23_I’m not smart enough

Today, I’d like to think about
“I’m not smart enough.

Suppose Mr. A says,
“I’m not smart enough” to take this case.”
And let’s suppose that
Mr. B hears that statement.

The following can be considered about Mr. A.
・He is not interested in “this case” in the first place.
・He can imagine the difficulty of the case.
・He thinks that his own ability will never improve.
　In other words, he thinks they will never grow.
・he doesn’t think it is necessary to
　improve their ability.
・he is afraid of failure.
・he doesn’t want to take responsibility.
・he wants to live comfortably.

I can think of Mr. B as follows.
・When Mr.B feels discomfort,
　he believes that Mr. A can do it.
・If Mr.B feels discomfort, Mr. B is making a lot of
　effort in his daily life.
・If Mr.B feels strange, he feels that there is a right way
　to say it.

First of all,
although Mr. A says “I’m not smart enough”,
he is smart.
Because he can imagine the difficulty of this case.
So he should rephrase it as follows.

“I want to enjoy my life, so I can’t do it.
“I can’t do it because I can’t grow up.”
“I’m not interested, so I can’t do it.”

Then why did he say, “I’m not smart enough”?

There may have been an unspoken word.
“I’m not smart enough to do it (but B could do it).”
Or
“I can’t do it because I’m not smart enough (but I’ll work on something else that I’m good at).”
Etc.

Also, Mr. A will not be able to improve his income at least.
If he understands this and says it, he is evaluating himself
as already completed.

[Conclusion]
・It is difficult to interpret “I’m not smart enough”.
・I can think he said “I want to enjoy my life” in other
　words, but it could also be seen as an exhortation
　to those around him to get up the courage to do so.
・This phrase should be used only when
　one’s retirement is near.
・Or, it is used by those who realize that
　they are about to retire.

thanks for reading.