Do You Feel Dumb Around Others? Don't Be. Here's Why.
You Are Intelligent In Your Own Way
I love my family dearly.
But, sometimes, having lunch with them is a pain in my bum.
Let me paint the picture for you.
I am at the head of the table. My mother is to my left and my brother to my right.
My mother loves having any sort of conversation. On the other hand, my brother is all about politics, science, cars, and bikes.
As much as I was trying to enjoy my lunch, I couldn’t because my mother and brother were discussing the current political situations around the globe.
They were throwing off names and places — discussing who should have done what and where this was going.
I was keeping my mouth busy with food.
When these two have such conversations, I feel like an idiot because I have no clue what they are talking about. I have vague ideas but no minute details. And therefore, I can’t add to the conversation. Resulting in my brain telling me I am dumb.
But the other day, a switch clicked in my brain.
As my mother and brother talked about some cabinet minister of ours, I heard my inner voice speak.
“You know, Rubina, you are not dumb. It’s just that the topics they are into and discussing are not of your interest. That’s why you don’t know anything about them. Aren’t there topics you know about, and they have no clue? You are smart in those topics.”
I was earlier cringing and making myself small, listening to my family’s conversation. But the moment I heard my inner wisdom, I smiled and sat up straight.
Spirituality. Psychology. Movies. Books. Writing. Family. Humanity.
I can talk about these topics for hours.
Let me tell you about the camera angle in the movie, Murder On The Orient Express when the body is found.
Let me tell you about the imagery Amor Towles brings out in his book, A Gentleman in Moscow.
Let me tell you why I think it’s better to stay single than to marry for all the wrong reasons.
Let me tell you why a creative person desperately needs solitude.
And don’t even get me started on Marvel stuff.
Hell yeah, I am intelligent.
Hell yeah, you are intelligent too!
You are intelligent in the topics you find most interesting.
We all want to have meaningful conversations, and we go out looking for people to have these conversations with. But what most of us get wrong is we discuss the wrong topic with the wrong group.
This is why we look for like-minded people — people who will understand our language.
So next time you feel dumb around a bunch of people, remember that just because you’re not interested in their topics doesn’t make you dumb. You, too, are intelligent in your own way.
