High Cognitive Minds

So many interesting subjects to learn about. So many possible directions. There’s a new career or avocation out there somewhere, waiting for you to discover it. But how do you choose? Another change of perspective may be useful here—stop thinking about yourself as just a learner. That’s a powerful mindset inculcated by 12 to 16 years of education, and then by the necessity to learn specific skills to carry out the demands of our jobs. Gifted children are encouraged to see themselves as learning machines, and as little more. You learn for grades and academic honors; you learn for the best jobs; you learn in order to keep that complex mind busy.

Think about yourself as an explorer. The chances are very good that everything you study on your own time is part of your explorations into something that consistently attracts you. If you’re looking for a meaningful path for your life, ask this question: what have you been exploring? The answer is in the pattern of your interests.

What subjects have you gone back to over the years—in the books you’ve read, the courses you’ve taken that weren’t a requirement for something or other, even the movies you’ve watched? Are there themes you can follow and connections you can make? When you read a new book or study a new subject, does it bring up echoes of others, start you thinking along familiar paths, but with new branchings? Does it present interesting questions? What you’re looking for isn’t a specific field of study, but something you connect with emotionally and intellectually, something that will offer you a long-term challenge. It should take you in a new direction—find or create a new career, start a research project, develop and finance a foundation or a scholarship fund, invent something unique and wonderful.