Wow. I don't know the gifted people you know, clearly. The gifted people I know are successful and happy in their careers. The ones that aren't have had my definition of a bad childhood.
You know, I think that could be construed as horribly judgemental of parents who did the very best they could for their kids with what they knew.
Read up on existential depression in gifted individuals (this actually *can* propel people to get their actions in line with their values which IMO leads to greater happiness--if the person is supported well through it--see Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration).
Existential depression in gifted individuals
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10269.aspxMany of the people I know who are the most successful are bright high-achievers with great executive function who learned to work hard because school was challenging enough without much differentiation. I know many gifted underachievers who in no way had what could be called a "bad" childhood, even if they were poorly served by school. So I feel completely confident, and it seems clearly supported by the literature, that giftedness is in no way a guarantee of success.
