How "Groundhogs Day" changed my life

Is there something you want to be able to do, but can't do it yet? Or are there things that you wish you could do a little faster, reading, typing, critical analysis, anything? Then there are those useless talents that everybody wants to have, but never tries, like juggling, throwing cards into a hat? All of these things appeal to me, and I was jealous of ... For having the time to acquire these talents in the movie Groundhogs Day.

well this movie got me thinking, how much time do we have that we don't use? How often do you find yourself waiting at the stop light, or at the doctors office, anywhere where you can't really do something productive, but have time? I say, use that time. Doing what? Improving your ability to learn. Increasing the connection between the left and right sides of your brain. Maybe learn a language, or five. The limits are boundless, but I don't think I have sold you on the benefits of the idea.

Why do these useless talents matter? I recently started to learn how to do several things left handed. One of these is writing left handed, and mirror, which is more natural for the strokes, but not for the brain. And what did I notice about my normal writing? My penmanship has improved drastically. It almost looks like another persons writing. The drawbacks area that it only lasts for several hours at the moment, as I am not proficient at writing left handed yet, so I am developing theories as to why this happens, but anyways. It also, in my opinion, helps tap into the creative part of my brain. The best people at problem solving, have the ability to switch between highly logical and highly creative sides of their brain. Some of this ability is innate, or at least fostered at an early age, but I believe the ability to improve this connection, however weak it may be at the moment, never goes away.

Well, I must be off to class, but I will add more later in the day.

Ok, I am back. So another talent I recently acquired, is speed reading. Now this one is a little tougher than some of them out there, but I think it will probably end up being most benefical. I am very suprised at the reaction I have gotten from this though. Several people have said things like "why would anyone want to read faster? I like reading for fun, not for work, and that seams like work to me." Or "I have heard you lose the enjoyment by doing reading fast." It is a tool. It would be like writing all of this down instead of typing it out. Are there fun aspects to writing as opposed to typing? Sure, I still write, but I also type, there is a place for both. How much you do of each depends on you. I journal in writing and typing. Sure I would like to only use one, but I use each for different purposes.

The other aspect is the time it takes to learn how to do this. Yea, it does take time and practice, but I will gain this back once I am faster at it. And I don't feel compelled to do it all the time, or to always be improving. There is a time for doing what you have always done, and a time to improve. I am also learning to only read what I want, and not feel compelled to read a whole book if I have gained the insight I was looking for, or if I really don't like the authors perspective, or if they are negative, or whatever. It is very liberating for me to not feel this pressure.

I find it interesting to see how stuck in their ways people, and myself, can sometimes be. It is like someone trying to convince me that they enjoy the hunt and peck method of typing, and that they could not imagine the drudgery of having to use qwery, and how they would lose the aesthetic value of typing and searching for the right keys, or maybe the connection they had with the computer when hunting and pecking. Just doesn't make sense to me. But change is a slow process, and I am programming myself to become accustomed to change. So I don't mind peoples apprehension to it, I just want to understand what their misgivings are, so I can help them to overcome it to the degree they are willing to.

One way I am going to try to help people overcome their reluctance to positive change, is a comedy routine at a standup club. I am writing the material for this in between classes and whenever (in my free time, ha ha ha, get it? Ok, so I am very busy, but I still have tons of little moments here and there to expend mental energy in multiple avenues of creativity). We shall see how this goes, if it is well received at all. It will be an experiment at how to get the audience on my side, then speak the truth in love, and still have them accept me enough to believe what I am saying. I'll write about this later. Go out there and try some new stuff, and let me know, ok?

Am I crazy?

No, I am not. But sometimes I wonder how much of my personal experience is similar to other peoples experiences. So I am in this acrylic painting class, and experiencing the joys of color theory, artistic layout, so many new avenues of thoughts, it is inspiring. I then go to work, and suddenly I see art everywhere, I look at the shot glasses and the sweet espresso pouring into them, with the Guinness like separation of creme from the body of the shot, and I see a painting at work. Everywhere I look, I see possibilities and colors converging.

I go to Target, and I am overwhelmed with the colors and inputs. I walk by clothes, feeling the texture of each, I walk by shelves and see the converging lines of perceived vanishing points, with the contrast of colors filling my field of vision. I completely forget what I was there to do, and wallow in sensory input. Sometimes, without purpose, or even a recollection of what was causing this euphoria of sensation.

Ok, so honestly, this does not happen often. And it is an extreme case of the right amount of caffeine, and lack or overabundance of sleep, combined with the right frame of mind, like I was just drawing something, or wanted to draw something, or was daydreaming about drawing something(you get the idea).

I am working on what frame of mind caused this to happen, and how I can foster it in the right circumstances, and push it back in most other cases, but it is interesting in any case. I was driving with my parents about an hour ago, and I thought of a great analogy to what this was, and the adhd experience for me in general.

So you know the movie "A Beautiful Mind" Russell Crow is describing how he was able to overcome skitsophrania, he would not feed the different identities. If he saw a person that he had realized was not really in existence, he did not acknowledge it. He would not put himself in situations that would bring about the delusions.
Now for my experience. I work near a framing company, they frame paintings and the such. Every time I walk by, I notice a new painting or print, and am inspired by the colors, brush work, overall design of the piece, but I keep walking at my normal fast pace. I would love nothing more than to sit down on the sidewalk outside and contemplate the foremost painting for hours. Then each piece would require the due respect I would want to give it now that I have new appreciation for art. But I can't, so I don't even entertain this idea in the slightest. Do I think about the frozen image in my head often throughout the day, you bet. Do I contemplate the design of the foremost painting while I drive, more than you can ever know. But I have learned to focus my mind on what is at hand, and allow it to roam in the fenced in areas of what I am doing. It still goes through the same process at work, but concerning work, how I can improve at work, what I would do if I were a district manager at work, on and on and on it goes.

The trick with focusing my mind, is to look at what I am supposed to be doing from a new perspective. How would a stock holder view my actions of what I am doing? What if they were making a movie of me throwing these cups behind my back as I steam milk. People say I look like tom cruse as I spin wiped creme, and toss the tea shakers.