My #LinkyBrain Confession — the Power of Connections
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If “learnaholic” was a word, I think #linkybrains would be the poster children.
I know I felt a mix of relief, joy, connection, and like I needed to hop on a plane since finding this article by Alex this morning. As a linkybrain, this feeling like my brain is being lit up is not foreign to me.
A bunch of people are writing linkybrain confessions and as an American female, I wanted to let you know I’m here too even if I live on the “wrong” side of the pond.
I have worked both a day job and ran my own side company since forever. Lucky for me, I found a few things that are broad enough to keep the neurons happy. I’ve worked in a corporate environment for 25+ years now, always in some form of I.T.. I was around for when the internet first came out, before it was popular. One of my first #linkybrainjoy experiences was when I found BBSs and dialed in for as long as my eyes would stay open. I jumped on learning HTML and CSS (before versioning was necessary) because I already knew computers were one thing I could do to keep my always active brain happy.
My job title for the past two decades has been some variation on “Business Analyst”. For those of you who have no idea what that is, it’s basically the “Jill of all Trades, Master of None” title that you get in a company when you’re not a programmer and you’re not a manager and they quite honestly have no idea what to to with you. Jeff Dunham and Peanut even make fun of us https://youtu.be/A38YO3f2Bv4
The second thing I’ve found is the world of behavior. First dogs / animals, now humans. I took what I knew of basic behavior principles and add coach training, then a form of cognitive behavioral psychology model of thinking. Mental models galore!
If any of this resonates, here’s my hit list of other points that I’m thinking other LBs (are we to the point of shortening this yet? I mean, it has been at least a week, right?) have in common. I’ve been highlighting other posts with the ones that resonate with me and I’m interested in seeing what overlaps for all or most of us.
- I cannot learn enough things. And when I’m learning the thing, I have enough other crap stored in my head that connections get made so fast and loud that sometimes I can’t concentrate on the new thing.
- My mouth / fingers can’t keep up with my brain. See how many previous Medium articles I’ve written? Yeah, that’s right — 0. That’s because every time I look at a white page, my brain doesn’t go blank, it does the opposite: I have SO MANY thoughts that I can’t pick just one and write about it.
- I don’t identify as ADD/ ADHD. I have no problem with executive functions and keeping on task. Finishing…meh… I’m usually emotionally over it by then and possibly bored.
- I have tried to fit myself into one of these other specialist titles/roles and I suck at them. It sucks to have to suppress and repress my natural connector tendencies as it is and I can’t take squeezing myself down even more.
- I’m much better as a speaker than a writer. Again with the Too. Many. Words. At. Once. thing. And I prefer off-the-cuff speaking. Toastmasters was awesome once I go over the fear part!
- Meditation is what saved me years ago. I can see how linkybrains would have a problem with anxiety and depression. I think many of us would have an especially hard time with meditation the way it’s frequently presented. If you want help with this, ask me.
- I always feel underutilized. Never mind undervalued: you can’t value something you think you have no use for. Businesses need us but they don’t know what to call us in order to find us OR they don’t fully realize what problems we excel at solving. For a long time, I thought I wasn’t cut out for the business world. Then I realized the business world wasn’t cut out for me. I saw it as a challenge on how useful could I be when nobody was asking for what I saw an opportunity to improve.
- Opportunity is my jam. Possibilities. Questions. Don’t give me answers — give me your questions. I will find 20 more questions while you’re still forming your first. And PLEASE don’t send me somewhere where I can’t ask: I will ask anyway. You will not like it. (So no, I’m not religious. Nor do I like algebra.)
Conveying what I can do and putting it in a box so that others can relate is a REAL challenge.
I honestly thought everyone read self help books and then put them into practice. Apparently people do not naturally do this and need help forming an implementation plan. Who knew?
