Developed minds can be dismissive

The image is food critic Anton Ego from the movie Ratatouille [video clip].

I was reminded of the stuffy and dour character while reading Laura Berman Fortgang’s The Little Book on Meaning , and her reference below to “high analytical ability.. often black-and-white thinkers.. Quick to decide what is good and what is bad..”

I know I sometimes limit my appreciation of nuances and grays on account of that tendency.

Here is the excerpt by Fortgang :

We are all faced with choices… Do we allow ourselves to be fear-minded, anxiety driven, scarcity-minded? Do we allow anger, hurt, and resentment to rule our minds? Do we dig ourselves deep into a trench and fight all the time causing ourselves great stress, even for a “good” cause like a paycheck?

Do we linger in the glory of our discontent? Any of these mental states involve a choice on our part. It’s not simple to make the choice, unfortunately – there may be work needed in therapy to unravel the root beliefs – but it is absolutely possible to free ourselves from fearful and angry thoughts to embrace thoughts that nurture love and connection.

What’s interesting is that some of the smartest people with the most developed minds suffer the most at the hand of their own high analytical ability when it comes to having happiness and meaning in their life.

These often black-and-white thinkers, who see very little that is gray or colorful, are highly and quickly decisive but who can also easily miss joy in the way they process.

Quick to decide what is good and what is bad, little room is left for mystery and discovery and some of the other elements that slow us down long enough to feel meaning.

barriers to personal growth and development, emotional intelligence, intellect and ego

08.19.09 |
Get more information and resources in the Developing Talent Newsletter
Personal Growth Products / Programs Anxiety Relief Programs.

Related Articles

Comment | Trackback

2 Responses to Developed minds can be dismissive

Laura Berman Fortgang
August 20th, 2009 at 6:52 am
How wonderful to run across your blog post and to discover your fantastic site. The gifted are a terribly under-served community. I understand it more from the childhood side having a child that fits the category , but I imagine as an adult it does not get any easier.

I am delighted that “The Little Book On Meaning” was worthy of your inclusion. I have a lot of compassion for the ‘highly analytical’.
viriditas
November 21st, 2009 at 1:51 am
Yes, by my own experience I say it gets HARDER and I’m sure that’s true for many gifted adults, because although yes we’re very smart we sure aren’t perfect, and also we’re rare in our communities, so unless we find help on the internet we are isolated, for when local mentors completely fail us and we have no one to turn to because we’re smarter than everyone we know, but still not fulfilling our own potential, we can grow extremely frustrated and eventually turn bitter, our fruit somehow missing that stage of ripeness which the world could have enjoyed. The lament from within that cold refrigerator of a highly analytical mind is “EAT ME BEFORE I GO BAD.”