Smart and Smarter

I'm feeling like I could and should be smarter today.  Most days, months and years I'm quite satisfied with my level of intelligence, I know I'm not rocket scientist bright, but have no major cognitive impairments either.  It's always when I talk with a woman who is smarter than I am that I give pause and realize I'm not as smart as I'd like to be.  I was getting feedback from a woman in my sector who was looking at my marketing materials and giving me great advice.  It wasn't the feedback that bothered me, it was her ability to throw around terminology related to my field and give me sound bites just off the top of her head that would take some struggling on my part to come up with.  This is intimidating.  I'm very grateful because in 15 minutes I was able to get a ton of great ideas from her which completely reshaped my launch materials.

Recognizing this makes me more fearful than I'd like because it makes me question my ability to perform at a high level with people at a higher level than I am.  What will I do when faced with women with intimidating intelligence?  Notice I say women?  I don't have this issue when men are smarter, it feels like it's the natural order and I'm not expected to be as bright as they are, so nothing lost.  I should point out I operate at high levels and haven't been considered a dummy.  I have advanced as far as I am because I'm perceived to be very bright.  This in combination with a fairly engaging personality and confidence have landed me occasionally in a place where I know I don't measure up.  My best friend says I'm like the female version of Catch Me if you Can guy - a guy who fooled a lot of people by faking he was an expert.  I can do that.  I haven't done anything untoward, but I do have an ability to fake it very well.

I don't have a degree although I've taken university classes and been an A student.  I've never been asked my formal education by leaders in my industry because they assume I have it.  Sometimes I get nervous thinking there will be a time it might get asked.  I have directed Master level employees and have not felt less than and in some cases definitely more than in the smarts dept., so I know education paperwork is not entirely where its at.  Yet...there's a whole bunch of merit given to it.  I've contemplated faking it, but my morals stop me.  I don't lie well and don't want to learn.  Lying is too complicated for me, too much to remember, too many stories and hoping I'd keep them straight.  I've know pathological liars and they're found out eventually, sometimes destroying people in the process.  Can't - won't do it.

I will move forward thankful for great advice given by an intelligent woman and try not to be too intimidated.

*In case I upset some women readers, I'm smarter than many men, I'm not saying that women are dumber but when men are smarter I don't think they look down on women, nor do I think women are as intimidated.  Without exception every intimidation experience I've ever had has been from another woman's intelligence.  (sometimes by beauty, but rarely because women who are way out of my league I admire for their symmetry and simply enjoy looking at.)

**Sophia who I count as an internet friend is scary intimidating in intelligence.    Bhetti is also very bright, but I find her less intimidating I think because of her personality, less....something.