Socially, gifted people like to engage in debates which nourish their minds with a barrage of challenging ideas and perspectives. If you love debates for this reason, to the extent that other people find you aggressive and intimidating, you could be gifted. In the workplace, you might be able to put new knowledge into practice very quickly. For instance, you might be proficient in a new software program within a few minutes, whereas it takes others a few hours and training sessions to competently navigate it.
If you have this tendency, you might find it difficult to choose a major or stick to a career path. You may have faced some criticism for not focusing on just 1 thing. [4] X Research source
If you exhibit an uncommon interest in figuring out exactly how trains work, or which developments came out of the Industrial Revolution – just for fun – you might be witnessing your gifted mind at work. Sometimes this focus can result in obsessive behaviors, like forgetting to eat when you’re in the middle of a project. But it can also result in highly productive and enjoyable work sessions while you’re in what psychologists call “flow” or “flow state. ”[6] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source
With a broad and deep knowledge base, gifted people can draw highly unusual connections and patterns across seemingly unrelated disciplines. These analogies might not make sense to those around you. This can put a damper on your exciting moment of discovery and understanding.
Your vocabulary has likely developed as a result of reading many different texts. If you’re not sure how large or advanced your vocabulary is, try one of the many online tests and quizzes to get a sense for how your vocabulary compares to the average person’s.
On the flip side, think about whether you feel frustrated when you do manage to reach your goals but fail to get a reward fitting for the intense amount of effort you dedicated to your work. Consider whether you’ve felt overwhelmed by your perfectionist tendencies in the past. These might be urges resulting from your giftedness that you can’t control.
If you and a team need to solve a problem, your zoomed-out perspective allows you to see all the factors and brainstorm a variety of possible solutions. But not everyone can see what you see. You might sense that your colleagues or classmates don’t understand your ideas, and as a result, they find your contributions confusing and annoying.
If you don’t have a variety of projects to dig into, or if the projects you’re working on are too simple, you’ll start to disengage and lose interest in school and work. An easy way to spot giftedness is by noticing that you get bored and restless in the absences of suitable challenges. If you’re in school, you may notice that you always finish your homework early or that the material in class seems boring because it isn’t challenging enough. [12] X Expert Source Alicia OglesbyProfessional School Counselor Expert Interview. 29 October 2020.
Sometimes gifted employees prefer work that’s less creatively and intellectually exhausting. This frees them to use up their creativity and intellect on their own projects. [13] X Research source Related to perfectionism, many gifted individuals struggle to reach their near-impossible career goals. Abandoning these goals in favor of underemployment may come as a huge relief. This path might not necessarily be the most productive use of an individual’s gifts. It’s healthier to find a balance of realistic goals and expectations that aren’t too overwhelming to cope with.
As a gifted introvert, you may find socializing with others to be uncomfortable and overwhelming, especially if you’re not in the company of gifted or introverted peers. Many personality assessments, including the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), provide results on where you fall on the introvert/extrovert spectrum. [15] X Research source You can take the MBTI online for a fee. Speak with a school administrator or psychologist to set up an in-person test.
Even though gifted individuals are usually highly competent, they often feel imposter syndrome when entering new environments. Know that you’re not alone! Instead, you’re just one of the many gifted individuals who feel the same way from time to time.
Gifted individuals tend to be deeply moved by natural beauty and the arts, exhibiting intense emotional responses that others might not understand. [18] X Research source
Socially, this behavior can get gifted individuals in trouble. Interruptions can come off as rude or annoying. For instance, they often can’t help but cut off another person mid-sentence, since their mind is already leaps and bounds ahead of what they’re hearing.
Your test result will be a number between 40 to 160. This number is your IQ, or intelligence quotient. If you score between 130 and 144, you’re considered gifted along with 2% of the population. If you achieve a score above 145, you’re part of the 0. 1% of the population considered highly gifted.
If your score is 130 or above, you’re considered gifted. For younger individuals, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children may be more suitable. [23] X Research source
For the SAT, the highest possible score is 1600. A composite score of 1450 or greater places you within the 97th percentile. [25] X Research source The highest possible ACT score is 36. [26] X Research source A score of 33 or higher falls within the 98th percentile. [27] X Research source
