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Gifted Children and Adults — Why Are They So Misunderstood?
A gifted child is: The four year old who says the car is not red, it’s crimson. The five-year-old who is lonely because the other kids don’t understand the complex worlds and creatures she invents. The six-year-old who explains the difference between a laceration and a contusion. The seven-year-old who chooses Rembrandt as the person […]
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I Ditched the PHD for the Argentine Tango or If I’m so Smart, Why Aren’t I an Astrophysicist?
I thought I should get a PhD. It made sense. There was a professor who asked to mentor me. I wanted to write a book. So, I thought, why not write a book and get a PhD at the same time? I applied. Was accepted into a program. Got funded. Then I thought. How many […]
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Nobody Likes a Know-It-All and Other Familiar Refrains That Gifted Souls Endure
Have you heard any of these all-too-familiar refrains? Who do you think you are? You think you’re so smart. Ha! You made a mistake! Nobody likes a know-it-all. You are such a nerd, geek, loser, dork. You’re too loud, curious, sensitive, dramatic, and intense. Why can’t you ever be satisfied? Why are you so critical? […]
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A Gifted Kid’s Conundrum — Part Two — Anxiety and Perfectionism
You may have read about Ben. He’s the gifted teen who said “I have to know it before I learn it.” He learned to read early. No one taught him. Learning was easy. He knew what they were teaching in school before they taught it. He came to believe that all learning happened this way. […]
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What Does Gifted Look Like in My World?
The controversy is intense. How do we explain giftedness? Is it high achievement? Talent? Productivity? Eminence? IQ? Financial success? 4.0 grade point average? 10,000 hours of practice? Nooooooooo. I shriek. Politely. I mean, it might include any of those things. Sure. But it doesn’t have to. Instead. Here is my explanation. Totally anecdotal. If you […]
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I Have to Know it Before I Learn It — A Gifted Kid’s Conundrum
My 16-year-old client, I’ll call him Ben, was struggling in school. No one thought he was gifted. His grades were average. He didn’t turn in many assignments. He didn’t get high test scores. He was so anxious, he’d miss many days of school. His parents were confused. They knew he was capable of completing the […]
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Don’t Give Up On Yourself And Your Rainforest Mind
Don’t quit. Don’t stop striving. Don’t stop growing. Don’t stop believing. Don’t give up on yourself. Even if you grew up in a family of chainsaws. Even if you have been told over and over and over that you’re too sensitive, too dramatic, too smart, too quiet, too noisy, or too weird. Even if you […]
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Creative, Sensitive, Deep Thinkers in the Workplace — A Tricky Proposition
“…Your high-strung nature, your baggage, your achievements, your defenses, even your garrulous, confident nature — all of these things are often interpreted as a selfish inability to play nicely with others…Your complexity makes you untrustworthy. Your sharp mind makes you suspicious. Your separateness makes you unlikable. And even a supernatural effort to be friendlier, better, […]
YOUR RAINFOREST MIND
SUPPORT FOR THE EXCESSIVELY CURIOUS, CREATIVE, SMART & SENSITIVE
