Traits of People Who Are Gifted
Have you ever wondered if you are gifted? What does it mean and what are the tell-tale signs of people who are gifted? Before making career decisions, regardless of who you are, read my gifted guide below to gain a deeper understanding.
There are many gifted and talented people working in corporations, institutions, and small businesses that don’t even know that their gifted and have never been identified as such. The result can be unlocked potential and dissatisfied careers because of this lack of vital self-knowledge. It is only in the last 10 years that I have seen the identification of giftedness gather pace in Australian schools. Mind you not all schools are doing their part.
To know any information about yourself can be almighty powerful but to a gifted person, this self-knowledge can be priceless when it comes to leaving the school gate and making career choices over your lifetime.
Understanding People who are Gifted
Giftedness is not a new concept, it has been around for thousands of years. Because of this history, it too inherits some typical stereotyping that doesn’t reflect current research. All gifted persons are normally thought to be geniuses, academically brilliant, able to solve all their own problems and they supposedly can choose any career pathway they want. Yes, some are geniuses and yes, some are academically brilliant but you don’t need to be either one if you are gifted in other areas.
As to solving your own problems and you can have any career you want, nothing could be further from the truth.
Gifted adults and gifted children can be one of the most misunderstood groups in our society.
For those who have been identified as gifted, the extreme pressure and career expectations placed on them can be suffocating. Take our gifted sportsmen & women competing in the Summer and Winter Olympics as an example.
The flip side to this is that if you have no knowledge of being gifted, you can lead a turbulent meaningless career life, never understanding why.
So let me give you an insight into what it’s like to be amongst gifted adults or gifted children. To be gifted, you have to have the potential and natural ability in at least one domain that places you among the top 10% of your age peers according to Canadian psychologist Gagne. Those domains can either be:
Intellectual – examples include high levels of reasoning and problem-solving with words, general intelligence or visual-spatial reasoning where you think and reason in 3D pictures,
Creative – examples include solving problems with inventions and new ideas, vivid imaginations to think outside or beyond the box, and production of original art,
Social– examples include highly developed empathy for other people, well-developed leadership skills, and a keen sense of justice,
Perceptual – examples include being able to distinguish subtle changes in sound, taste, sight, smell, and touch,
Physical– examples include having powerful muscular strength, power, speed, and endurance. Also, you can have great coordination and agility than the norm.
The examples I have given above are by no means comprehensive, but you can start to get the picture that the concept is quite broad. It can cover a number of individuals across many cultures and across many socio-economic groups.
Some individuals may be gifted in more than one domain, for example, you may have an exceptional ability to play basketball as well as an exceptional ability in learning languages and creatively writing fantasy short stories. The combinations can be quite extraordinary.
While individuals can have a wealth of raw natural abilities in many domains, many gifts are never turned into talents. Talent can appear in the career fields of academia, science, technology, the arts, social service, sales and administration, business operations, games, sports, and athletics.
What stands between the gift and the talent will be the person’s environmental circumstances, developmental learning, fixed or growth mindset, personality traits, goal management, and the roll of the dice-chance.
Want to Learn More- Buy the Book
To put names and faces to the concept, the following in this gifted guide is a list of people who are gifted from our history and contemporary names that will get you thinking:
Gifted Adults in History
Aristotle (384-322 BC)- philosopher, scientist, and rhetorician
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)- master artist, architect, engineer, inventor, mathematician, musician, and writer
Thomas Edison (1847-1931)-inventor and businessman
Fred Astaire (1899-1987)- film and broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer, musician, and actor
Walt Disney (1901-1966)- entrepreneur, animator, cartoonist, producer, and director
Contemporary Gifted Adults
Michael Jackson (1958-2009)-singer, dancer, songwriter, businessman, and philanthropist
Elvis Presley (1935-1977)- singer, musician, and actor
Steve Jobs (1955-2011)- entrepreneur, marketer, and inventor
Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)– greatest heavyweight boxer
J K Rowling– award-winning novelist, researcher, and philanthropist
Tiger Woods– champion professional golfer, golf course designer and philanthropist
Ian Thorpe– champion swimmer, actor, and philanthropist
Heston Blumenthal– Michelin starred self-taught chef
Matt Groening– creator of the Simpsons, cartoonist, screenwriter, producer, animator, and comedian
While these gifted adults have excelled in their particular domains, being gifted makes their quest for career fulfilment more intense than the norm.
Typical Gifted Characteristics
Some typical signs of Giftedness in Adults and Children include:
Vivid imagination
Can get bored quickly and need to be challenged daily
Can be very driven
Fear of failure
Rapid learning rate, grasp concepts quickly
Extremely curious, always ask lots of questions
Can feel very intense emotions
High levels of sensitivity
Oversensitive to criticism
My book ‘Cracking the Gifted Code’ lists many more.
You don’t need to have all characteristics but one or two may indeed show that you too may be gifted.
Gifted people always feel the need to fit within a system whether it is a school, institution, or organisations. When choosing careers, gifted adults often compromise their own self-identity and choose work environments that are clearly not suited to their characteristics and behaviours. I’ve seen individuals burning out, losing a sense of who they are, and those who have developed depression before coming to see me.
Related: How do gifted individuals think? Find out here
If you feel you are displaying signs of giftedness and you are feeling lost in your career, let’s connect.
Contact me for a confidential chat about how I can move you forward with the Gifted and Talented Program for Gifted People.
Testimonials from some Gifted Clients who completed the Gifted and Talented Program for Careers:
“Gina was adept at re framing my moments of career-related doubt as a positive tool to hone in on what it was which truly motivated me. She applied a personalised yet structured approach that will be easy to apply to my current situation as well as future career crossroads.”
Sidney- Sydney
“Undertaking career coaching with Gina was one of my best decisions when I felt burnt out, confused and lost after my PhD. I can see how this program would benefit everybody because it is a journey of self-discovery, extending horizons and getting clear understanding how to make a strategy (and concrete steps) around the career direction best suited for a particular person.
Gina is a very nice and empathetic person but also task oriented person, and her coaching led me to realise what I want to do in my career (different from what I originally thought). It also gave me the confidence I will get there – a type of confidence that a person can only gain from aiming to do what they truly love/value; using their natural talents/skills; and feeling challenged in a good way.” Lada- Sydney
Written by Gina Bell
Gina Bell is a university-qualified Sydney Career Expert in Career Advice, Career Coaching, and Career Counselling. She also works as a career coach for small and medium business owners & their leaders. She is passionate about aligning a person’s work purpose in a work environment where they can find fulfilment & reach their potential.
Her qualifications include a Graduate Diploma in Career Development, a Graduate Diploma in Chartered Accounting, and a Bachelor of Economics. She is registered with the Career Industry Council of Australia, Professional Member of the Career Development Association of Australia, National Career Development Association in the USA, Asia Pacific Career Development Association & Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand.
In her free time, she loves to travel, cook, and learn.
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12 comments on “Traits of People Who Are Gifted”
is this worth a tear? could this really be the answer to everything? how can i tell my wife, i think ill just show her. if only id seen this years ago.
it is truly amazing when a complete stranger can describe exactly how i
feel. overwhelmed at the moment. excuse my french, but my god thank you.
You are very welcome. Happy that you can finally be understood!
Thank you so much for your post. I had two kids who are gifted, and by me learning more about what gifted was I started to see myself in some of those descriptions. Growing up I was never acknowledged as being gifted but I always knew that some how I was different.
It’s my absolute pleasure. Yes, they say the apple does not fall far from the tree. Gifted children often have Gifted parents. I am pleased this has given you more self awareness. Being different is fantastic particularly in these times that require us to be innovative, creative and thinking outside the box.
Hi there,
Thank you for posting an informative and interesting article.
I recently realised I’m gifted. I’ve always thought to be a mixture of both- creative and artistic. However, in this article I guess I would be creative and perceptual.
I liked the entire article.
Thank you.
Sherna.
Wonderful Sherna, pleased you received value from the article. I appreciate your feedback, Gina
Thanks so much for this informative article. I have been trying to find out more about the signs of giftedness in adults and the neurological differences between said and typical adults. After a lot of research, I think that I am gifted (and quite likely have a gifted child); but to can be hard to explore the idea with peers etc.
I am pleased you found this article informative. It’s true that gifted parents have gifted children, they do say the apple does not fall far from the tree! Today, often parents are finding out their gifted because their children are being identified as gifted in the education system. This is wonderful for the parent because often they have felt misunderstood all their lives and finally they can have another part of the puzzle put in place.
Oh, my. I finally understand what the issue has been all these years. I am gifted. What a revelation! Thank you for the detailed descriptions; it’s very important for me to know the “why” of it. BTW – your list? I think there is only one characteristic listed that does not apply to me. I have so often been misunderstood, but mystified as to why it was happening. Finally, I have some answers. Thank you.
Fantastic Rachel! I am pleased that you finally got some answers. It’s important that you don’t change who you are and celebrate your uniqueness. You have a lot to contribute to our world. In terms of the list, you don’t need to satisfy every characteristic. They are just a list of typical characteristics we find across the gifted community.
Thank you, Gina. I was amazed that I checked all the points on the list as applicable to me except for one (really just the second half of one of them, the other half was applicable). My boss recently asked me if I was gifted (How’d she know??). That’s what got me to research the topic and find your article. Now, so much of my life makes sense. I will try to celebrate who I am from this point forward – in the past I’d been thinking I was just a misfit, “missing a chip (or two)”, or just a weirdo. Thanks so much for the validation. It comes at a time when I really need it.
You are most welcome Rachel, take care.