So I’ve been doing some research into being a Scanner, which I just learned about this morning and wrote about here: I’m a Scanner. Are you one too?
I’m going to list the traits of being a Scanner that I identify with, that I’ve found on the internet. If you identify with them too, then I’ll get excited if you leave a comment below that tells me you’re a Scanner too, and what your own thoughts are about being a Scanner.
- Lots of different interests, all at the same time
- Change (some of) your interests when you find something new
- Embrace a new interest with everything you have (discovering I’m a Scanner is a new interest I’ve embraced. Look at me go as I delve into researching it!)
- Have a hard time choosing what my passion actually is
- Start lots of new ‘projects’ only to give up on them after a few weeks or months
- Find something to be passionate about, learn all I can about it, then get bored with it
- People find it hard to understand me – so do I
- I’ve never understood why it’s so hard for me to settle into one thing
- I’ve never settled into one thing in my entire life
- The longest job I had (for the same company) was between 2000 and 2007, but even then, I took on a multitude of roles in that time; at one point I took on four different roles (Sharepoint Administrator, Sharepoint Trainer, Systems Administrator, VOIP Administrator. All ‘admin’ roles, but nothing focused into a specific area)
- Scanners are suited to freelance work more than permanent work (I’ve been an IT contractor for 7 years now, and this year I’m really focusing on being a freelance writer)
“If you’re doing what makes you happy, you’re contributing your talent to the world.” – Barbara Sher
I know that labels are something I attach to if they feel like they’ll help me understand more about myself and what I need to move forward in my life. I’ve recognised part of this is my Aspergers Syndrome in action, and I accept that I have difficulty understanding many of the basic elements of living life that many people take for granted. When I find something that provides me more information about how to live a better life, then I want to hold on to it.
Until I find the next thing that helps me. And the next interest. And the next project. And the next job. And the next idea about how I can improve my life.
And so it goes on. I keep on looking for things that explain who I am and why I am the ways that I am. I’m looking for answers to questions I ask myself, or even if I don’t ask them, I have an awareness about my difficulties that I’m seeking to overcome.
I’ve always enjoyed doing my own thing. But doing my own thing has never paid the bills, so I’ve tried to find ‘real jobs’ to pay the bills. Well, at least in the past 15 years I have. I was long-term unemployed for the first 15 of my adult years, as I was trying to work out who I was and how I fit into the world and what I wanted to do.
It’s been a story of my life, the lack of clarity about… well, pretty much everything.
So something comes along that helps me understand more, I latch on to it. If it allows me to connect with other people that are the same as me, in their own unique ways, then I value that.
I value connecting with people who understand me, who have been where I’ve been, who can help me grow, or who are helped by me to grow because of what we share with each other.
So I value being a Scanner. And someone with Aspergers. And an INTP. And a writer. And a dreamer. And a traveller. And anything and everything else that I have been, and will be in the future.
I’ve always felt that change is the only constant in my life, and embraced it at all times. I even seek out change often simply because of the sake of it, because life is too boring without change.
Change comes in many different forms. Different interests or activities, different job, different friends, different city, even different country.
So today I’m a Scanner. I’ll be a Scanner tomorrow too. But I don’t know about the day after that. We’ll just have to see.
Thanks for reading! Please add your own thoughts below.
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