Thinking in branches, living in contradictions

I never had a linear thought in my life.

When I tried to follow others' paths (do one thing at a time, answer what was asked, choose a side) I suffered.

My brain doesn't obey like that.

If you're reading this, maybe yours doesn't either.

It took me years to stop suppressing it. To accept it, and to understand that it was actually my greatest asset: the one that took me through this strange career, and helped me survive chaotic environments.

One day, I decided that I will leverage this capacity. For that, I needed to understand it, then protocol it.

Now, I've designed a structure around it.

So I can control this thinking state, CHOSE when it comes and when I should let go. My whole life is organized around it.

In general, I allow myself one week each month where the "gates" are open.
My mind is allowed to wander, wildly, precisely.

During this week, I avoid taking calls, or meeting people.

I need time alone. I walk a lot, and I write down every contradiction, every fragmented thought, every idea that doesn't make sense... yet.

I write these down in one of my notebooks... generally it would be a key word, a sentence, a name or date. Once it's out, I forget about it and continue onto the next thought.

This is a discipline. It can be overwhelming.

Not just thinking fast, but thinking broad, across domains, against the current, and sometimes without resolution.

The thing is: you can't think without feeding the machine.

The prerequisite for this kind of enhanced cognition isn't "being a genius".

It’s HUNGER.

I consume knowledge and frames of reference like coffee (high quantity lol).

Then I let my brain process and connect the dots, extract the patterns.

Of course, I monitor, I implemented intelligence tools to help me do that.

My learning system is constant, quiet, relentless.

I train my mind to hold contradictions instead of resolving them.
Because in the Grey Zone, contradiction is the normal state of power... and a survival skill.

Arborescent thinking is a weapon

This kind of mind doesn't make sense in school. It's actually even marginalized. It doesn't fit in corporate either.

But in war? In crisis? In systems falling apart?

It's the most strategic tool you'll ever have. The ability to LEARN, to hold paradox, delay reaction, question everything, and still move forward…

That's what will define the next generation of leaders.

And that's what we're building here, in the Grey Zone.

Stay sharp,

Oriane