Dumb people have it better

Dumb people have it better than smart people.  Let me explain.  I was pretty average in high school grades wise, and I had to work hard for the average grades I got.  But I sure as hec didn't want to fail - I wanted to be the best student I could be - so I worked hard for my Bs and Cs.  I stayed up late studying, I got up early, I used to bug the smart kids to explain things to me for the 100th time if I didn't get it in class.  But there were friends at school who didn't study, didn't seem to try in class, goofed off but aced their tests every single time.  I used to get so annoyed at the unfair brain balance going on!  My 14 and 15-year-old self felt totally ripped off!

But I realised tonight that being "dumb" has actually served me pretty well in life.  I learned to have a fighting, goal-oriented drive right from the beginning - and I'm blessed that I've always had goals and a strong work ethic, which I thank my wonderful parents for.

If I wanted to achieve something, I had to set a goal and haul butt to get there.  I always have.  I rarely give up - like a dog with a bone.  But someone who has never had to try very hard to achieve something often struggles when things in life don't happen easily.  "What's going on?  Why isn't this just falling in my lap? This has never happened before!". It could be setting a goal in the first place;  it could be knowing how to break the journey down into smaller steps; it could be knowing how to get back up after being knocked down.  But for a "dumb" person, that happens plenty!  I fall over plenty!  And I know to just get back up, put my head down and keep pushing - like a battering ram!  But that's come with time and experience.

When I was in grade 10, I used to pray all the time for God to make me smarter.  "Please God, make me smarter.  I could do so much more in the world if I was smarter.  I promise to do so much good in the world if you only make me smarter."  And then one morning I woke up from a dream I couldn't remember, with such a clear message - "Be happy with what you've got."  "Right God," I said.  "I got it.  Thanks."  And off I went, being mostly happy with the brains I was given, even if that meant a C+ on a test I'd studied days for!  (But then there were a few little tears and tantrums when I didn't ace the subjects I was good at because I knew I should have done better and kicked myself for it.  I'm an over-achiever.  Have I said that yet?  Though I still suck at and get baffled by paperwork.  Gah - too hard!)

But then I went to university, found my niche and rocked!  "Oh my goodness!  I'm not dumb after all?  I'm actually smart and good at something?  Well, I'll be darned!"  And that's the thing - I found my goal, I found my niche, I worked hard and I aced it!  I'm still in the industry I studied for at university and while I may still lose my job, it's not because I suck at it.

Albert Einstein (allegedly) said (because we all know how reliable Google is):  "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."

I'm not sure where I'm going with this post, except to say thank God I wasn't a genius at school.  I'm tougher and stronger for it, and it's made me stubborn in that regard.  I never would have learned to work as hard as I do if I'd been one of the "smart" kids at school - if everything came easily.  So thank you God for not making me "smarter".  I am one hell of a fighter though!  Amen!