I Was Supposed to Be Smart… So Why Couldn’t I Succeed?
By Lisangelee Velazquez, M.S. | Founder, GiftedBecoming™
I was the kid who got A’s and B’s without studying. I saw patterns other people didn’t. Teachers praised me for being a natural thinker—a quiet force in the classroom.
But as an adult, everything changed when I started facing high-stakes exams.
Despite studying deeply and knowing the material, I failed. Again and again.
The guilt. The shame. The confusion. It grew heavier every time.
I kept asking myself:
“If I understand this so well in conversation and practice, why does it all fall apart on test day?”
Overthinking Is a Superpower — Until Test Day
I eventually learned I wasn’t alone. Many gifted and twice-exceptional adults face the same struggle.
When you’re gifted, your brain sees layers of meaning, exceptions, and possibilities. You analyze not just the answer—but how the question was written.
You wonder:
“What if they’re trying to trick me?”
“What if this word choice means something deeper?”
You don’t skim. You don’t guess. You go deep.
But in a rigid, multiple-choice world built for linear thinkers, that superpower becomes your biggest barrier.
What No One Tells Gifted Test-Takers
Most test-prep strategies are built for average processors. They teach memorization, not cognitive management.
They don’t address anxiety from perfectionism.
They don’t stop the spiral of second-guessing.
They don’t give you confidence anchors.
They don’t show you how to translate complex gifted logic into the simple answers tests want.
For people like us, success isn’t about learning more—it’s about learning to take the test while staying in our lane of clarity.
The Day I Decided to Build It Myself
After my last failed attempt, I sat in silence—tears in my eyes.
Not because I failed. But because I finally understood:
The world didn’t have the solution I needed.
So I built it.
I created The Overthinker’s Toolkit™—a method and mindset framework for gifted, deep-thinking adults to:
✅ Trust their first instinct
✅ Stay grounded when the mind wants to spiral
✅ Use their logic as a strength instead of a trap
That toolkit became GiftedBecoming™—a growing movement of tools, strategies, and research for people like us.
This Isn’t Just About Me—It’s About All of Us
If you’ve ever felt “too smart to keep failing,” you’re not alone.
There are thousands of gifted and twice-exceptional adults who have never been told:
💡 “Your brain is brilliant. You just need a different roadmap.”
This project is for us—those who feel too much, think too far, and question everything.
We’re not broken.
We’re built for impact.
And now—we’re building a new way to succeed, with our minds fully intact.
Join the Movement
This is just the beginning.
📬 Subscribe for tools, insights, and research.
💬 Share your story—let’s rewrite the way forward together.
Let’s learn, test, and thrive like the thinkers we are.
– Lisangelee
