I started hitting the Tylenol bottle hard the day a snaggle-toothed kid in my fourth-grade class blurted out, “Holland’s not that smart anymore.” I couldn’t very well wrap my hands around his skinny neck now, could I? So I wrapped them around the one painkiller I had access to. I took a lot of Tylenol in fourth grade.

If you have always been “smart,” then you likely know what I’m talking about. Feeling “smart” left you woozy, didn’t it? Weak-kneed? Wonderful? And desperate to feel that way again.

Here’s the truth: being smart sets you back. My brain, so coddled by its teachers, proved of no measurable value when cash replaced grades as the currency of choice.

Remembering which year DeSoto discovered the Mississippi River just wasn’t as valuable in adult life as Mrs. Gitthens said it would be in fourth grade. And character traits that got my friends paddled in school were the same traits that earned them promotions and raises in real life.

The bad boys, the average kids, and even some of the dummies whizzed past once we exited the rural roads of school for the superhighways of adulthood.

Here are five ways being smart sets you back and what to do about them.

1.      You’re bound to have an existential crisis starting on graduation day.

I wandered in a fog for two years after earning my master’s degree. Since I had trained myself to wait for directions from others before I acted, I didn’t know how to give directions to myself.

What to do instead: Anything. I’m serious. Do anything. If you like it, figure out how to keep doing it. If you don’t like it, try something new. Action trumps thought, so get a job. Take a trip. Volunteer somewhere. Whatever. Just do it.

Inspiring quote: The real world doesn’t come with instructions – Nicolas Cole, personal branding guru

2.      You’ve trained yourself to give correct answers instead of to ask creative questions.

How do you get good grades? Put the right answer on the test and turn it in. What lucrative position pays you to do that? None. High-paying jobs require you to ask creative, powerful questions that lead to increased income or decreased expenditure for your company.

What to do instead: Imagine everything you do could be your dissertation topic. Start asking the questions a researcher would ask. When appropriate, ask them out loud. People will take notice.

Inspiring quote: School is worst for the kids who do the best. Because if you get used to being told you are smart and good for learning what someone tells you to learn, then it’s a rude awakening when no one gives you gold stars as a young adult – Penelope Trunk, super blogger

3.      You trusted the wisdom of people with limited real-world experience, and now you don’t know who to take advice from.

Most teachers graduate from one school in May and return to another school to teach in August. They have limited professional experience outside academe. Why did I believe these people when they gave me advice about life?

What to do instead: Find a mentor. Nicolas Cole has good articles about mentorship. Read one. Also, this is where your church, your dad’s friends, and your mom’s associates come in handy. Network your way to a useful professional mentor.

Inspiring quote: It’s not a mentor’s responsibility to mentor, it’s the responsibility of the mentee to seek mentorship and appropriate it – Josh Hatcher, author of Manlihood

4.      You believe pitch-perfect grammar makes you a great communicator.

Is there any doubt that this age belongs to the great communicators? Is there any further doubt that school never taught us how to communicate? No? Okay then. If your grammar is fantastic, then pat yourself on the back. Follow that with a swift kick to your butt for not learning how to write something anyone wants to read. Copywriters sell. Non-fiction writers inform. Fiction writers entertain. Grammarians annoy.

What to do instead: Seriously, grammar is important, but the need to be interesting in print is urgent. Take a class in acting, fiction writing, storytelling, or copywriting, and learn to craft great stories. You can pay a proofreader to fix your mechanical peccadillos.  

Inspiring quote: Grammar is a piano I play by ear – Joan Didion, author

5.      You can follow the matrix provided in the syllabus, but you have no idea how to make a decision between two non-measurable outcomes.

Is your life going to be about a big career or will it be about family and friends? Are you going to build an impressive portfolio or be a stay-at-home parent? Will you live in a major city, a small town, or a suburb? How you answer these questions can determine if your life is satisfying or unsatisfying. And there’s no answer sheet for this test, trick.

What to do Instead: Learn the art and science of making decisions. Decide what youvalue. Test it. Test it again. Test it differently. Put it into action. Monitor it. Adjust it. Evaluate it. Most of all, don’t let anyone else decide you shouldn’t have a big career if you want one or that being a stay-at-home parent is dumb if that’s your preferred choice. Learn what will work best for you. Then do it.

Inspiring quote: Don’t make the right decision; make the decision right – Adam Grant, Wharton professor

You can get over being smart without developing a Tylenol habit. But beating “smart” requires you to take step one. Admit you have a problem. It’s not scary once you do it. Besides, freedom is worth it.

And the school nurse eventually stops giving you Tylenol, anyway.