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Many gifted people don't feel gifted. Do you often have thoughts such as:

• 'Yes, I can do this, but everyone can do this, right?' or
• ‘There are many students who get higher grades while studying less than I do’ or
• ‘If I were gifted, I would not be struggling so much with my studies and friendships’ or
• 'If I really were gifted, I would be able to do this or that (better)'.

Because many gifted people don't feel that way, we will focus on this theme during the workshop.

Firstly, we will dive a little deeper in the question what giftedness is, because the word ‘giftedness’ often has a negative connotation in society due to some perseverant stereotypical views. One of these stereotypes that all gifted people are very successful and perform excellently without any help. In contrary to this point of view, giftedness in everyday life is often not just about having good cognitive abilities or having an IQ above 130, but it involves a range of characteristics, including sensitivity, doubt, and setting (too) high expectations.

These characteristics add an extra layer of complexity to seemingly ‘normal’ problems and may therefore lead to lower self-confidence, procrastination, and failed results, thus negatively affecting personal well-being. Secondly, we will address potential pitfalls of not recognizing or acknowledging giftedness.

This event is part of the UM Wellbeing Week. Click here for the full programme and further information.