The 5 personality traits of a genius

Perfectionists, self-critical, passionate, eccentric... that's how geniuses are.

What is the defining characteristic of a genius? It is a question that has been asked by mankind throughout the ages. Many want to achieve excellence, but only a select few succeed in this endeavor.

In most cases, we do not understand how it happened that such a person was able to get there. For what reasons could Picasso or Dalí develop such fruitful and innovative works? Why did Mozart have a greater ability to compose than anyone else at a young age? How was Albert Einstein able to formulate such abstruse theories as relativity?

What is the personality of geniuses like?

It is often said that geniuses are geniuses because of an innate gift. innate giftThey have the potential to develop a talent for a given activity. This view is not entirely accurate. Undoubtedly, geniuses are naturally talented, but potential is not the defining characteristic of genius. Here are a total of five traits that every genius fulfills.

1. They are analytical and impulsive

To write their book Creativity (Paidós, 2008), the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi interviewed ninety-one geniuses from many different disciplines, including fifteen Nobel Prize winners. One of the conclusions drawn from this research is that people of great talent have two characteristics in abundance: curiosity and impulsivity. "They are people abducted by their work, and even though they may be surrounded by more talented people, their immeasurable desire to know reality is a defining trait," argues Csikszentmihalyi.

2. Formal training is not as important as dedication to their specialty.

We tend to associate academic record with excellence, but there is no such relationship in many cases. University of California professor Dean Simonton researched and analyzed the academic records of 350 geniuses who lived between 1480 and 1860, including names such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Ludwig van Beethoven and Rembrandt.

It established that the level of formal education each had received and set parameters of excellence according to their works. set parameters of excellence according to their works. The conclusions were unexpected. The relationship between education and excellence formed a bell-shaped graph: the most brilliant geniuses were those whose level of education was average, which could be equivalent to a bachelor's degree. Those with more or less education were less creative.

The most brilliant continued to study on a self-taught basis.They are in love with their work, dedicating most of their day to their studies and work. The highest-ranking creators are those who take their passion to the extreme.

3. Self-critical

Psychologist Howard Gardner affirms that great creators such as PicassoFreud or Stravinsky had a similar pattern of work, based on trial and error: they observed a problem, devised a solution, experimented with it and composed systematic feedback. "Genius individuals," Gardner explains, "spend a lot of time thinking about what they want to achieve, whether or not they have succeeded and, if they have not, what they need to change.

Creative minds are also the most methodical..

4. They are dedicated, solitary and can become neurotic.

Creators are They are dedicated, solitary and can become neurotic Creators are continually reflecting on their work and this brings with it some disadvantages. Thinking about work non-stop takes a toll on personal relationships. Csikszentmihaly states that most geniuses fail to form social relationships during their youth, mainly because of their curiosity about disciplines that are foreign to their peers. The rest of adolescents maintain a gregarious attitude and are not usually willing to dedicate time to perfecting their talents.

Sometimes, the dedication required to be a genius can be understood as a pathology. These continued sacrifices can become an obsession: exceptional creators need not be happy. We need only stop to look at the austerity with which Sigmund Freud, T.S. Eliot or Mohandas Gandhi lived, as well as the terrible self-imposed solitude that marked Albert Einstein's life. Most geniuses develop neurotic traits neurotic traitsTheir dedication made them selfish and maniacal.

5. They work for passion, not for money

True geniuses live their work with love, and rarely give themselves to it for money or reward, but out of passion and vocation. "The creators who have perfected their work for the pleasure of the the pleasure of the activity itself rather than for extrinsic rewards have engendered an art that has been socially judged as privileged," says author Dan Pink in his book The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (Planet, 2000).

"Likewise, it is those who were less motivated by extrinsic rewards who ultimately received them."

Some great quotes to reflect on

Throughout history, many brilliant minds have left us pearls in the form of phrases that invite us to reflect on a multitude of aspects of reality.. We have compiled them in an article in which in addition to the famous quotes, we wanted to develop a reflection or interpretation on each of them.

• You can read it here: "120 wise quotes to reflect on life".

Bibliographical references:

• Maíllo, Adolfo (1970). Introduction to psychology. Mc Graw-Hill Book Company.
• Pueyo, Antonio Andrés (2013). "5". Psicologia de les diferencies individuals. (in Catalan). librería universitaria de Barcelona.
• Triglia, Adrián; Regader, Bertrand; García-Allen, Jonathan (2018). What is intelligence? From IQ to multiple intelligences.. EMSE Publishing.