Genius

                You don’t know what this word really holds within it until you start exploring the different types of genius that exist.  Traditionally, a genius is someone who scores very high on IQ tests, but that is only one type of genius.  If you take the entrance exam for MENSA (which is a club for geniuses), you’ll discover a different kind of intelligence is required to pass.  A genius in one area can be a failure in another, and to find a genius in every area is extremely rare.  In some areas, it is hard to figure out who is a genius because the tools to measure that type of genius are still being developed, if there are any, such as creativity.  There are geniuses who were born with vastly superior intellects and native skills, like Albert Einstein, geniuses who had the potential and were forced to develop it, like Bobby Fisher and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and those who developed themselves into geniuses – they’re possibly the most common kind; through dint of study, effort (including practice), and perseverance, they elevated themselves to a status that none would ever have expected.

I hope you’ll never force someone to develop their genius if you can see it in them because, in doing so, you’ll also damage their psyche.  There are many examples of the consequences, such as the grand chess master, Bobby Fisher, or the composer, Mozart.  Refining a strong proclivity in a child takes patience, understanding, empathy, an excellent plan that guards the child’s psyche and more.  There is a proper way to start with a youth, and a bad way.  Pushing someone to excel in a manipulative, physically punishing or mentally abusive way will result in mental breaks within that individual that will likely plague that person for their lifetime and, obviously, will affect the people they are close to.  The only way to help someone young to develop their skills is to do so with love, the development of independence and grit, and supportiveness.  Do not mistake this for being over-protective, compensatory, molly-coddling or enabling.

We are all different.  There are so many different ways you can be a genius that I can’t even count them all, but everyone has their own particular strengths.  Some people have a broad range of superior skills that allow them to do pretty much anything within a particular area, such as music, mathematics, interpersonal skills, athletics, etc., while other people are more specialized and may be able to play musical instruments like a virtuoso but unable to write music or sing; they may excel at geometry but find other forms of maths challenging, or they may be the best at chemistry while failing to understand biology.  Genius isn’t just about the mental; it’s also about physical ability, also known as psychomotor skills, so don’t forget that physical ability is also open to the term “genius”:  Ty Cobb was a genius in baseball, Kareem Abdul Jabar was a genius in basketball and David Copperfield was a genius in magic.

Not everyone is born with exceptional ability, but many people can hone their skills to the point that they have genius-level ability, whether it is in mathematics, the performing arts or cooking.  If your child has a passion for something, don’t squash it with a destructive comment like: “You’re not good at that.”  A few careless words can irrevocably damage a child’s future and put them off the path they should’ve explored.  Always be supportive, give reasonable help, but don’t lie.  Not lying is not the same as being bluntly honest; if you think your child doesn’t have the ability, that doesn’t make you correct and it doesn’t make your child wrong, either.  Give it time; not all abilities become apparent at a young age and some things take time to master.  Encourage your child to explore and experiment, and instill in him/her the resolve not to give up.