What is a genius?
He or she is usually described as a person of an extraordinary ability, who has no competitors- they are all left far behind.
And the qualities that all geniuses share? According to research, there are 5 common qualities: creativity, curiosity, concentration, adaptability, and persistence.
But what actually is the reason for a genius to appear, in a first place?
There is , apparently a curious link between the unhappiness and being extremely good at something; or even a link between mental illness and high chance of being a genius.
Why do you think, this is the case?
One possible explanation is this. If a person finds himself in a very stressful, painful, yet seemingly unsolvable life scenario, they could choose to cope via escapism. Escapism in a sense that if they focus intensely on doing something creative/beautiful/intelligent/all of the above, then their emotional pain is fading into the background.. to a degree, at least. And if you focus intensely on your chosen subject long enough, you might well become extremely good at it, right?
Another explanation: suffering triggers motivation. The obvious example- many very wealthy people are known to have had humble upbringing/or even a childhood of abuse. What then could happen , is that if you survive your childhood, you become a spiral that is very tightly woven. It stores a great deal of explosive energy, that could be channelled to achieve success in your chosen field.
If the above reasonings are correct, then the same noxious factor that caused your mental health frailty, also triggered the motivation and/or escapism. So its not mental frailty that makes you a genius; its just that those two characteristics could develop in parallel.