Mindfulness for Gifted Adults

When we think of someone as being ‘gifted’ we instinctively think of them as being highly intelligent, perhaps even a child prodigy. But this isn’t quite right. They do tend to be considered ‘clever’, but the defining characteristics are that they tend to have above average skills in multiple areas, all of which they can do simultaneously.

So they could be talking one minute about deep philosophical issues related to life in general and then the next minute be discussing nuclear physics, with the ability to flit between the two and have enough knowledge to hold a conversation with an expert in both. This would also be without the need for ‘wasteful’ small talk before doing so.

A gifted adult often has lots of drive and can quickly understand new ideas and concepts. It would not be unusual for them to have multiple careers in a lifetime and consider that to be normal – and may be doing two or three of those careers at any one time together with some hobbies too.

The problem here is that this is not how most people live. Most people like stability and security, and a good life would be one with a lengthy career in the same job or company before retiring to do a hobby or two. Gifted adults find life in a society with this attitude very difficult and they can get very frustrated and critical of people around them. Similarly, the people around them can get frustrated at what appears to be their inability to settle on one thing or to slow down.

So life is not always easy for a ‘gifted’ adult, until they realise who they are and identify how to live in the world effectively. Mindfulness can contribute to this, plus it can also help in identifying some of the traits associated with it. Some of the concepts used to describe adults are multipotentiality and twice-exceptional (or 2e, which is also used in connection with autism and Asperger’s syndrome, which gifted adults are sometimes misdiagnosed with).

The following websites provide more information on this area and will help you to find out if you might fit into this category.

https://www.extraordinaryyou.com.au/gifted/

https://giftedchallenges.blogspot.com/2018/05/gifted-adults-embracing-complexity.html

Mary-Elain Jacobsen has written an excellent book for Gifted Adults including tests to help you assess your particular forms of giftedness and with techniques to help you navigate and thrive in the world with the trait.