In my Pyschologies magazine this month, there is an article about global and local thinking along with a questionnaire so you can find out what sort of thinker you are. Global thinking is where you think about the bigger picture and don’t sweat the details. Local thinking is where you are detail-driven and don’t think about the bigger picture. That’s it in a nutshell. I like these kind of articles because they make me think about things in a slightly different way.
And if you’re anything like me, you’ll fall into both camps.
Apparently Einstein was a global thinker, and didn’t even think about stuff like putting on socks in the morning. People on this wavelength are always great at big ideas, but awful about things like paying bills. Local thinkers are great with birthdays, shopping lists, bills to pay, remembering to do the thousand and one little things that make a huge difference to everyone’s lives but which are insignificant in and of themselves.
Having read the article whilst slurping my first cuppa before getting up, I then went to do my ablutions and realised that I fit into the bigger picture group because I can’t be bothered with much in the way of beauty routines. Before you click away in disgust, I hasten to add that I like to be clean and smell nice, but am not one for facials, foundation, make-up, et al. If I can’t be showered, dressed and out in 15 mins, I get antsy. Ok, drying my hair takes a little more time than this, but it’s not an everyday occurrence.
When walking Charlie, I usually do a mix of the bigger picture thinking and detailed bits. Sometimes I find myself in my head going over and over a scenario that might not even happen! Then I have to tell myself off, and pay attention to the world around me to get some perspective back. But mostly I like to plan the big stuff, and then work on the detailed planning when I get into my workshop. That’s what I did this morning.
I have 6 seminars that I’m giving next summer, and I need to start planning my time effectively in order to research, weave samples, weave finished pieces, write and present the work. I’m not starting from scratch on any of them – that would be too crazy to contemplate – but I use the impetus of giving seminars to push my explorations of weaving and research where I want them to go. This kind of direction is really exhilarating to me. Sometimes it’s a little scary. This morning, I was feeling a little overwhelmed until my walk with Charlie. During that time, I had gone over the big scheme of things, and then went to my workshop and wrote down my thoughts. Then, with another cup of tea in hand, I went over each topic and broke it down into sections that I can deal with.
Having done that, it was like a weight had been lifted from my mind! I was able immediately to get on with some of the actions I need to begin in order for the whole process to work together seamlessly (hopefully!) and today I feel like I’ve made a great big start on something exciting.
So it takes a mix of both global and local thinking to achieve my goals. Without the big stuff, I would become immersed in detail and lose sight of my overall direction. Without the small stuff, I wouldn’t have the wherewithal to get on and achieve my dreams. I guess it’s like the year/month/week/day scheduling that I do. The dreams, the different components, the practical application and the attention to detail that every dream needs to become something worthwhile. Global and local – a balanced world view. That’ll do for me.