9 Odd Habits Only Highly Intelligent People Have

When you think of a highly intelligent person, what do you imagine? Is their nose always buried in a book or scrawling a bunch of indecipherable graphs and equations into their notepad? Maybe they’re more on the eccentric side, talking a mile a minute with a crazed look of genius in their eyes? Or more quiet and reserved, but always knows how to silence a room with their astounding intellect?

Whatever your answer might be, I think we can all agree that highly intelligent people are defined by more than just their IQ. Many of them share a lot of the same mannerisms and habits. But the surprising truth is, many of us probably wouldn’t be able to spot one in real life if we were just looking at the way they act in everyday life. Why? Well, because these odd habits highly intelligent people tend to have probably aren’t what you think!

With that said, here are 9 of the most common but most surprising unusual habits highly intelligent people are known to have, according to psychology: 

1. Being messy

First on our list is a tendency to be messy, cluttered, and even scatter-brained at times. This might surprise you because when we think of someone highly intelligent, we tend to picture academic achievers who rank top of their class and tend to be the goody-two-shoes, prim-and-perfect class president type. In reality, however, a lot of highly intelligent people don’t actually fall into this category! In fact, many of them don’t even academically excel! These are the type to most likely be messy, because they tend to be highly creative, too. They prefer to reject conformity, generate unique and original ideas, and may become obsessive when left unchecked (Saklofske & Zeidner,1995). 

2. Cursing a lot

Similar to our earlier point, aside from being messy, a lot of highly intelligent people tend to be potty-mouthed, too. Not only that, they’re often more creative with their curse words, too, which means they have an extensive vocabulary. They also like to think for themselves, not letting society tell them what they should and should not do, what’s considered proper and what’s frowned upon for arbitrary reasons. After all, what makes a bad word bad anyway? If you don’t have any malicious intent behind it, highly intelligent people don’t see anything wrong with cursing if they see fit.

3. Being a night owl

Studies have shown that highly intelligent people actually prefer to stay up later than most and tend to be night owls who work through the night rather than sleep  (Zeidner, 1995). This is because they have a lot on their mind, and so, they’re always up and about, tackling a lot of problems and challenges. They also prefer to do this at night where they can think with less interruptions and be alone with their thoughts. 

4. Taking cold showers

Another odd habit that might surprise you about highly intelligent people is that many of them like to take long, cold showers. Though a lot of us like to do the same to clear our heads, did you know that there’s actually a scientific reason for this? This is because cold showers mimic the ancient practice of water therapy, which is said to benefit both the body and mind by pumping fresh blood to our brains and therefore improving our mood, memory, and productivity. So next time you get mad at your roommate for using up all the cold water, keep this in mind as a possible reason why (and maybe try it for yourself to see if it works!).

5. Talking to yourself

While we find it a bit embarrassing to admit (and even more so to be caught in the act), a lot of us actually do have a habit of talking to ourselves. The difference is, highly intelligent people do it more often, muttering under their breaths to figure something out ask they speak or reacting in real time to what’s happening around them. One possible reason why is that they might be the only person in their life who they can converse with on an intellectual level, and everyone else would simply not be as engaging (Mayer, Caruso, Zigler & Dreyden, 1989). 

6. Criticizing yourself

Just like our last point, highly intelligent people also tend to criticize themselves more because, again, they might be the only one they know who’s intellectually capable enough to challenge them. In fact, one of the most notable characteristics of a highly intelligent person is their humility and self-awareness; they are always willing to admit what they don’t know and that they don’t have all the answers. They’re not afraid to criticize themselves because they’re always open to learning more and broadening their horizons. Many highly intelligent people also tend to be perfectionists, too. 

7. Doodling a lot

Have you ever spaced out in a class or a meeting and just started doodling on the first piece of paper you could find? If you do this often enough, it might actually be a sign that you are a highly intelligent person! Why? Because it shows that you are not being challenged or stimulated enough by mundane activities like classes and meetings, and that you are a highly creative deep thinker. Not only that, studies have also shown that doodling improves our memory and problem solving skills by allowing our brains to take a break, especially after a prolonged period of intense focus (Moutafi, Furnham & Crump, 2003).

8. Daydreaming

While we might associate a heightened ability to focus and concentrate with a high intelligence, the sme can actually be said for those who daydream a lot, too. Much like doodling and talking to yourself, most highly intelligent people have a very rich imagination and use these creative ways to improve their problem solving skills and get the cerebral stimulation they need. A natural, healthy resting state of the brain, daydreaming helps us to think about things more deeply and many highly intelligent people use this as a strategy to arrive at a breakthrough or make an important decision in life. 

9. Wanting to be alone

Last but certainly not the least, a large majority of highly intelligent people tend to be more reserved and less sociable, both because they can get easily overwhelmed around lots of people and because they prefer to interact with those on their intellectual level (which, sadly, most people aren’t). They might also want to be alone a lot of the time because their fiercely independent personality makes them more focused on achieving long-term goals and objectives than enjoying short-term recreational pleasures like hanging out with their friends for no reason (Ackerman, 1996).

So, do you relate to any of the things we’ve mentioned here? Do you think you might be a highly intelligent person, too? If you liked this article and want to read more about this topic, here’s what we recommend you click next: 6 Types of Gifted People — Which One Are You?, 7 Things Smart People NEVER Pay Attention To, and 6 Signs You’re More Intelligent Than Others.

References:

• Saklofske, D. H., & Zeidner, M. (Eds.). (1995). International handbook of personality and intelligence. Springer Science & Business Media.
• Zeidner, M. (1995). Personality trait correlates of intelligence. In International handbook of personality and intelligence (pp. 299-319). Springer, Boston, MA.
• Mayer, J. D., Caruso, D. R., Zigler, E., & Dreyden, J. I. (1989). Intelligence and intelligence-related personality traits. Intelligence, 13(2), 119-133.
• Moutafi, J., Furnham, A., & Crump, J. (2003). Demographic and personality predictors of intelligence: A study using the NEO personality inventory and the Myers–Briggs type indicator. European Journal of Personality, 17(1), 79-94.
• Ackerman, P. L. (1996). A theory of adult intellectual development: Process, personality, interests, and knowledge. Intelligence, 22(2), 227-257.