Episode #879
December 6, 2025
There are those among us who are high-level thinkers.
As with most skills and strengths, these high-level thinkers suffer negatives and criticisms.
A high-level thinker is characterized as seeing the deeper meaning in everyday situations. This appearance of overanalyzing the mundane can provoke critics to dismiss these observations as overthinking. These “overthinkers” typically find multiple ways to solve a problem. Others might view this problem solving as a criticism of their own solutions rather than strategic depth and foresight.
Like a philosopher, a thinking connector seeks to forge deep, meaningful relationships with others. Small talk is exhausting. An intense personality may alienate the metaphysician from others in casual settings.
The phrase, “You learn something new every day,” is a hallmark of the curious. Watch for the person who is quick with trivia or uses AI to answer questions. This reminds me of a contest in my high school between the honors and “2s” classes. In a 50-minute period, 100 questions were asked by each class and answered by the teacher. She thought we were just interested, but we were driven by the contest.
The Big Picture thinker recognizes systems, patterns, and ripple effects. Most of us fixate on the small inconveniences or trivial problems of life; however, high-level thinkers tend to notice how smaller details or actions are a part of—or contribute to—larger patterns, trends, and outcomes. They tend to “see the forest because of the trees.”
The skill of tolerating uncertainty is realized by mitigating risk. This is achieved with critical thinking. This type of person will not jump into a situation quickly, but will participate willingly when they have analysed the risks. I believe there is only one kind of human fear, and that is fear of the unknown. Know the thing to face the thing.
An empathetic observer can easily read a room. Body language, social groupings, and outliers inform the observer of his environment. He can also control the room. Try looking across a room at the opposite wall while striding deliberately through a crowd. The people will instinctively part to let you through.
Introspective thoughts and intuition can isolate a person as a daydreamer. This second-guessing, however, is the mechanism of self-doubt, analysis, and critical thinking.
All these behaviors encourage an urgency to act in the present.
“[High-level thinkers] are aware that every moment is a decision point. They don’t wait for ideal conditions or perfect timing, but they act when the opportunity is in front of them, recognizing that meaningful change begins with what they choose to do right now.”
— Dr. Byron McClure, National Certified School Psychologist
You may know and appreciate a high-level thinker, or you may be one.
Being one, you will think, analyse, list, learn, see, question, connect, risk, lead, and act.
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