trying to be understood, like coyote said. Did it make me a happier person? No, but it takes some of the stress away and enables you to focus more on your own growth. I don't think that accepting other people as they are would make you a better person. It would make you dull. That rebellious side of you is charming and precious and accepting them would be to betray yourself. It's more important to be old one day and tell yourself that you were able to become what you've always wanted to be.

Thanks Newtype ... Rebillious is good. Thanks for reminding me.
I actually really really want to be more accepting towards people, I don´t like the side of me that gets so easily annoyed - it´s too much negativity for me, and it makes me want to avoid people - which I´m trying to change a little bit ...

 

[Nanita]

"I'm too clever to fall for that Ponzi scheme!" "I'm too smart to get hooked into credit card debt!" In reality, we all fall for these things at some point.

Haha!!

Just because people don't follow your way of thinking or the point you're trying to get across doesn't mean they're less intelligent. You may just attack a thought from a different angle, or you may have a better memory, which means you can rattle off trivia better than others. Or maybe your IQ really is higher.

I am the opposite of you: I oftentimes believe I'm less intelligent than others.

You´re right! I guess it´s not that I really believe people are less intelligent - Now I realize I should call it something else than intelligence/being smart. Maybe: "special ability to focus hard on certain topics" (kinda like a classic geek)
I guess intelligence doesn´t have to be the reason that people usually don´t understand my thoughts/ideas.
Maybe I´m expecting too much from the people I socialize with. Maybe I should meet other kinds of people.
I just want to be understood, damn it......!!
However, I also want to be an adult that is capable of coping with being misunderstood.

 

[MikeyC]

You´re right, I guess it´s not that I really believe people are less intelligent - I guess intelligence doesn´t have to be the reason that people usually don´t understand my thoughts/ideas.
Maybe I´m expecting too much from the people I socialize with. Maybe I should meet other kinds of people.
I just want to be understood damn it...

People will understand you, don't worry. You will find you'll probably blossom a friendship from people that understand you more than others.

 

[vitalis]

Thanks Newtype ... Rebillious is good. Thanks for reminding me.
I actually really really want to be more accepting towards people, I don´t like the side of me that gets so easily annoyed - it´s too much negativity for me, and it makes me want to avoid people - which I´m trying to change a little bit ...

I can relate on that heavily, used to feel that way too. I really began to change my perception of the rest when I recently started to accept myself.

Like you said in the OP, it's like you are more advanced than the other people in thoughts and ideas, but it's a kind of double-edged sword. You feel smarter than the average and it really helps in stuff like school or other things when you grow up like being able to enjoy more enriching hobbies than average, but this difference in itself if boosted or noticed in excess by the group doesn't generate rewarding behaviors but penalizing ones instead so this helps in reinforcing our damn loop of isolation so we may be more prone to develop bitter personalities.

So I believe it's all about accepting yourself. The only thing is that we've fallen in that kind of loop and could not get out of it so in the teen years when people uses to get involved in social circles we could not learn the basics so we feel like an internal paradox, since we're more advanced in our mental capacities but less advanced socially than the average, so is this dichotomy that creates that resentful behavior. So the key here is to decide to start making decisive steps to break that loop, and not just your SP but your bitterness may improve a lot. At least that's how it goes for me, and for what you wrote I believe it may also be your case.

 

[Nanita]

I can relate on that heavily, used to feel that way too. I really began to change my perception of the rest when I recently started to accept myself.

Like you said in the OP, it's like you are more advanced than the other people in thoughts and ideas, but it's a kind of double-edged sword. You feel smarter than the average and it really helps in stuff like school or other things when you grow up like being able to enjoy more enriching hobbies than average, but this difference in itself if boosted or noticed in excess by the group doesn't generate rewarding behaviors but penalizing ones instead so this helps in reinforcing our damn loop of isolation so we may be more prone to develop bitter personalities.

So I believe it's all about accepting yourself. The only thing is that we've fallen in that kind of loop and could not get out of it so in the teen years when people uses to get involved in social circles we could not learn the basics so we feel like an internal paradox, since we're more advanced in our mental capacities but less advanced socially than the average, so is this dichotomy that creates that resentful behavior. So the key here is to decide to start making decisive steps to break that loop, and not just your SP but your bitterness may improve a lot. At least that's how it goes for me, and for what you wrote I believe it may also be your case.

Yes I think you´re quite right

Thanks for sharing your perspective. I´m glad some people can relate. I sometimes feel like a bad person... But it´s good to be aware of this and to work with ourselves.