Genius

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." –Albert Einstein

Most of us are convinced that we are not geniuses. There always seems to be someone more intelligent than we are, and we are sure we could never accomplish the things they have accomplished. A genius is someone who can name all the capitals of all the African countries by the time they are 3 years old. Or who is in university by the time they are 14. I could never have done that. So that means I am not a genius, right?

Whenever we compare ourselves to other people we are comparing apples and oranges. Yes they are both fruits but they don't have much in common otherwise. An apple might think it is not good enough because it isn't perfectly round like an orange is or have as much vitamin C. But an apple tastes sweeter and is easier to eat. Each kind of fruit, and each person, has its own qualities that make it special. I can't engineer a rocket but I can create beautiful artwork. Joe down the street might be a brilliant engineer but has no artistic ability. We each have our own genius.

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. We get into trouble because we insist on judging others. And that mistake is compounded when we judge others based on our own abilities, or even worse on some imagined person's abilities. Just because we, or someone we know or can imagine, can climb a tree does not mean a fish can, or should. The only useful criteria to judge people, or anything else, by is how they have improved from last time. This is the only way they will feel good about themselves and continue to improve.