I feel dumb/unintelligent. Anyone help?

[Fahrenheit]

I just wanted to add a couple things.

The first is, being afraid of what you don't know can be a barrier to learning. The first two years I worked at a new job (also my first full-time gig after college) I felt clueless and behind all the time. The fact that bad anxiety was messing with my sleep and cognition wasn't helping. But I was really passive about learning more and putting myself out there, because I was scared. Eventually, I got the anxiety in check, and became more proactive. Now, at work, I STILL feel I have so much to learn, that there are some things I should 'know already' BUT I have a sort of confidence that is NOT based in thinking I know and can do everything as well as I would like, but that I can TRUST MYSELF to learn what I need to, and to improve steadily...and to deal effectively with the places where I fall short. When I talked to my mom about my fears, she told me (she is an educator, so she reads a lot of development/psyche stuff) that I was operating from a mindset where I defined myself by where I was and so assumed I could do no better, instead of a 'Growth Mindset' where you see your struggles/shortcomings as opportunities to grow (and you trust in your capacity to grow). That makes the difference between feeling stuck, stupid, and paralyzed and feel empowered, hopeful, and motivated.

Also, I wanted to pointed out that you DO know somethings very well, from the little I have seen from you. Your post shows a lot of self-reflection and self-understanding. That is THE MOST important form of knowledge. I say that as someone who tried to always be self-aware, and also as someone who had had to deal with people who exhibit very little self-awareness. Self-awareness is the most important tool for improvement, and for interpersonal relationships. Make sure to use that self-awareness to be kind to yourself and to help yourself, and not to beat yourself up unfairly!

Also, I want to reiterate that you should look at learning about your personal interests. If you don't know what they are yet, that is okay. The job I was talking about before was in an area I thought I was interested in, but after working for a while I questioned how genuine my interest was (because I was struggling with it), but I stuck with it and now I love it. So, keep in mind, just like your relationships with people, your relationships with your passions might be rocky - but that just means there is room to grow!

Best of luck!