Are some people just born ‘better’ than others when we talk about intelligence, talent or aptitude? What makes brilliant people the way they are? Is it the creativity, the smartness or the prowess they exhibit? Is brilliance quantifiable?
Well, brilliance is not what you think – an inherent quality; it is what a person is when he follows certain habits and qualities. Brilliance is attainable, not a vogue definition of people with great inventions vouching for their talent. You can be brilliant every day without wearing thick glasses and white hair that rarely gets the touch of a comb – but you need to do a few things. And we tell you what.
11 simple ways to be brilliant everyday
To be brilliant every day, you have to start every day. These little things will not ask you a lot of your time and energy but will fit something from the below list religiously into your routine. To be a little smarter every day, you must commit yourself to these habits of brilliant people.
1. Learn from everything around you
Everyone you meet and everything you go through is an opportunity for you to learn. Allow your everyday experiences to mentor you, and find a way to learn from them. Pay attention to details and what people and situations try to convey, and you will know that the opportunities to learn are endless. Allow everything to shape your intelligence and make you brilliant.
2. Write down your experiences
Writing is a beautiful way to reflect on what you learned. It’s not creative, long or pretty, but it lets you jot down things you have learned. Make it a routine to jot down 400 words on a writing pad about what you learned on a given day.
And as your brainpower gets a boost with it, the learning stays with you. It does not get simpler than this!
Research suggests that expressive writing involves writing about one’s thoughts and feelings. It fosters mental clarity, helping individuals solve problems more effectively and even leading to greater workplace success (Source: APA).
3. Read, read and read a lot
If we were to talk about reading, we’d have to cover an entire post! Reading stimulates brain cells, increases vocabulary, reduces stress, and improves memory. Additionally, people who are readers have stronger analytical minds, improved focus, and better knowledge.
While there can be a debate on what you should read to be brilliant, start with something as simple as the daily newspaper. Graduate to your interests, and there is no stopping!
In addition to enhancing cognitive functions, reading fiction can also improve empathy and emotional intelligence. These traits are associated with brilliant minds (Source: Scientific American).
4. Explain what you know to others
Albert Einstein’s line – “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough,” holds for every person who wishes to join the elite brilliance club. It is a failure if you can learn new information easily but cannot retain it or put it to use when desired. Make sure you stick with anything you learn – big or small.
When you can explain things to someone, you have learned it well. Teaching others brings about a sense of satisfaction and is far more valuable than learning yourself.
5. Learn new languages, one at a time
Learning new languages boosts the cognitive process of the brain. Bilingual speakers’ brains operate differently than those of people who know only one language. Apart from a heightened sense of confidence and improved memory, learning new languages can boost your brain power, enable you to multi-task and sharpen the mind.
And the added plus is improved career prospects. Brilliant people often know multiple languages and have better thinking and decision-making capabilities.
6. Help people, invest your time
Being brilliant every day requires helping people and adding value to their lives. Enhancing the lives of others with your rich experience is something that brilliant people do every day. Instead of lofting out rude opinions, invest your time and energy in understanding them. Make sure that anyone who spends time with you feels encouraged, happy and at peace.
Helping others has many mental and physical health benefits and can profoundly affect your overall psychological well-being.
Studies have shown that altruistic behaviour benefits the recipients and enhances the helper’s psychological well-being. It also reduces stress. (Source: Harvard Health).
7. Take risks, do things out of the ordinary
If you dream big and have big aspirations, you must also take bigger risks. New things that look strange or irrelevant as of now actually connect later in your life. The willingness to try new things, take chances, and jump risks is one important trait all brilliant people share. You are trying new things for new experiences and opportunities to learn and grow.
Calculated safety risks are the path normal people take, the end of which transforms them into brilliant.
8. Remember, there are no mistakes, only lessons
Every mistake allows you to learn, grow and be a better version of yourself. And when you learn from your mistake, it no longer remains a mistake. Every situation, no matter how grim it looks or sad it sounds, can be used to your advantage.
Every experience should be treated as a qualification; with every new qualification, you grow brilliant, smarter and intelligent.
9. Look beyond certifications
Some people think that by enrolling in a Master’s degree in a subject, they have learned it very well. Some people have a lot of certifications, but they need help to solve problems that others cannot figure out. They tend to complain about the issues like normal people.
But if you are brilliant, you will find a way to eliminate the problem without having a degree or a certification. They recognize the problem, and they do not speak about it until they don’t have it figured out. Be the latter.
10. Being brilliant needs you to work
Brilliant people are past the set clocks and schedules. They put in time and effort to be smarter and more intelligent than average people. Of course, they like to laze around, too, but they fight it out and work hard daily to make and show a difference. Brilliant people do not look for easy ways, pulling up their blankets when there is so much to learn and grow.
They show up on time every time.
Being brilliant every day is a habit, an addiction of sorts. Once you get there and endorphins kick in, you’ll want to do it again and again. They have the urge to be successful and the fire to work hard. They have no qualms in accepting they are ordinary people, but they know they can turn things around to be brilliant in the lot – because they have faith in themselves and their abilities.
What are you doing today to be brilliant?
