Lens Not Label
See things differently.
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Happy Friday, Reader. It's been another exciting and busy week, so let's get right into it.
Last week we explored the differences between lenses and labels (and why you need both). This week we’re putting a lens on a question that keeps cropping up everywhere:
Isn’t everyone a bit neurodivergent?
It’s a question I used to wonder about. Because if “normal” is the bullseye in the middle of all human experience, aren’t we all a bit off-centre in some way or another?
It wasn’t until we wrote Lens Not Label that I discovered the four thinking traps in that logic. And I realised they matter most at work, where a well-meant “aren’t we all…” can shut down an important conversation about what someone actually needs.
We explored this through the lens of cost and impact at The Coaching Inn, where Nathan put it this way: “there is often a cost involved. That cost can look like be additional energy, extra processing, shame.”
Claire added how small costs add up, “One thing isn’t heavy. But it's the one thing, then the next, then the next. It is a weight to carry at all times.”
Degree and Impact
Nearly everyone will recognise some neurodivergent traits in themselves. What separates this from neurodivergence is how many , how strongly and in which contexts, the impact of these traits on the person, and what this whole constellation means for them in a day, a week, a career.
So here’s a prompt to try before the next time you’re tempted to ask whether someone is really neurodivergent:
What does this cost them, and what would help?
And one for you: where have you seen a cost that other people couldn’t see? Hit reply and tell us.
For more, listen to S5 Ep 63 of The Coaching Inn or read about The Four Thinking Traps of ‘Aren't we all neurodivergent?’
Now onto this week's book updates…
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