Can you explain your process?

It was during yet another humiliating team meeting that I finally snapped. My boss had just asked, "Can you explain your process?" as I stood frozen, my mind a swirling storm of images I couldn’t translate into words. The sticky notes plastered across my office walls, the sketches in my notebook margins—none of it made sense to anyone but me. That night, I Googled "why can’t I think in words like everyone else?" and found Temple Grandin’s Visual Thinking waiting like a life raft.

What followed was less a discovery and more a homecoming—a realization that my "disorganized" mind was simply speaking a different language. Here are the seven truths that set me free:

1. There Are No "Bad" Thinkers—Just Different Kinds

I’d spent years apologizing for "I need to draw this to understand." Grandin’s research revealed: "Verbal thinkers aren’t superior—just louder." Now when colleagues ask for reports, I send infographics. Surprisingly, they prefer them.

2. Your Doodles Are Actually Deep Work

My notebooks were filled with arrows, flowcharts, and weird symbols that looked like chaos. Then I learned: "Spatial thinkers solve problems through sketching." That "doodle" during lectures? My brain’s way of crystallizing ideas.

3. Words Are a Second Language for Some of Us

Struggling to explain my "mind movies" made me feel stupid until Grandin explained: "Visual thinkers often translate images into words in real-time—it’s exhausting." Now I prep for meetings by drawing first, then finding words later.

4. Traditional Education Fails Visual Brains

I nearly failed geometry until I started building models instead of memorizing formulas. Grandin’s insight: "Schools privilege verbal abstraction over spatial reasoning." My DIY clay mitochondria got an A+ in biology. Take that, standardized tests.

5. "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" Is Neurological

My cluttered desk wasn’t laziness—it was necessity. The book taught me: "For object visualizers, visibility equals accessibility." Now I use clear bins and wall-mounted organizers. My keys haven’t gone missing in months.

6. Visual Thinkers Are the World’s Unseen Problem-Solvers

From the mechanic who sees engine issues to the teacher who maps lesson plans, Grandin shows: "Pattern thinkers spot solutions linear minds miss." My "random" shower insights now get the respect they deserve.

7. Embrace Your Brain’s Native Language

Forcing myself to think verbally was like writing with my non-dominant hand. The liberation came when I:

Replaced to-do lists with color-coded mind maps

Explained complex ideas using napkin sketches

Stopped apologizing for "Let me show you" instead of telling

The Ripple Effect

This book didn’t just change how I work—it changed how I see myself. That "disorganized creative" label? Now I call it "spatial genius." The colleague who rolled her eyes at my storyboards? She now asks for them.

If You Think in Pictures:

Carry a sketchbook—not for art, for thinking

When stuck, ask: "What would this look like as an image?"

Remember: Da Vinci didn’t take notes—he drew revelations

"The world needs all kinds of minds to solve its problems—not just the ones that test well." — Temple Grandin

GÊT BOOK: https://amzn.to/3ZScEG0

You can also get the kindle using the same link above 👆👆