Do YOU have a NON-LINEAR mind?
For centuries, a relatively small portion of society has been made up of a number of people that often don’t seem to “fit in” with those around them. They seem to march to a different drummer; while the rest of the world is moving in 2/2 or 4/4 time, those who think non-linearly are running a Gene Krupa or Buddy Rich drum solo! The highly creative, highly distractible mind that craves activity and stimulation, even to the point of being driven to these things by forces unknown and irresistible, also invites ridicule and criticism, or even envy. In fact, some people may even display fear or hatred for those who do not think as they do, who do not seem to fit into the convenient mold that such people invent for themselves, and expect others to fit into.
No, for the non-linear minded individual, it’s not enough to graduate high school, maybe even getting a college degree or going to some trade school, then to go work for some company somewhere for 45 years, and then retire on Social Security. Such a boring and mundane and un-creative and SECURE life is so appalling, so repulsive to the non-linear minded person that they constantly seek some kind of escape from the prison of such a lifestyle. And, a prison it is, to be tied to TIME, each day a copy of the one before, day after day after day after horrid repetitious day.
Do YOU have a non-linear mind? You might, if you:
hear music running in your head
can manage multiple projects at the same time
constantly ‘scan’ your environment, responding to the slightest change
can’t sit still for more than a short time
are a chronic ‘thrill seeker’
would rather walk around a store for 30 minutes than wait in line for 5
always find yourself ‘a little bit late’, and NEVER early.
are highly creative, always coming up with unique solutions
are a musician or artist at heart, but have a ‘day job’ to pay the bills
typically find yourself working at hours that most people use for sleeping
frequently turn 5 minute tasks into ‘all nighters’
can’t put something down until it’s finished
can’t seem to finish anything (a negative side-effect of having too many projects)
never ‘look at someone when they’re talking to you’ for more than 2 seconds without looking around the room [and are often falsely accused of ‘not listening’].
look around the room when talking to other people
find solutions to problems faster whenever you talk to yourself, out loud
usually ‘diddle with your fingers’ or chew pencils or tap your toes or do something similar
doodle during lectures instead of taking notes to keep your brain occupied
work or study with the radio or T.V. on because it actually helps you think
are always ‘putting off until tomorrow’
stay up all night browsing the internet instead of doing work
‘tune out’ to the rest of the world when you’re concentrating (hyper-focus)
at times, think ‘in parallel’ where linear logic is suddenly replaced with a simultaneous ‘self-evidence’, and solutions become more intuitive than deductive.
can never seem to explain your logic to anyone else, but it always seems to work.
people often accuse you of acting without thinking, simply because you act and think at the same time (after all, it’s more efficient that way, isn’t it?)
when people try to teach you things, you can’t seem to learn unless you know ‘why’
you absolutely hate ‘rote memorization’ (for a list of better techniques, go HERE).
©1996-2011 by R. E. Frazier – all rights reserved