Some gifted adults know how to "play the game," moving beyond unrewarding entry level jobs to reach positions where they can use their gifts. Examples include scientists, professors in research-oriented universities, authors, and many other professions.
Gifted adults tend to be rewarded when they find themselves in careers and environments that support their abilities. Gifted adults tend to get bored easily and have trouble conforming, even when they want to. Corporate life rewards qualities like frustration tolerance and conformity. They might try to fit into corporate life, only to get frustrated. When gifted children become adults, they face unique career challenges, especially if they don't recognize themselves as gifted. But others think there's something wrong with them. Some understand that they don't fit in because their mind works differently. Many gifted adults have felt "different" since childhood. Adults are rewarded for broader forms of success, which require social skills and personality traits that often conflict with the gifted adult's nature. However, being a gifted child can bring rewards because children are praised and rewarded for learning and scoring high on tests. Teachers often don't know what to do with them. They are not always the "A" students because their minds don't work in conventional ways. When children are gifted, they often get into trouble at school because they are bored.
They come across as intense and supremely focused. They juggle several projects at the same time. For instance, gifted adults can seem restless and undirected. They're often described with words that seem negative in the context of most corporate jobs. embodied decision making + focusing workĮach session will be 60-minutes in duration and the number/frequency of sessions will vary for each individual.Gifted adults often face unique career change challenges.challenging barriers to meaningful change.identifying + deconstructing goals + values that are congruent with purpose.exploring + accepting one's complex, highly sensitive + creative self.
This series of individual sessions consists of a multi-phase format that includes: Think you may be gifted, and seeking support hasn't been so helpful in the past? Check out the Life Architecture Program at Method. Since many therapists are not aware of the different experience of gifted individuals, they may misinterpret thoughts, feelings, and behaviors typical of gifted adults and inappropriately diagnose. In hopes to mitigate the intensity of their emotions and heightened sensitivity, gifted people may find ways to attempt to escape or numb. These thoughts can lead to feelings of hopelessness and meaninglessness. Existential concern. Gifted adults’ innate ability to think abstractly may lead them to consider and deeply question issues such as death, freedom, and the human condition.Gifted adults may feel bored and ready for the next challenge once they reach a certain point in their career. They also may find it difficult to find career satisfaction when they can see so many issues, see how they could be addressed, and yet feel unable to make an impact. Gifted adults may experience a constant sense of urgency about wanting to pursue many ideas at once, which can make it difficult to decide where to put energy and even lead to underachievement. This also makes partnering a challenge for gifted adults as well as getting support from a coach/therapist/mentor who can match their complexity, speed and/or depth. Gifted adults often find others’ interests or conversation to be superficial or dull, which makes it difficult to participate socially in a genuine manner. Consistent feelings of not fitting in with others in addition to perfectionistic tendencies + strong inner critic may contribute to a negative self narrative. Who is a gifted adult? It is a commonly misunderstood term with a limited traditional definition, often associated only with IQ. The reality is that there are multiple types of extraordinary abilities (including creativity!) not captured in that conventional conception of giftedness.īeing gifted also comes with its own unique challenges due to the overall experience of feeling misunderstood (and being misunderstood) by others. Here are some common concerns that I see in gifted clients: