I have experienced in my life time and time again that people often tell me not to think much. During my formative years, I would have delved deep into depression if I only had to sit down and think about money making, a partner, children, loans, carnal desire, higher degrees and so on. It doesn’t mean I didn’t think about all those things, but I was more into things that people call lateral thinking.
I found it quite puzzling, so to speak; when I talked about existential crisis, concentration, abstinence, self-analysis, etc., people perceived me as delusional and an overthinker. Some people try to get the anatomy of roots, and some are satisfied with leaves, branches, and flowers. I felt if I understood the root, I would be able to know the secret of blossoming.
Self-Reflection Mental State Is Not Overthinking
Overthinking has received a negative connotation mainly because people who overthink fall into traps. When you are in a trap, your mental state is claustrophobic, which creates anxiety. Of course, if you overanalyse a mundane matter, it can paralyse you, and you feel stuck and unable to move forward. Nevertheless, it is pretty different for constructive reflective thinking.
Self-reflective people rely on their cerebral horsepower, so they pay attention and analyse things in a detailed way. The thinking pattern is more nuanced, and as you start to become specialised in analytical thought processes, in some sense, your vision narrows, and it gets a more high-resolution thinking process at the level that you operate.
Why and How Lateral Thinkers Are Different?
There are principally two kinds of people in this world. The one is patient, strong-nerved, quiet, yielding to nature, egotist, unimaginative, conservative, fearful, yet good, kind, sweet, etc. To them, this world is a happy place because they are born happy.There are others who are tremendously sensitive and imaginative and have intense feelings, always going high one moment and coming down the next.
There is no happiness for them in this world. They always drag the pains of others onto them. For them, there is no happiness.
They oscillate vigorously between ecstasy and misery. But of these alone, what we call geniuses are made.
The problem here is not thinking per se because regardless of your personality, you are going to think. Now, some lateral thinkers think rather critically, which creates lots of problems for others. These days people say don’t think. Why? Because they already know all the answers. People see different worlds when they see people who think laterally or behave in a way that is not usual. The fact is they are simply oafs who do not have enough brains to understand anything. The one says to build a house and let us have good clothes and food, partners, wine, and wealth for the whole of life; in that, he is immensely practical. There is no question about that.
On the other hand, some people see these things as just a part of life and do not seek enjoyment out of it. They are in this world but depreciate it as a place where people weep and laugh for a bit of while only and then die. They want peace and find a challenging path because they feel that as long as they are weak, they will have to go through these experiences; however, whatever is true is here, and that is the human soul.
Is Overthinking A Trait Of Creative People?
We can understand creative people’s traits purely from a biological perspective. Let’s assume that our world is divided into two segments—explored and unexplored territories. When we walk around this world, everywhere we venture, there are things we know and things we do not know.
People with conscientious personalities are likely to stay in the middle of things so that they can understand them fully and master them to some extent.
Creative people, on the other hand, are likely to stay on the edge, and the edge is between chaos and order.
They always delve deep into things and transform chaos into order and vice versa. These people are too perceptive, and they tend to empathise with things around them. These days, people say everyone is creative, and that is totally false. First of all, creative people are thinkers and smart. Above all, you have to be pretty damn smart to be creative, and not everyone is smart.
The first trait of creative people is their divergent thinking capability. Secondly, they are highly motivated to do creative things and experience novelty. When you say everyone is creative, the term loses all of its meaning because any term that you can apply to every member of a category has absolutely no meaning.
Conclusion
There are no different worlds here but different priorities. We have all our fruits, and we are squeezing them to get the juice out of them. Some people prefer mangoes and some oranges, but no one has the right to say their fruit is all and suits all tastes. Overthinking is often viewed negatively because it can lead to stress and indecision, but in some situations, it can have positive aspects.
Overthinking can lead to a deeper understanding of problems. When you think through every detail and angle, you may discover insights and solutions that wouldn't be apparent through superficial thinking.
Different people have different choices. It is upon us to decide which fruit we want to squeeze out. Some people may prefer orange, and some prefer mango; what’s the difference? Both deny none, but their prerogatives are dissimilar. Condemn none. Don’t judge others; judge yourself.
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