Input.
I’m input obsessed.
I search for the meaning of everything because there has to be a reason for people to do what they do, for them to live the way they do, for their choice of surroundings, for their friends, their foes, their motives, their goals, their everything and anything.
Don’t sweat it though, I do this for myself as well. Discovery and reasoning for everything and anything.
It’s an edacious appetite for knowledge. I’m not sure if the internet makes it better or worse. Before the Google search existed I had notebooks full of quotes and books tagged to death with post-it notes and highlighter in blue, pink, yellow, and lime green. It was the best way I could keep up with all the input I loved.
Now it falls under Pinterest, screen shots, and my old ways of notebook living is now called journaling. My books still that have the same post-it notes and highlighter marks. However, there are new additions of pen marks in the margins.
It’s input. All input that I’m saving for a rainy day quote to post, a reference to give me understanding, or reminders for me to follow-up on the item that I found most interesting.
Sometimes I feel my writing is the same way; an overload of the perpetual cycle of input I crave. I have these fleeting moments of questioning this “strength” of mine and sometimes I snap right out of it and write my heart out instead of judge my own creative process. I had one of these moments today. I felt like my cycle of input wouldn’t stop. I needed it to so I could pull myself out of the endless input that surrounds my health issues.
Instead, of second guessing the cycle, I grabbed my laptop and put all of the input I gathered as a note on my laptop for me to review at another time or possibly never again. How often do we second guess ourselves because we believe that it’s best for us to fall into the conformity that seems like the great majority over marching to the beat of our own drum?
No one is normal. No one matches with others 100% of the time and if they do, wonderful for them but it’s not me. Maybe it’s not you. Maybe none of us match and that’s what makes it all so fascinating.
After all, we all have our kinks that make us who we are. My edacious appetite for input isn’t overload as I wondered. It’s a gathering process for me to consume the knowledge I need to move forward. I always take the information and build it with the focus remaining forward. Each part of information is a part of the path that I need to keep going. There’s not jumping ahead in life so why would I anticipate doing so with my process or date to compare it with the life that others live. That’s their life and this is yours. Stop comparing your needs to the needs of others.
It’s your process, whether it’s one of input or blockage, you’re doing what you must to get by. Absorb all the information you desire or block any absorption of it whatsoever. It’s your journey. Live it the best you can before it expires and you’re making your final exit into twilight.
Thanks to Anna May of Anna May Photography for being my go-to photog and clutch friend. | “There is something special when creative people get together.” – Joy Mangano | I couldn’t agree more of our work and the connectivity we’ve cultivated over the last two years.
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More input for those of similar minds:
My Gallup StrengthsFinder Results via Excavive Coaching & Consulting included Input.
Gallup – Input: Ideas for Action
Devise a system to store and easily locate information. This can be as simple as a file for all the articles you have clipped or as sophisticated as a computer database.
Partner with someone with dominant Focus or Discipline talents. This person will help you stay on track when your inquisitiveness leads you down intriguing but distracting avenues.
Your mind is open and absorbent. You naturally soak up information in the same way that a sponge soaks up water. But just as the primary purpose of the sponge is not to permanently contain what it absorbs, neither should your mind simply store information. Input without output can lead to stagnation. As you gather and absorb information, be aware of the individuals and groups that can most benefit from your knowledge, and be intentional about sharing with them.
You might naturally be an exceptional repository of facts, data, and ideas. If that’s the case, don’t be afraid to position yourself as an expert. By simply following your Input talents, you could become known as the authority in your field.
Remember that you must be more than just a collector of information. At some point, you’ll need to leverage this knowledge and turn it into action. Make a point of identifying the facts and data that would be most valuable to others, and use this information to their advantage.
Identify your areas of specialization, and actively seek more information about them.
Schedule time to read books and articles that stimulate you.
Deliberately increase your vocabulary. Collect new words, and learn the meaning of each of them.
Identify situations in which you can share the information you have collected with other people. Also make sure to let your friends and colleagues know that you enjoy answering their questions.