The Gifted Adult: A Revolutionary Guide for Liberating Everyday Genius(tm)

by Mary-Elaine Jacobsen

Overview

Are you relentlessly curious and creative, always willing to rock the boat in order to get things done . . . extremely energetic and focused, yet constantly switching gears . . . intensely sensitive, able to intuit subtly charged situations and decipher others' feeling? If these traits sound familiar, then you may be an Everyday Genius—an ordinary person of unusual vision who breaks the mold and isn't afraid to push progress forward. . . .

As thought-provoking as Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence, psychologist Mary-Elaine Jacobsen's Gifted Adults draws on a wide range of groundbreaking research and her own clinical experience to show America's twenty million gifted adults how to identify and free their extraordinary potential. Gifted Adults presents the first practical tool for rating your Evolutionary Intelligence Quotient through an in-depth personality-type profile. Demystifying what it means to be a gifted adult, this book offers practical guidance for eliminating self-sabotage and underachievement, helping Everyday Geniuses and those who know, love, and work with them to understand and support the exceptional gifts inherent in these unique personality traits.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780345434920
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/28/2000
Edition description:	1ST TRADE
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	126,796
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.24(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Mary-Elaine Jacobsen, PsyD, is a practicing psychologist and the director of Omega Point Resources for Talent Psychology and Gifted Development. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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Excerpted from "The Gifted Adult"
by .
Copyright © 2000 Mary-Elaine Jacobsen.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents

PART I. IDENTIFYING EVERYDAY GENIUS

1. Beyond Giftedness: Everyday Genius Defined        
Giftedness Denied                         
The Gifted Adult                                
The Source of Giftedness                        
The Concept of Giftedness Expanded        
The Five Facets of Freedom                

2. Gifted? Not Me                        
We Love Your Unique Products. Just Stop Being So Different!                
Gifted? Not Me: Unidentified Everyday Genius
Telltale Signs of Everyday Genius
Facing the Truth about Ourselves
Why Must I Know This about Myself?
How Can I Know This about Myself
Misconceptions about Giftedness

3. The Everyday Genius: Lost and Found
The Ugly Duckling
When a Duck is Not a Duck
Seeing the Swan of Everyday Genius
The Everyday Genius Brought to Light
The Ugly Duckling Syndrome
Know Thyself or Lose Thyself
How Did the Swan Get Lost?

4. Lost In The IQ Game
What's Smart and What Is Not?
What is IQ, Really?
Beyond Outdated IQ
The Unexpected Gifted Adult
Mistaken Identities by the Millions
The Everyday Genius Next Door

5. Standing What You "Know" on Its Head
The Everyday Genius Mind: The Same and Different
How "Different" Becomes "Wrong"
Gifted Needs
The Destiny Question: Disown or Deliver?
Are There Others Like Me? And Are They Normal?
Rebel, Nerd, or Marvel?
Reframing Genius

PART II. EVOLUTIONARY INTELLIGENCE

6. Evolutionary Intelligence: The Next Step
Retesting the Waters of Intelligence
What's Evolution Got to Do with It?
The EvI Formula

7. The Evolutionary Intelligence Profile
About the EvI Profile
What the EvI Score Tells You
Exploring Your EvIQ Score
Evolutionary Intelligence in Real Life
It Only Looks Revolutionary After the Fact

PART III. WHAT'S "WRONG" WITH YOU IS WHAT'S RIGHT WITH YOU: REVEALING AND HEALING EVERYDAY GENIUS

8. Gifted or Cursed?
Correcting the "Too-Too" Misdiagnosis
Déjà vu
Gifted or Cursed? My Own Beginnings
Five Basic Truths About Giftedness
A Bittersweet Experience
The Essentials of Self-Discovery
The Real Enemy—Fitting In
The Ten Criticisms

9. Confronting the First Five Criticisms
Rewriting Personal History
Criticism #10: "Why Don't You Slow Down?"
Criticism #9: "You Worry About Everything!"
Criticism #8: "Can't You Just Stick with One Thing?"
Criticism #7: "You're So Sensitive and Dramatic!"
Criticism #6: "You Have to Do Everything the Hard Way!"

10. Getting Free from the Top Five Criticisms
Criticism #5: "You're So Demanding!"
Criticism #4: "Can't You Ever be Satisfied?"
Criticism #3: "You're So Driven!"
Criticism #2: "Where Do You Get Those Wild Ideas?"
Criticism #1: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

11. Meeting the False Self
Meeting the False Self
Five Blocks That Enslave the Self and Eclipse the Soul
Indulging the False Self
Denying Gifts and Talents
Getting Over Giftedness Guilt
The "Safe Life"
Making Friends with Risk
Seeking Approval
Breaking the Approval-Seeking Habit
Impostorism
Unlearning Impostorism

12. How Assets Can Become Liabilities
The Shadow Side of Everyday Genius: Disorderly Conduct
Wounds and Reactions
Looking Back to Move Forward
Everyday Genius—The Second Time Around
The "Teachable Moment"
The Reactivity Pendulum
The Unbecoming Extremes

PART IV. MANAGING THYSELF: SELF-MASTERY AND INTEGRATION
13. The Big Three Differences: Intensity, Complexity, and Drive
Managing the Flow: No Trickles, No Torrents
Charting an Evolutionary Course
Intensity: Quantitatively Different
Complexity: Qualitatively Different
Drive: Motivationally Different

14. Self-Mastery: Managing Intensity, Complexity, and Drive
The Drive to Perfect Versus Perfectionism
Ending the PerfectionismProcrastination Seesaw: Ready, Set, Go!
Managing Feeling
Impulse Management
Reviving Your Natural Optimism
Smarter than Ever: Becoming Superconscious
From Stress Tolerance to Stress Management
The Life Balance Plan
Five Strokes of Genius for Being Successfully Different

15. The Everyday Genius in Relationships
Not Phony and Not Lonely
The Everyday Genius in Love
Partner with the Person, Not the Potential
The AcquiesceAccuse Pendulum
Listening for Love
Reflective Listening
Assertive Instead of Demanding
The Selfishness That Enhances Intimacy
Real Relating
Relationships in the Workplace: Working Together, Preserving Individuality

16. Self-Liberation
Self-Liberation
Evolutionary Moments: A Preview of Life's Coming Attractions
The Catalyzing Evolutionary Moment
True-Life Evolutionary Moments
The Rewards of Genius
Declaring a Personal Mission
Beyond I-ness
Ten Signs of Advanced Development
Reconciling the Nine Dilemmas
True Genius

Acknowledgments

Notes

Recommended Reading

Resources

Index



        

Editorial Reviews

"PROVOCATIVE . . . UNLOCKS THE KIND OF PASSION THAT GREAT INVENTIONS ARE MADE OF."
—New York Daily News

"Takes readers beyond the myths and stereotypes about talent and genius . . . Everyone interested in maximizing intelligence, creativity, or productivity will want to read this book."
—MAUREEN NEIHART, PSY.D.
   Contributing editor, Gifted Child Quarterly

From the Publisher