one more thing i'm overthinking.

[peoplesuck]

I am tired so i'm just going to write, and try and finish this in 20 minutes or less. So the majority of my life when i get in trouble at school i always get the same treatment. Your so smart why do you make bad choices? -or something along those lines, lately ive asked them why they think im smart and i keep getting, "i just know you are." It seems to me that anyone that talks slow and quiet is considered smart, especially if you dont talk about some thing that everyone else is interested in. I am good at reading body language however, looking at people makes me so uncomfortable that i choose to not to even utilize it. I have started to feel like the ugly kid being told they are beautiful. the main point of this was basically do/did you feel the same way in school? I cant decide what is right and im just over thinking it, so outside input would be great.

 

[EditorOne]

Yes, felt the same. Didn't get the "bad choices" thing, though, I got the "under achiever" label.

 

[Cheeseumpuffs]

I got the "you have so much potential" speech from just about everyone I ever talked to at school. It's a laugh.

 

[Happy]

Yes.

IMO it's worth addressing. The benefits of applying yourself are more significant than you probably realise. I really wish I'd known that earlier

 

[Cheeseumpuffs]

Yes.

IMO it's worth addressing. The benefits of applying yourself are more significant than you probably realise. I really wish I'd known that earlier

Oddly enough, I disagree. This probably sounds kind of stupid to the vast majority of everyone, but I honestly don't see much of a difference between the times I apply myself versus the times I do the bare minimum. It may just be that I've had a considerable amount of luck thus far, but really no matter how little work I put into something it almost always turns out for the better.

It's not wholly identical to the premise, but I keep thinking of a quote from Office Space when Peter says "Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime; so where's the motivation?"

 

[RadicalDreamer31]

Do you feel like you are letting others down? Like they have put faith in you, and you falter? What are these bad choices? Bad choices to whom, who do these "bad choices" affect?; and in what way? Don't let others expectations of you co-opt your own desires and objectives. Of course I don't mean you should be purely self serving either.

On applying oneself. Don't apply yourself to any task because of social pressure. Apply yourself, because it is useful, meaningful, or enjoyable.

 

[Pyropyro]

For me it's "If you're so smart then why do you fail?" As if throwing me to whatever contest they fancy without guidance or training is enough for me to bag the top spots. I have no interest on stupid medals they send me. They're just paperweight and everybody pours the honor to my handlers anyways.

I do agree with the others. Do things because you WILL IT TO not because you're forced.

 

[peoplesuck]

I agree that you should do what makes you happy, its just very frustrating to hear the same thing over and over ( so much potential why dont you apply yourself? i can tell your smart) the "i can tell your smart" one makes me smile when they haven't even seen my grades or given me a task. I have struggled with motivation latley. i have a lot of the signs of depression but i think im a reasonably happy person, Im not sure if you can be depressed and not know it though.

 

[nexion]

Currently almost failing college out of sheer inertia, so yes, all the time.

 

[Valentas]

I am tired so i'm just going to write, and try and finish this in 20 minutes or less. So the majority of my life when i get in trouble at school i always get the same treatment. Your so smart why do you make bad choices? -or something along those lines, lately ive asked them why they think im smart and i keep getting, "i just know you are." It seems to me that anyone that talks slow and quiet is considered smart, especially if you dont talk about some thing that everyone else is interested in. I am good at reading body language however, looking at people makes me so uncomfortable that i choose to not to even utilize it. I have started to feel like the ugly kid being told they are beautiful. the main point of this was basically do/did you feel the same way in school? I cant decide what is right and im just over thinking it, so outside input would be great.

I was told by people that I am smart but there are always people at uni and in this forum that seem a lot smarter than me. I think we are smart in different things, some are in programming, others in getting on with people and not a lot of people like to think intensely and this might be the reason you were described as smart person. I think that telling INTP he is smart is as heartwarming as it is telling ENFJ how beautiful she is...in the long run though, it gets old And that is probably what you meant.

 

[RaBind]

I'm was the anomaly that choose "on". There have been times where there is a rift between what my teachers expected of my grades and what I got, however I can easily understand the reason behind this. In class I keep quiet and stay focused most of the time, even if I am not particularly actively paying attention, I try to at least expose myself to the information bouncing around in class, this means I don't act distractive. I probably am seen as a IXTJ in class because of this, apart from the occasional times I get too bored to keep up my facade. Therefore the teachers think I'm a motivated student that studies hard, when I'm exactly the opposite and struggle with procrastination when in independent study, this the only real reason I try to never miss out on classes. Whenever I underachieve the teachers are confused as to why I did badly, but it's usually clear to me when I've not prepared enough.

 

[Ariel]

It does and will make a difference in areas of your life outside school, such as when you're around others at grad school, work, etc., and discover that some people actually do capture more success or achievement than you because they apply themselves and don't overlook all the details.
And whether you run your own business or work for someone else, you'll discover one day that it doesn't matter if you're right when you can't be persuasive. And you can't be persuasive, not all the time, if ordinary minds notice that you omit details or cut corners, or that you're too aloof to care about them.

Here's another motivation - life is more enjoyable when you identify and immerse yourself in topics or activities that you find interesting.

 

[EditorOne]

"Here's another motivation - life is more enjoyable when you identify and immerse yourself in topics or activities that you find interesting."

True enough. Unfortunately a lot of INTP (can that be a plural noun, like "bison?")
have an axiom that goes with it, which is "Once you have achieved competency in a topic or activity it becomes less interesting." Then you reach "Being forced to participate in an activity you mastered long ago can be a real problem." That's what kills school and academics for many of us: Regardless of the individual subject, it is still school, and we have mastered the mechanics of school. By senior year at college I'd gone beyond inertia, disinterest and all the rest and achieved the pinnacle: Revulsion to the point of nausea at the thought of walking into another classroom.

 

[ddspada]

My grades hover around the 90-92 range.
I usually ace tests, often I won't even have to study. Most teachers do not believe that last bit, and are baffled when they realize I do very little homework (reading, though, I have no problem with). Many then resort to nagging me about being lazy /not applying myself enough.

It happened most of all with maths classes. I'd understand whatever the teacher was talking about with no difficulties whatsoever, I'd score 100 on the test, but having turned in only half of the assignments would drop my grade to 80 or 90. The teacher would reprimand me. Rinse and repeat.

I did try to confront teachers a couple of times about it. If I could sufficiently demonstrate what I knew via the test, why should homework be necessary? I got very unsatisfying answers.

 

[Ariel]

"Here's another motivation - life is more enjoyable when you identify and immerse yourself in topics or activities that you find interesting."

True enough. Unfortunately a lot of INTP (can that be a plural noun, like "bison?")
have an axiom that goes with it, which is "Once you have achieved competency in a topic or activity it becomes less interesting." Then you reach "Being forced to participate in an activity you mastered long ago can be a real problem." That's what kills school and academics for many of us: Regardless of the individual subject, it is still school, and we have mastered the mechanics of school. By senior year at college I'd gone beyond inertia, disinterest and all the rest and achieved the pinnacle: Revulsion to the point of nausea at the thought of walking into another classroom.

Understood. That's why I've moved from hobby to hobby over the years, which absorb me far more than my work. But I use my INTP focus skills to do my work during workdays, then walk out the door each afternoon as my own person. The most redeeming aspect of my job is that each assignment requires a new set of questions to be answered - reduces the boredom.