On being smart

A Weird Craft
Jul 28, 2017 · 2 min read

A part of trying to live your life using stoic philosophy is not only the subtle detachment from worldy things, but a key part of it is detachment from the self i.e. ego. While you could argue with me for a long period of time on whether or not this is actually part of the O.G stoic philosophy, it is one that I choose to follow so.. ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)╯

From the part of the world that I come from a lot of emphasis is put on “smarts” and “talent”. The “aunty’s” and “uncles” of sorts can be overheard saying things like “oh xyz’s kid is so talented, so smart” bla bla.

While this is good for a slight boost in the ego of self for the short term, I find this to be extremely detrimental to the growth of a person. This sort of worth talk allows you to develop your ego and build up on the wrong foundations.

Personally in my opinion, if anyone labels you as *smart*, you should be personally offended because it implies several things:

  1. The person was innately born with *smarts*.
  2. The person didn’t have to work for it, practice, or think extremely hard to solve that problem and their effort is overlooked.

“He/she is a smart person” should be a sentence requiring you to put money in the swear jar.


Chances are if you have been called that throughout your life, it becomes extremely difficult for you to separate your ego from your work. Chances are if you encounter a roadblock in your learning and development, you will be more likely to give yourself the excuse “I am not smart enough for this”. Or you are terrible at swallowing in criticism and using it for your own good. Rather it hurts the deep devil within you i.e. your ego.

Never attach your self worth to this label. Attach yourself however to how hard you work, how dedicated you are to not giving up and how driven you are to get shit done regardless of roadblocks.

I am a personal believer in the fact that any problem can be solved by anyone given the right opportunities and the _right_ kinds of deliberate practice. Just ask Forrest Gump.

A Weird Craft

Software is strange. Random thoughts on product management, business, Ruby, Rails and whatever I feel like writing about. I use this as a personal journal :)

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