Are You Truly “Dumb” or Just Unfamiliar Territory?
Ever asked yourself, “Why am I so dumb?” Perhaps you’re not. Maybe there’s just something you haven’t mastered yet. Let’s start with a foundational question: “Is any newborn born with innate knowledge?“
I’d wager you’d answer “no,” echoing the idea that we’re all blank slates at birth. Our diverse experiences as we grow shape our knowledge and abilities. It’s essential to ask, “What factors contribute to one person seeming smarter than another?”
- Genetics?
- Family’s social status?
- Geographical location?
- Quality of education?
It’s hard to pinpoint a single factor that defines intelligence or capability. Moreover, the term “brilliant” varies across cultures and societies. It’s problematic to measure ourselves by someone else’s yardstick.
Remember;
If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it’ll spend its life believing it’s inept
Societal norms often pigeonhole us, dictating benchmarks for success. It’s vital to recognize your unique strengths and not merely compare yourself to others.
Just because you can’t sing like Rihanna or dribble like Messi doesn’t devalue your abilities. Every individual has their own zone of genius; the key is to identify and nurture it.
In academia, this “one size fits all” mentality can detrimentally impact students’ mental health. Not everyone excels at memorization or mathematics. Our skills and preferences are shaped by a myriad of influences, from our upbringing to the books we’ve read.
It’s crucial to stop self-condemnation. Instead, focus on your strengths. If you discover a necessary skill you lack, work on honing it. Everyone has a unique learning pace; what’s vital is persistence and recognizing areas for growth.
In your journey of self-improvement, acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses. Chart a path that aligns with your goals, and invest the effort to bridge any skill gaps. Your individuality is your strength; embrace it.
Dr. Ehoneah Obed (Pharmacist, Software Engineer, Health Informatician, Founder)
My work focuses on identity engineering, which is the deliberate process of designing and updating who you are, personally and professionally.
Most people experience identity as something fixed or accidental. It is shaped by parents, early success or failure, education, and society’s definition of what a “good life” looks like. They adapt to it rather than questioning it. What most people do not realize is that identity is not just something you discover. It is something you can actively engineer.
Personal identity engineering is about gaining control over how your beliefs, values, and self-concept are formed and reinforced.
Professional identity engineering is about translating that internal identity into skills, work, leverage, and visible contribution in the world.
When people feel stuck, it is rarely because they lack motivation or talent. It is because they are trying to change outcomes while leaving the underlying identity system untouched. Careers stall. Confidence collapses. Direction feels unclear. The system keeps producing the same results.
I learned this by rebuilding myself multiple times.
I trained as a pharmacist for six years. While working in hospitals, I began learning to code alongside my job. That led to building real software, selling products, transitioning into software engineering, completing a master’s degree in health informatics at the University of Toronto, and now building startups and systems full time. Each transition followed the same pattern. My identity did not change because I thought differently. It changed because I took specific actions that produced new evidence, and that evidence forced a new story about who I was capable of being.
That is the core mechanism behind identity engineering.
Identity updates when you intentionally generate evidence that contradicts your old self-image, then compound that evidence until the old identity can no longer run the system.
This blog is where I document that process. I write about how to design identity experiments that are small, controlled, and reversible. How to build proof-of-work that changes both how you see yourself and how the world responds to you. How to move forward without waiting for clarity, confidence, or permission.
This is not motivation and it is not coaching. It is systems thinking applied to human change.
I also write The Ledger, a weekly record of systems and experiments for building a life you own.
And I built the Identity Audit, a diagnostic tool that helps you understand your current identity state before you attempt to change it.
I am not presenting a finished theory. I am engineering this in real time, using my own life as the test environment. If you want more agency over who you are becoming, both personally and professionally, you are in the right place.
