My Confession:
It started out innocently enough. I began to think with friends at social occasions and community events. This led me to thinking out-loud at parties and other inappropriate venues.
Inevitably, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker. I began to think alone — “to relax,” I told myself — but I knew it wasn’t true.
You see, Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time. I began to think on the job and even on my commute to and fro. I knew that thinking and employment don’t mix, but I couldn’t stop myself. Seeing how it crossed over into my bike commute really hit a chord deep inside, and it hurt.
I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read some classic Thoreau, upbeat Kerouac or modern day Doyle. I would return to the office after my brain binge~ dizzied and confused, asking, “WTF are WE doing here?”
I soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One day my medicated boss called me in and said, “I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don’t stop thinking about your work, you’ll have to find somewhere else to go.” 
This gave me a lot to think about. I came home early after my conversation with my boss and confessed, “Honey, I’ve been thinking…” “I know you have,” she interrupted, starting to cry but muttering “…If you can’t STOP, I want a divorce!”
“But dear, it’s not that serious. I can try!”
“It is serious,” she screamed through her boiling tears. “You think as much as college professors, and college professors don’t make any money, so if you keep on thinking we won’t have any money!”
“That is a faulty syllogism,” I said impatiently.
Needless to say, she began to cry (and scream) even harder.
I’d had enough. “I’m going downtown to the library,” I shouted as I headed out for my bike.
I rolled up and ran to the welcoming wooden doors. They didn’t open: the library was CLOSED.
To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night. As I sank to the ground clawing at the unfeeling glass a poster caught my eye.
“Friend, is Heavy Thinking ruining your life?” it asked.
You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinker’s Anonymous poster.
Which is why I am what I am today: A Recovering Thinker. I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was Fletch. Afterwards, we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting and how encouraged others to do the same.
Life just seemed… easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking.
What Kind of Thinker are YOU?
