15 Struggles Only Big-Picture Thinkers Will Understand

1. The devil isn’t in the details – the devil is the details.

You don’t understand why every I has to be dotted and every T has to be crossed – if the general idea is apparent, why stress over the specifics? Neurotic people are going to be the death of you.

2. The ends tend to justify the means for you – which others don’t always understand.

You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet, okay? No matter how many people question what you’re doing, it’s always part of a bigger plan. Just wait and see…

3. You are constantly being told to “Be realistic.”

That is just about the worst advice you could possibly think of. Were the Wright brothers being realistic? No. And that’s why we now have airplanes.

4. Your eyes are often bigger than your stomach.

From time to time your ambitions get away from you, and you have trouble reeling them back in. How did you end up working 70 hours a week? There was a project proposal four months ago, you remember that much…

5. You end up doing many things alone.

“Wow that sounds like a cool plan!” Is something you hear a lot.

“Wow I’ll come with!” Is something you hear almost never. Other people are entertained by your schemes but not necessarily on board for them. Good thing you’re comfortable trying new things alone…

6. Studying a highly concentrated topic makes you want to cry.

You get the general idea – so why must you learn every excruciating detail about where and when the project took place? That doesn’t matter. Can you learn something that matters now?

7. When detail-oriented people want nothing more than to shoot holes in your exciting new idea.

You want to plaster a huge sign to your forehead that says “THE DETAILS WILL WORK THEMSELVES OUT.” Because they will, if you’re smart about getting around them. And you are. People who see details first, ideas second, drive you insane.

8. You get tired of following through on plans.

The grunt work involved in actually following up on a plan is torturous to you. Your dream job is one where you have underlings to do such work. And you’re just the idea generator.

9. Conversely, people are surprised when you do follow through on a grandiose plan.

You told them you were going to do this five hundred times. Why are they all surprised when you actually do it?

10. You find menial jobs surprisingly difficult, but high-pressure jobs surprisingly easy.

Administrative tasks have never been your strong suit. But put you in a fast-paced environment where tough decisions have to be made on the fly and you’re thriving.

11. You tend to be a bit argumentative – but it’s not out of spite.

You’re quick to analyze the overall principle of what someone’s saying and notice holes in their reasoning – and it only makes sense to point them out. Why continue to have a conversation if the basis of discussion is invalid? Unfortunately the person you’re talking to doesn’t always see it that way.

12. You often fail to notice things that are right in front of you.

Big-picture thinkers are the masters of losing the keys they were actually holding. Or not noticing the dent on their car until it’s been there for a month (and someone else points it out). So a few things don’t make it onto the radar. Oh well…

13. You’ve been accused of lacking common sense.

And that doesn’t really offend you. Common sense is for commoners.

14. You see everything as it could be rather than as it is.

You have a tendency to stick with projects, ideas, even relationships, long after they’ve gone under because you see their potential first and their reality second.

15. Your optimism occasionally exceeds your abilities – but you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Some of your ideas are a little too out there to work, but that’s okay. In the end, you value the ideas themselves over their practical application. Speculation is your sport – and you can’t win every game you play.